Righty Kodai Senga began his fourth season with the New York Mets, looking to ease back into the rotation. In his first two starts, he struck out 15 batters and only gave up two runs. The expectation was for him to live up to his All-Star-caliber first year, but then he began to struggle.
Losing Control
Under the pressure of playing at Citi Field, the Japanese product has been subject to frequent control issues. In early April against the Athletics, he allowed seven earned runs, including two home runs. Manager Carlos Mendoza was forced to remove Senga from the game due to his lackluster performance. Senga’s next start wasn’t much different, as he allowed six earned runs in three innings.
Following two disappointing performances, he had the chance to redeem himself against the Colorado Rockies on Sunday. But, similar to the Mets this season, he massively underperformed. He gave up three earned runs in only 2 ½ innings. His ERA has risen to 9.00, as he holds a -0.9 WAR.
“It’s a combination of a lot of things here. We saw when he’s at his best, he’s 97 miles per hour plus. On Sunday, we saw a lot of 95s and 96s. Then there are some outings where he’s nibbling too much with the cutter and the sweeper, as opposed to staying on the attack,” Mendoza said during a postgame press conference.
A Return to the Minors
The Mets can attempt to patch this Kodai Senga situation by sending him down to one of their minor league affiliates. They did this last season when Senga struggled after returning from injury. It works for their pitching staff, but it is obviously not an ideal scenario for Senga.
“Don’t know what’s gonna come, but I know that the performance out on the field isn’t something where I can be like, ‘Oh, I’m gonna be in the rotation,” Senga said during a postgame interview. “I think [being asked to go to the minors] warrants a lot of discussion with a lot of different people. I can’t give a yes or no answer.”
Kodai Senga added that he has a mechanical issue, but his history on the mound says otherwise. In eight starts last season, he owned a 6.56 ERA after holding a 1.39 ERA across his first 14 outings.
“I know what’s going on. I know why I’m not able to perform, so I just need to continue to perform so that I can get back to being a high-performing pitcher, and I just wasn’t able to get there,” Senga continued.
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