The New York Mets didn't win the NL East in 2025 despite starting the year off strong. A huge reason for their collapse has been the struggles of the starting rotation, and none have been more apparent than Kodai Senga's struggles.
After injuring his quad in June, Senga's 2025 season took a turn for the worse, and he's not been able to rediscover his command and mechanics. These struggles forced the Mets to send him down to Triple-A in hopes of the righty finding his groove again.
But, after his latest outing in Triple-A ended roughly, there's some concern with his viability this season. His struggles have led Tim Britton of The Athletic to predict that the Mets will make an unfortunate decision regarding Senga's 2025 season.
Mets predicted to end Kodai Senga's 2025 season after rough minor-league start
Bitton opened the door to the possibility that, following Senga's rough Triple-A outing, the Mets might decide to shut down Senga for the 2025 season. While they won't cut him or place him on the injured list, instead, they could head into the postseason without him on the roster.
Jonah Tong impressed in his recent outing, and Senga's struggled. With Nolan McLean and Brandon Sproat likely getting starts in October, along with Clay Holmes and Sean Manaea factoring into a start, there's not a clear spot in a postseason rotation for Senga.
"You wouldn't choose Senga to start over McLean or Sproat." Britton writes. "You wouldn't take him over the tandem of Clay Holmes and Sean Manaea that the team used earlier this week. And now you wouldn't take him over Tong, who, while not yet reliable, has the type of elite stuff the Mets love."
Senga could work out of the bullpen in a perfect world, but the Mets are better off with traditional relievers, as putting Senga in a bullpen role is a big change from being a starter, especially since he doesn't have experience as a reliever in the Majors.
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With little way for the Mets to welcome Senga back into the rotation, they could decide to withhold him from the postseason roster entirely, and effectively, end his 2025 MLB season before October begins.
He's made 22 starts this season and has a 3.02 ERA with a 134 ERA+. Those are strong numbers, but looking at his starts since coming back from his injury, it's been a completely different pitcher.
After his four-inning outing against the Kansas City Royals in his first game back, where he didn't allow a run on four hits and two walks, Senga's season took a turn for the worse. Across his next eight starts, he has a 6.56 ERA and a 0-3 record.
If Britton's prediction comes true, and the Mets do decide to end Senga's MLB impact, it'd be a disappointing end to the $75 million pitcher's third season in New York. He's been an amazing pitcher, but his struggles after his quad injury are too much to ignore.
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