Kodai Senga Shut Down For Remainder Of Regular Season

Kodai Senga’s injury-plagued regular season has been officially ended by another setback, as the right-hander came away from a Triple-A rehab start Saturday with tightness in his right triceps.  Mets manager Carlos Mendoza told reporters (including MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo) that Senga won’t be able to return before the end of the season, but since the injury isn’t considered overly serious, he might still be a candidate for a playoff roster should the Mets reach the playoffs.

This is the second triceps-related issue Senga has faced this year, as another triceps problem delayed his recovery from the capsule strain that sidelined the righty during Spring Training.  After overcoming those injuries and finally getting ready to make his season debut on July 26, Senga tossed 5 1/3 innings in his first start before suffering a left calf strain that led to another trip to the 60-day injured list.  Saturday’s outing was slated to be Senga’s only rehab start, as the Mets’ plan was to potentially have him return to the big league roster during New York’s season-ending series with the Brewers, with Senga working as either as an opener or as a reliever.

With that plan now scrapped, it seems entirely possible that we’ve seen the last of Senga for the 2024 campaign.  The Mets could still miss the postseason and make Senga’s status a moot point, or Senga might simply not be healthy enough to pitch unless the club makes a fairly deep run into October.  There is also the question of just how effective Senga might be after his long layoff, and whether or not the Mets want to risk putting a rusty pitcher into a critical postseason game.

Given how remarkable Senga was in his 2023 rookie season, it is a little remarkable that New York is in position to claim a wild card even while getting virtually nothing from the pitcher they viewed as their ace heading into Spring Training.  Senga signed a five-year, $75MM free agent deal with the Mets during the 2022-23 offseason, and immediately lived up to the hype created by his high-profile move from Nippon Professional Baseball to the majors.  Senga posted a 2.98 ERA over 166 1/3 innings in 2023, finished seventh in NL Cy Young Award voting, and was a runner-up in the NL Rookie of the Year voting.