KANSAS CITY, Mo. — One of the most important pitching appearances of the season will happen here later this week. And it won’t be in a game.

Liam Hendriks, a three-time All Star who saved 114 games with 359 strikeouts over 239 innings from 2019-2022, will throw live batting practice and face hitters for the first time since undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2023.

It’s a small step for the Red Sox, but a huge one for the 35-year old Australian. If there are no setbacks he’ll throw two more sessions in the next week or so and then begin a rehab assignment in the minors.

Hendriks is determined to pitch in a game for Boston by the end of the month. It would be a remarkable comeback just 13 months after surgery. But Hendriks is a remarkable person. He was the American League Comeback Player of the Year last season after coming back from non-Hodgkin lymphoma in just 11 months, consolidating his chemotherapy into fewer, more potent rounds. After that, returning from elbow surgery isn’t going to scare him.

“I’m raring to go and I’ve been trying to push the envelope as much as I can,” said Hendriks. The Sox medical staff has understandably been a little more conservative in its timetable. The pitcher likened it to arbitration where he has one number in mind and the team has another. How he responds this week will dictate which timetable is more realistic.

Meantime, reliever Chris Martin is closer to returning. He’s been out for a month with right elbow inflammation but is slated to pitch Wednesday. Originally we were told it would be in the minor leagues, but after an impressive 35-pitch bullpen session in Texas, Red Sox Manager Alex Cora decided Martin might be ready to skip a rehab stint.

As Hendriks and Martin get closer to their returns, newcomers Lucas Sims and Luis Garcia have settled in nicely after joining the team at the trade deadline. They are veteran pitchers who add depth and experience to a bullpen that has struggled since the All-Star break.

“The two guys we added, they’ve got experience,” said Martin. “Garcia’s done it in the playoffs, Sims has done it in the playoffs, so those are the guys that you need, guys that are going to understand what we’re going to go through in this stretch. They’re gonna have an opportunity to be used a lot.

“We’re trying to make the playoffs here and they’re obviously just adding on to who we already have, you know? They can give those guys a little bit of a break. (Cora) has asked a lot of those guys down there. Get me and Liam in there and kind of give those guys a little bit of a rest and hopefully make a good run.”

And Justin Slaten, an impressive rookie, is also working his way back from injury. All of it leads to what could be a rejuvenated bullpen for the final third of the season.

Cora is excited about out the potential to have veteran high-leverage relievers ready to go every night.

“You can actually play with it, take care of certain guys on certain days understanding that there’s a high-leverage guy ready for next day,” said Cora, “or push somebody for two innings understanding the next day you’ve got two guys that are going to be good for you.”

It’s the type of bullpen flexibility every manager wants. Not only does it help late-game relief, but it helps take the pressure off a starting rotation that has been asked to do a lot this season.

“It’s getting to that time that you start thinking about getting to the bullpen in the fifth,” said Cora. “Be more aggressive, understanding how big every game is.”

Cora is hoping for bigger games to come. And he’s feeling more confident about those games as relievers return to his staff.

Tom Caron is a studio host for the Red Sox broadcast on NESN. His column appears in the Portland Press Herald on Tuesdays.