Kodai Senga’s fourth rehab outing in Triple-A Syracuse might not have gone as planned in terms of the stat line, but that is not deviating from the Mets’ timeline of a return that is on the precipice.
Manager Carlos Mendoza said on Sunday that there is a “good chance,” that Senga will make his season debut on Friday when the Mets take on the Atlanta Braves at Citi Field.
The decision comes following a Saturday night struggle in the minors where Senga was roughed up for five runs on six hits during a fourth inning in which he did not record a single out and threw 30 pitches. To move forward, however, the Mets seemed more interested in how he felt physically rather than the results on the scorecard.
“Everything is good so far… everything is positive,” Mendoza said (h/t SNY). “He had to grind, he had to work but at the end of the day, it’s how he’s feeling. We have to wait to see how today, tomorrow goes but hopefully, he is with us next time out. But everything is trending in the right direction.”
The 31-year-old right-hander has been sidelined since spring training after suffering a shoulder injury which was initially prescribed a timetable that would allow a return by late May. However, a triceps issue prompted a setback that has left the Mets without their ace throughout the entirety of the first half of the season.
Over his four rehab starts, he pitched 13.0 innings with a 4.15 ERA and 13 strikeouts.
His return provides an immeasurable boost to the Mets’ rotation, which will now be stretched out to a six-man unit during the second half of the season.
Senga was New York’s ace last season, going 12-7 with a 2.98 ERA and 202 strikeouts, earning him top-10 finishes in both the NL Rookie of the Year and Cy Young voting.
