It seems reinforcements for the Mets’ rotation are on the horizon. Right-hander Kodai Senga, who’s missed the entire season thus far with a shoulder injury, is slated to throw 40 pitches in the first start of a minor league rehab assignment, per Will Sammon of The Athletic. New York will also recall top prospect Christian Scott from Triple-A Syracuse to start Wednesday’s game, manager Carlos Mendoza confirmed to reporters (X link via Anthony DiComo of MLB.com). Speculation regarding that possibility began when Scott was scratched from a scheduled start in Syracuse despite not having an injury.
Senga suffered a moderate capsule strain in his shoulder back in spring training. What was originally supposed to be a much shorter absence has been prolonged by multiple setbacks. Senga was facing live hitters in late April but scaled back to bullpen sessions without hitters as he looked to get his mechanics back on track. While going through that step, he incurred a triceps injury that necessitated a cortisone injection and led to another five-day shutdown. He’s been built up slowly but now seems ready to pitch in a game setting. He’ll surely require multiple rehab starts before he’s cleared to return. Tomorrow’s start will kick off a 30-day rehab window, though he can be activated earlier than that 30-day maximum, of course.
As for Scott, he’ll return to the big leagues after impressing in his first five MLB starts earlier this season. The 2021 fifth-rounder tossed 27 2/3 innings of 3.90 ERA ball with a 22.3% strikeout rate, 5.4% walk rate, 34.2% grounder rate and 0.98 HR/9. Since returning to the minors, Scott has made four starts but been limited to 17 innings as the Mets look to manage his workload.
The 25-year-old Scott tossed only 87 2/3 innings last year and is already up to 70 innings this season. Managing his workload in the minors is easier than doing so in the majors, where the surging Mets have climbed back to .500 and thrust themselves into the midst of the NL Wild Card picture. Scott will now step back into the rotation alongside Luis Severino, Sean Manaea, Jose Quintana and David Peterson.
The looming changes to the Mets’ rotation come at a time when there have been rumblings about the team’s willingness to potentially move a veteran big league starter while still taking aim at pushing for the postseason. A trade involving staff leader Severino seems quite difficult to envision — and indeed, SNY’s Andy Martino reported yesterday is overwhelmingly unlikely so long as the team remains in playoff reach — but Quintana seems feasible (speculatively speaking).
The Mets have a growing collection of depth, with Severino, Manaea, Quintana, Peterson and Scott in the majors, Senga on the mend, and the trio of Tylor Megill, Joey Lucchesi and Jose Butto on the 40-man roster down in Triple-A. Last year’s second-round pick, Brandon Sproat, has a sub-2.00 ERA in 67 innings between High-A and Double-A this season.
Senga’s progress and Scott’s performance in his big league return will be worth watching with a careful eye, as they’ll both be factors in the Mets’ willingness (or lack thereof) to deal from the big league staff in the weeks ahead. If the rotation depth looks sufficient, perhaps a veteran like Quintana could be flipped for some big league bullpen help — the sort of exchange between buyers that could fill needs on both clubs (while, in the Mets’ case, potentially shaving as much as $13MM from the books between Quintana’s salary and luxury-tax hit).
Nice deadline pickup for the Mets.
But why the frown in the BR picture as a Met, but as a member of the Hawks, he’s all smiles? Making more money and he’s sad? I guess it’s not fun being a Met, regardless of the money you make.
Wow you really concocted an entire narrative from a photo that spanned 0.003 seconds of this mans life.
Chill out.
@JohnnyUtahSmells
You seem to be the one that needs to chill out. Are you that concerned about something making a random remark that you needed to post that?
@OldDork
I’m chill and dw there’s enough room for both your nonsensical musings where you draw grand assumptions from nothing and my comments where I call you out for being a silly troll.
@JohnnyUtahSmells
So, you made the first mistake of assuming I’m not relaxed and the second one of assuming I’m a troll. Interesting takes you have there.
@OldDork
So, you made the first mistake of assuming I’m not relaxed and the second one of assuming I’m a troll. Interesting takes you have there.
@JohnnyUtahSmells
I don’t remember calling you a troll.
they just know they a troll just by the name alone as it is a name to troll another troll on the board otherwise im curious how they got to that name.
Back to reality for a second. I realize the Mets rotation is in slightly better shape than the bullpen and I also realize that Quintana is underperforming, but you still need arms to start games for a half season and possibly a post season. So unless you’re getting back a REALLY good bullpen piece, why trade him? And what makes you think the trade partner is gonna be willing to take on that salary? Seems pretty unlikely to me
@ Bill M Fair points, but not that big a deal. The trio of Butto, Scott, and Senga would seem to be enough to replace Quintana. As for Q’s salary, also not much of an issue. It’ll only be a little over $4 mil by the time he’s traded. IF a team wants hum,. thats chump change. If they don’t want to pay it all, the Mets can cover some (or all) of it. Its even chumpier change for them.
The question is, would any team really want him, given his age and performance??
The photo shows him on a football field??
@bassrun
Preparing for the Jets championship season.
I didn’t realize mlb just bumped Sproat into top 100 rankings. Nice jump for a half year of work in minors. Talk of Mets pitching prospects being poor was vastly over stated. They have some really nice pitching prospects.
Not sure where you’re getting either of those conclusions. Pitching was actually regarded as the strong point a year ago. But let’s also face facts: .Scott, Sproat, and Tidwell on the high end. Everyone else iffy. Tong is mixed bag in high-A so far. Everyone else in either A level is scuffling except for Kade Morris. Several highly touted pitchers who moved from high-A to AA over the last two years have since stagnated or stumbled: Vasil, Hamel, Suarez, Stuart, Moreno.
Fans make the mistake of viewing minor leagues like school, thinking that the A students will just keep getting A’s, and everyone gets promoted every year until they graduate. But its not like that. Only 1 in 6 single-A players is a future major leaguer. Its really easy to beat up on the wannabes and struggle against the real prospects and still post great numbers. At double-A its 1 in 3.So twice as many real prospects, half as many wannabes. Thats why so many minor leaguers’ careers stall out at AA.
Well let’s not forget Butto already. I’m sure almost any organization would take four legitimate starters in their minors within a year of the Majors. I don’t know what you expect to have. Of course there are misses. Everywhere has been stated how high the Mets hitters are and the lack of Mets pitching depth is. Let’s not act like it hasn’t been said a thousand times.
You’re being extreme. No, it hasn’t been said a thousand times. Maybe you just read the same handful of blogs that keep repeating it.
Second, you’re assuming that they turn into 4 legitimate starters. We still don’t know where they will fall out. David Peterson was once had a projected ceiling of #2 starter . Right now, they’re just good looking prospects who are (mostly) doing well for their current levels,
I’m not being extreme at all. You’re just trying to be confrontational. David Peterson never slotted as a number 2 and maxed out as the Mets 9 best prospect. He never sniffed the top 100. He was always graded as a back end starter which he is. But thanks for explaining that they are prospects to me in a conversation about prospects. I was a little confused on that.
Bring up all 4 (Megill, Lucchesi, Butto and Sproat), keep Nunez, Houser and Diaz send all others down.
Sproat’s got only 6 games in double-A. Still too soon to know if he can sustain his success there, let alone replicate it at a higher level. You don’t want to start wasting his 3 options this early.
Lucchesi is struggling in AAA since the Mets last used him 6 weeks ago. His velocity sits at 89, and out at 90 a handful of times a game. Thats down 3 MPH from last year.
They are going to have to add a prospect with Quintana to get a decent relief pitcher. Maybe one of there infield or catching prospects like Ronald Hernandez they got from the Marlins last year.