It might be hard to remember now, but there was a time in the not-too-distant past where the Cubs were legitimately unsure what to expect from Kyle Hendricks.

“The Professor” has been a mainstay in the Cubs rotation for a decade now but he entered 2023 coming off the worst injury of his career – a capsular tear in his right shoulder.

That injury – coupled with a dramatic departure of Hendricks’ World Series-winning teammates – contributed to a pair of inconsistent seasons in 2021-22.

The Cubs knew Hendricks wouldn’t be ready for Opening Day and when he did return, they truthfully didn’t know what type of performance to expect. Would the inconsistency of the last 2 years continue?

That’s why the team signed Jameson Taillon and brought back veteran Drew Smyly to pair with Marcus Stroman and Justin Steele in the Cubs rotation. Jed Hoyer, Carter Hawkins and the rest of the front office wanted as much depth as possible in case they couldn’t end up counting on Hendricks much in 2023.

It turns out all of those questions were answered emphatically – and it didn’t take very long. In his 4th start of the season on June 10, Hendricks flirted with a no-hitter and reassumed his role as a reliable, stable member of the Cubs rotation from that point forward.

Hendricks finished the year 3rd on the Cubs in quality starts (12), 4th in innings pitched and had the 2nd-best ERA (3.74) and WHIP (1.20) among rotation members behind only Steele.

“I thought his season was exceptional given truly I didn’t have a great sense of what we were gonna get out of him,” Hoyer said. “He was confident going into Spring Training and throughout the winter that he was going to get back and be old Kyle Hendricks. And he did.

“It was really impressive to watch. He worked on his velocity a lot, his arm strength. Even touching some 90s [mph] in his last outing. He really had an exceptional year given what we were expecting.”

The question now becomes: What does the future hold for the veteran right-hander who will turn 34 in December?

The Cubs hold a $16 million team option on Hendricks for the 2024 season and there’s a buyout for $1.5 million – meaning it is essentially a $14.5 million decision for the Cubs.

It certainly appears as if Hendricks will be back and the Cubs could even rework the deal to keep him in town even beyond 2024.

“It’ll be Jed’s decision on what to do with Kyle’s contract,” Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts said on the final day of the season. “At this point, I would see him coming back.”

Hoyer echoed that sentiment at his end-of-season press conference Tuesday morning at Wrigley Field.

“Certainly he’s been one of my favorite Cubs players to be around since we got here,” Hoyer said. “Hard to imagine a better teammate, someone that redefines low maintenance. He does whatever the team needs and it’s a joy to have him around.

“Obviously not gonna negotiate anything with [the media] right now but certainly we want to keep him as a Cub for next year and beyond.”

Roughly an hour after the final out of the 2023 Cubs season, Hendricks stood at his locker in the visiting locker room of American Family Field. He was asked about his future and admitted he has not spent much time thinking about the contract situation given that his focus was on trying to help the Cubs into the playoffs.

But he does plan on utilizing the next couple weeks after the season to sit down and reflect.

“I’m just happy that I was able to come back, be healthy again and get back to being myself,” Hendricks said. “I know I got a lot of years ahead of me. Just love playing baseball. That’s where my focus is – just keep going as long as I can.”

Hendricks won’t get involved in the contract negotiations, leaving it up to his agent and the Cubs front office. However, he has made his stance very clear.

“I trust [the Cubs front office] so much,” Hendricks said. “We’ve had such a good relationship the whole time I’ve been here and I really respect the heck out of them, appreciate everything they’ve given me – all the opportunities they’ve given me.

“I have full trust in whatever’s supposed to happen will happen. Obviously I love it so much in Chicago – my whole career has been playing in front of the best fans in the world, going out in Wrigley Field all the time. I wouldn’t trade that for anything.

“They’re well aware of that. If it works for both sides, that’d be great obviously to be back.”