The New York Mets decided to send Kodai Senga to Triple-A, hoping that he'd figure things out on the mound. His fastball velocity was down, he wasn't going late into games, and there were other problems.
Given his success in the rotation for much of the past year or so, it was a bit surprising to see Senga struggle the way he did over the past few months.
From the sound of things, it doesn't seem like he’s getting much better.
What's the latest on Mets' Kodai Senga
According to Anthony DiComo of MLB.com, skipper Carlos Mendoza said that he's only doing “OK” and that he feels fine physically, adding that things aren't clicking for the right-hander.
“Just OK” was how Mendoza described the session, adding that the hot Florida weather, per DiComo, “kind of got to him a little bit and he got tired.”
“Physically, he feels fine,” Mendoza added. “He’s healthy. But it’s just not clicking.”
The issue for the Mets and Senga will only further complicate itself over the next few years. Senga is under contract until 2028, with a team option for that campaign.
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If the Mets decide to move on from him in 2028, that still means they have two seasons with him to figure things out.
However, considering the Mets likely won’t have him on the postseason roster, this $75 million investment doesn't seem to be going too well.
“But if Senga doesn’t pitch, the Mets will have a hard time simply adding him blindly to their playoff roster as they did last year for the NL Division Series. The most likely outcome for Senga, in other words, could be heading into the offseason without having thrown another Major League pitch.
“Now three seasons into the five-year, $75 million contract he signed prior to 2023, Senga has given the Mets just 118 2/3 innings over the past two of them. The team still owes him $30 million and will be incentivized to get Senga right -- whether that’s down the stretch this season or, more likely, at some point next year,” DiComo wrote.
There isn't a perfect situation for Senga to be in at the moment, considering the Triple-A season is finished.