The New York Mets loaded up on pitching this past offseason, but they are already dealing with some injury issues, and their depth is being tested.
Both Sean Manaea and Frankie Montas will be unavailable for Opening Day. Manaea strained his oblique while Montas is out with a lat injury.
New York hasn’t made any additional moves, but they recently got some good news on a starter who missed significant time last season.
Right-hander Kodai Senga was limited to just one start due to injuries, but the Mets are impressed with what they’re seeing so far.
“Kodai Senga was ‘really poppin’ in his spring debut, according to a scout. While that isn’t a technical term, that’s maybe the best news of a lot of positive news down here,” Jon Heyman reported. “We truly missed the ghost fork in 2024, and he only threw one in his game down here. If he’s back — and it’s back — that would be huge.”
The ghost fork is Senga’s trademark pitch, and if he can get it going in the right direction in 2025, he should have a strong season.
Senga made 29 starts in 2023, going 12-7 with a 2.98 ERA in 166 1/3 innings while recording 202 strikeouts and posting a 4.5 WAR.
If he can stay healthy, a similar performance to 2023 could be on the horizon, and the Mets could use that if they want to make another deep postseason run.
The Mets made it to the National League Championship Series last year before losing in six games to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Having Senga healthy would enhance their chances at making it to the World Series for the first time since 2015.
We’ll see what the Mets can get out of their ace.
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