After his spectacular rookie showing, Kodai Senga was expected to solidify himself atop the Mets’ starting rotation this season.
David Stearns and New York didn’t overpay for a top of the line arm over the winter, instead taking shots on high-upside guys on shorter-term pacts with hopes that the right-hander would step up and be their guy.
However, as things played out, that didn’t end up being the case.
“This year was a frustrating one,” Senga said Sunday night through a translator. “With injuries and things not going my way, I’d definitely like to come back stronger than ever next season.”
Senga was first shut down late in spring training due to a moderate right posterior capsule strain, and he ended up missing significant time after suffering numerous setbacks with his arm and mechanics along the way.
After a four-month absence, he was able to return for a late-July start against the Braves, but things quickly went sideways again, as he suffered a left calf strain running off the mound to give his infielders room for a pop up.
Senga again began the long road back to the mound with hopes of making another return down the stretch, but with the regular season quickly coming to an end, he and the Mets turned their attention towards the playoffs.
The right-hander was finally able to get back out there for the NLDS opener against the Phillies. While he allowed a leadoff home run to Kyle Schwarber, he was relatively effective across his two innings of work.
Senga wouldn’t return to the mound again until Game 1 of the NLCS against the Dodgers, and he wasn’t quite as sharp this time, as he put the Mets in an immediate hole after allowing three runs on two hits and four walks.
There were some question as to whether the Mets should remove the 31-year-old from the NLCS roster with his ineffectiveness hurting them, but they ultimately decided to keep him around the rest of the way.
As the series progressed, Senga was ultimately moved to a bullpen role, and he didn’t see the mound again until Sunday’s elimination Game 6, in which he allowed three more runs in just 1.2 innings.
So now, the right-hander is forced to turn his attention towards next season.
The Mets will certainly be adding some arms to the mix this offseason, but with the current uncertainty in their starting rotation, it’s vital for them to have their ace back healthy and at the top of his game.
With that in mind, Senga says he’ll be reexamining his process over the course of the winter to ensure that he’ll be ready by the time spring training rolls around.
“This offseason I’ll have to relook at a lot of things one-by-one because post-rehab it just didn’t click the same way,” he said. “I know what’s happening to my mechanics and how my body feels right now, so I have a good idea on how to approach it so that next year things will click.”
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