Uncertainty around Kodai Senga injury is last thing the Mets need

The New York Mets were dealt a brutal blow in Spring Training with the team's ace, Kodai Senga, suffering a shoulder injury. Senga broke out in his rookie season and finished seventh in the NL Cy Young balloting in 2023. He was the one reliable rotation arm that they had.

The expectation was that Senga would miss the first two months of the season once he was transferred over to the 60-day IL, but he'd return around when he's eligible to, whether in late May or early June. He had begun working his way back, but appeared to have slowed down in his rehab.

He was facing hitters in live batting practice and throwing bullpen sessions. He was very close to going out on a rehab assignment before Senga alerted the Mets that his mechanics were off and he needed more time. The Mets say he's healthy, but it's unclear as to what is going on and what's next.

Kodai Senga injury update is the last thing the Mets need

“He said he feels fine [and] his arm feels good,” Mendoza said via the New York Post. “He keeps saying he’s not feeling his mechanics are there and doesn’t want to push it til he finds that rhythm.” 

The good news is that Senga feels fine and doesn't want to push it. He's only going to push it when he feels like his mechanics are under control. As for when that's going to happen and what'll happen after he feels that his mechanics are where they need to be, that's more unclear.

Just as of Friday things were going great with Senga and his rehab. The Mets were preparing for him to potentially advance from throwing live BP to going out on a rehab assignment. Now, that's on pause, and again, it's unclear as to how long Senga needs before he can throw again.

The Mets are a team in desperate need of an arm like Senga. They enter play on Monday ranked 23rd in the majors with a 4.40 ERA from their starting pitchers. Mets starting pitchers also rank 24th in fWAR (2.0) and 25th in innings (202.2). Their rotation has been among the National League's worst. They've gotten great production from their bullpen, but the rotation is an issue.

The Mets have a total of 11 quality starts in their 39 games played this season. Two of those have come from a rookie, Christian Scott, in his lone two starts. Senga had 16 himself in 29 starts last season. The hope is that he'll be able to throw again soon and be back sometime in early June, but it's hard to know exactly what his timeline is after this update.