The New York Mets will see the return of their top pitcher this week. All signs point to Kodai Senga to make his season debut Friday against the Atlanta Braves.
“Everything is trending in the right direction,” manager Carlos Mendoza said after Sunday’s loss to the Miami Marlins.
Senga’s return to the mound is highly anticipated as he has spent the season on the injured list due to shoulder and triceps injuries. Pitching coach Jeremy Hefner suggested that Senga would be available to throw about five innings and 85 pitches in his first game.
“I think he wanted to pitch better, but I don’t think he was worried about the results,” Hefner said. “He’s mostly worried about being healthy and making sure his shoulder, elbow and body feel good.”
The right-hander built up to 79 pitches in his last rehab start Saturday for Triple-A Syracuse. Senga will throw one more bullpen session on Tuesday to get checked out before the Mets tab him for Friday’s start. He pitched fairly well in his four rehab outings, pitching to a 4.15 ERA with 13 strikeouts in 13 innings.
Kodai Senga’s Return Comes with a Plan
Once Senga returns, the Mets will have a six-man rotation. The six-man rotation will help everyone on the pitching staff. Luis Severino showed good signs for the second half with a sharp fastball over six scoreless innings Saturday. However, Severino’s 115 2/3 innings is his most since 2018 when he threw 191 1/3- topping 100 just once in 2022 since then. Sean Manea was not a full-time starter last year and Jose Quintana is 35 years old. The Mets will be mindful of Christian Scott‘s workload- Scott is up to a career-high 89 2/3 innings after compiling 87 2/3 innings in 2023.
The six-man rotation will leave the Mets with one less reliever. But the club did use a six-man rotation at times last season to give Senga an extra day of rest. Last season, Senga finished second in National League Rookie of the Year voting after going 12-7 with a 2.98 ERA in 29 starts.
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