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The New York Mets are in the midst of a disappointing season. Mets star Francisco Lindor recently conceded the bumpy nature of the 2024 campaign for New York. While Lindor is performing well for an up-and-down team, pitching has been a different story. After an All-Star season in 2023, Mets’ starter Kodai Senga has been limited to a single start so far this year.
Senga, who has been dealing with a left calf strain, now says he’s open to coming out of the bullpen for the team down the stretch, according to MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo on X. The 31-year-old righty hopes he’s ready to pitch when first eligible on September 26. However, he realizes the games are too important to come back from injury early.
Senga debuted with the Mets last season after signing a five-year, $75 million contract to come to New York. The Japanese-born hurler pitched well in 2023, making his first-career All-Star game and finishing 12-7 with a 2.98 ERA, 1.220 WHIP and 10.9 K/9 in 29 starts.
This season Senga’s debut was pushed back to the end of July due to a shoulder strain that the pitcher first experienced in the offseason. He pitched in a single game this year, going 5.1 innings and allowing two runs on two hits with one walk and nine strikeouts.
Mets starting pitcher Kodia Senga open to coming out of bullpen when healthy
After the successful outing against the Atlanta Braves on July 26, Senga was in jeopardy of being out for the season with a high-grade calf strain, which has held him out of action since. Now Senga is open to the idea of coming out of the bullpen when he’s first eligible for a return at the end of September.
The Mets improved at the trade deadline but didn’t bring in any big name acquisition. Despite knowing the severity of Senga’s calf injury prior to July 30, the team did not make starting pitching depth a priority. The Mets landed Paul Blackburn from the Oakland A’s but lost him to the 15-day injured list. Before getting injured, Blackburn had made five starts for New York and gone 1-2 with a 5.18 ERA, 1.562 WHIP and 7.8 K/9.
The Mets have been led this season by Lindor as the four-time All-Star shortstop is having another excellent year in Queens. He’s up to 36 doubles, 29 home runs, 80 RBI, 94 runs scored and a .831 OPS with an OPS+ of 143 and 6.0 bWAR in 137 games for the Mets this season.
The team is in third place in the National League West and eight games behind the first-place Philadelphia Phillies entering play on Monday. The Mets are just one game behind the Braves for the third NL Wild Card berth, with the Arizona Diamondbacks and San Diego Padres boasting a four-game lead over the Mets in the Wild Card standings.
