The New York Mets felt they didn't have a choice.
And it's a brutal reality in the middle of a playoff race.
But the Mets have sent Japanese right-hander Kodai Senga down to the minor leagues, to Triple-A Syracuse. With less than a month to play in the regular season, New York is down a starting pitcher, one it wouldn't have expected to sink this low.
Why did the Mets send down Kodai Senga?
The New York Mets sent Kodai Senga down to Triple-A Syracuse to allow him to "attempt to regain his form," according to the New York Post.
Senga is struggling mightily of late. In his last eight outings, he has a 6.56 ERA.
The Mets are working with a six-man rotation and will call up Brandon Sproat to start in Senga's place.
They couldn't wait too long to make this move, because there are only a couple weeks left in the Triple-A season. Senga should get at least a couple starts for Syracuse to try and fix some things.
MORE: Mets facing obvious contract departures from 2 stars
Kodai Senga stats
As mentioned above, Senga has a 6.56 ERA in his last eight starts.
In his last outing, on Aug. 31, he allowed five runs in 4.2 innings against the Marlins.
On the season, Senga has a 3.02 ERA, so it's been quite the fall off, given that his ERA is still that low despite the recent struggles.
Senga only pitched in one game in 2024 due to injury.
His first season stateside was 2023, and he had a 2.98 ERA in 29 starts.
The Mets will hope he can rediscover himself down on the farm and come back in time to contribute to the playoff race.
NL standings
At the time of Senga's demotion, the Mets trailed the Phillies by 6.0 games in the NL East Division.
They're holding down the third wild card spot behind the Cubs and Padres.
The Mets do have a 4.0 game lead on the Giants, who are the next closest team trying to come get that last wild card spot.
MORE: Paul Skenes reveals how he throws his Splinker