Cubs right-hander Kyle Hendricks crossed the outfield grass Wednesday and headed toward the bullpen at Wrigley Field with a yellow connection ball tucked under his arm.
The training tool is something he uses to correct his arm path. And though he landed on the 15-day injured list this week with what the Cubs called a strained lower back, he still is working to correct the factors that led to the worst start to a season (12.00 ERA through five starts) in his career.
‘‘I think there are a lot of things playing into that, for sure,’’ Hendricks said, speaking publicly for the first time since going on the IL. ‘‘I’ve got to keep my mind set on the execution and the pitches that I’m making there. Can’t use excuses. But, on the other hand, we just want to give myself a chance to get to 100%, so I know there aren’t any issues and [can] strictly focus on the pitching.’’
Hendricks said he first felt something in his back during a bullpen session between starts last week. The discomfort progressed in his pregame bullpen session Sunday and through his four-inning start. He said it was something he ‘‘possibly could have pushed through.’’
Between his rocky start and right-hander Jameson Taillon returning from the IL last week, however, it made much more sense to give him a reset — and not just for his health.
Hendricks is 34 and in the final season of his contract, but manager Craig Counsell shot down the assumption that fans might have seen the last of him with the Cubs.
‘‘I don’t think that at all,’’ Counsell said. ‘‘No.’’
Despite the performances younger pitchers such as Ben Brown, Jordan Wicks, Javier Assad and Hayden Wesneski have put on recently, if Hendricks can get back to the form he was in last season, the rotation will be better for it.
‘‘They’re talking through the whole plan right now,’’ Hendricks said. ‘‘Just got to keep my arm moving, for sure. Don’t want to get set back at all like that.’’
He said the first bullpen session of his buildup won’t be far off. After that stage of his rehab, Hendricks expects to progress to a simulated game or possibly a rehab game.
In the meantime, he has plenty of other things he can work on. He’s healthy enough to hone his arm path, which had been getting a little long and low, similar to the issue he was having before his shoulder injury two years ago.
He also can dive into his pitch usage and sequencing issues. While calling his own pitches and thinking about his delivery, Hendricks has noticed himself becoming predictable.
‘‘I need to get back to being myself in those ways: using my full arsenal and mixing it in and out, changing speeds back and forth, manipulating my fastball a little bit,’’ he said. ‘‘I’m not getting outs with my fastball right now, bottom line. And so that’s really what I have to rely on and get back to. No matter how my fastball is playing, I have to get outs with it to set up my other stuff.’’
Because Hendricks never has been a power pitcher whose pure stuff jumps off the charts, his strength traditionally has been in his execution and the mental side of the game.
‘‘In particular, what he’s helped me out on is just reading hitters,’’ Wesneski said. ‘‘Like, let them tell the story and then read it, right? And so it’s one of the things where I wouldn’t be in this spot if it wasn’t for him. And he does mean a lot to everybody in that clubhouse.’’
Wicks echoed Wesneski’s praise, calling Hendricks the ‘‘ultimate teammate.’’
‘‘Having him as a resource . . . you can’t even put it into words what it’s meant to have that mental guidance as you’re as you’re going through these starts,’’ Wicks said.
