The Mets traded away a number of relievers ahead of this week’s deadline. That leaves them with the opportunity to experiment and they are going to get a look at Kodai Senga as a leverage reliever, per Anthony DiComo of MLB.com.
Senga, now 33, signed with the Mets in December of 2022. Based on his years of good work in Japan, the Mets gave him a five-year, $75MM deal. One year into that pact, it looked like a big win for the club. Senga made 29 starts in 2023 with a 2.98 earned run average, 29.1% strikeout rate and 44.7% ground ball rate. His 11.1% walk rate was on the high side but it was otherwise an excellent season.
A lot has changed since then. His 2024 was essentially wiped out by injuries. He suffered a capsule strain in his shoulder in spring training and was on the injured list until July. In his first start of the year, he suffered a calf strain and immediately returned to the IL. He got healthy by the postseason but only made the one regular season appearance that year. In 2025, he was fine in the first half but struggled badly in the second. He put up a 6.56 ERA in eight starts out of the All-Star break and agreed to be optioned to the minors.
The Mets gave him a chance to retake a rotation job at the start of this year but it didn’t pan out. He began the campaign with 20 earned runs allowed in 20 innings over five starts before hitting the IL with lumbar spinal inflammation. He came off the IL in June and made two more poor starts before getting moved to the bullpen. He has been working long relief mop-up duty since then.
There wasn’t really an opportunity for Senga to pitch late in games as the Mets had more established relievers. But the club went into the deadline in sell mode and flipped out Luke Weaver, Brooks Raley and Huascar Brazobán. They still have closer Devin Williams on the roster but there are now openings for other arms to step up in setup roles.
The club is hoping that Senga’s stuff can play up in short bursts. He has a six-pitch mix but the Mets want him to lean more on his two best offerings, his four-seamer and forkball, to see if that works late in games. Senga’s four-seamer has averaged around 96 miles per hour in his big league career but most pitchers find some extra gas when they get moved to a single-inning role. “I do think in his right arm is 100 miles an hour and a nasty forkball,” interim manager Andy Green said, “and that profile plays for a late-inning reliever.”
For what it’s worth, Senga still wants to be a starter but knows he doesn’t have much say in the matter. “Whatever role is given to me, I’m going to throw in that role — regardless of what I say,” Senga said through an interpreter. “If I say I want to be a starter, the team could tell me, ‘Just look at your stats.’ And I don’t have anything to say back to them.”
The experiment began Tuesday night. The Mets took a 6-2 lead into the bottom of the ninth against the Guardians and gave Senga the ball. He got Steven Kwan to ground out, walked Jo Adell, then got Chase DeLauter to line out and Nathaniel Lowe to fly out.
Time will tell how Senga takes to the role change. If he performs well down the stretch, perhaps it will impact the club’s offseason. Senga’s deal still has one more guaranteed year. He’ll make $14MM next season. That would be a hefty sum for a reliever with a limited track record but perhaps Senga could have some trade value if he finishes the season strong. The Mets could always pay down some of it if another club balks at the price tag.
They could also simply hold him and work him into their 2027 plans. Williams will still be around but the late-game mix for next year is otherwise wide open. It wouldn’t be the ideal outcome based on expectations from a few years ago but, considering recent trends, it would be nice to salvage some value out of the last year of the deal. That is putting the cart before the horse, of course, because Senga first needs to post some good numbers. But it’s an intriguing late-season story for a club playing out the string on a lost season.
Turning to the rotation, the club also has an opening there after trading Freddy Peralta to the Rays. Robert Stock was just added to the roster a few days ago and started Sunday’s game. He allowed one run over five innings and Green says the club will let him start at least one more. “Not committed to anything beyond that,” Green said. “I think for him, where he’s at in life, a four-day commitment feels pretty good.”
The 36-year-old Stock is a well-travelled veteran. He spent 2018 to 2021 in the big leagues but then didn’t make it back to the majors until 2025. From 2022 to 2024, he pitched in the minors, Korea, Mexico and independent ball. For the moment, he has a big league rotation spot alongside Nolan McLean, Christian Scott, Zac Thornton and Sean Manaea. If the Mets plan to pivot at some point, they have Jonah Tong, Tobias Myers, Jack Wenninger and Jonathan Santucci in Triple-A.
Photo courtesy of David Richard, Imagn Images
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