6 Cubs who failed to live up to expectations in 2024

2: This wasn't the swan song Kyle Hendricks or the Cubs hoped for

Kyle Hendricks fought off Father Time in 2023, coming back from offseason shoulder surgery and turning in a rejuvenated campaign. He made 24 starts, working to a 3.74 ERA and 3.81 FIP in more than 130 innings of work. That prompted Jed Hoyer to pick up a $16.5 million club option for 2024 - a decision that soon proved ill-fated.

The fact he even survived to the end of the season is nothing short of a miracle when you consider how it started for the veteran right-hander. In the first half, he worked to a 6.78 ERA - and that's after a bounceback month of June. Through the end of May, he had a 10.16 ERA and opponents had torched him for a 1.010 OPS, which led to him getting bounced from the starting rotation.

Through sheer will and determination, Hendricks became, more or less, serviceable as injuries left Craig Counsell short-handed in the rotation. Over the final two months, he managed an ERA in the low-4.00s and turned back the clock one final time in what may be his last start in a Cubs uniform during the season's final weekend. But that isn't enough to make us look past the rest of the year.