Kodai Senga one step closer to return for Mets

The New York Mets have been a very exciting team to watch over the past few weeks. Ever since Grimace threw out the first pitch at Citi Field, the Mets have seemingly turned things around and played much better baseball.

Heading into today's action against the Washington Nationals, New York owns a record of 41-41 and they are only 1.5 games behind the St. Louis Cardinals in the Wild Card race. And they may be getting some reinforcements soon.

According to Will Sammon of The Athletic, right-hander Kodai Senga, who has been out the entire season, is set to make a rehab start with High-A Brooklyn tomorrow. The Mets ace is expected to throw 40 pitches.

Kodai Senga takes important step, moves closer to Mets return

The Mets are outperforming their expectations this season, and this has been while Senga has been on the shelf recovering from a right posterior shoulder capsule strain. Adding Senga back to the rotation should give the Mets a huge boost.

Senga was expected to be New York's ace after they had traded away Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander last season, but they have performed quite well in his absence recently. Having him back could help put the Mets over the top as they try to decide what to do at the trade deadline.

If they continue playing well and are still above water when Senga comes back, they could end up being buyers instead of sellers at the deadline. Adding some extra pitching to go with a healthy Senga would be an important step forward.

The 31-year-old right-hander won 12 games in 2023 and posted a 2.98 ERA over 166.1 innings in 2023, and he also struck out 202 batters. He'll bring some much-needed swing-and-miss to the Mets rotation when he returns.

The Mets have been hot ever since Grimace threw out the first pitch, and the return of Senga should only help them as they try to stay afloat in the Wild Card race and keep the magic going.

The Mets were not expected to do much of anything this year, but they could be a team to watch as the Wild Card race heats up, especially with Senga seemingly close to making his return.

We'll see how Senga's rehab start goes and if he'll continue making progress towards a return to action. The Mets need pitching reinforcements, and the veteran right-hander can help with that.