The Mets are moving Kodai Senga to the bullpen, manager Carlos Mendoza announced before Wednesday’s doubleheader. Mendoza said that Senga could be used in a variety of roles, including multiple-inning bulk relief or high-leverage spots on back-to-back days.
Senga has struggled to the tune of a 10.08 ERA in seven starts this season. Since returning from the injured list with lumbar spine inflammation on June 16, Senga has allowed eleven runs in 7.2 innings. Tuesday night’s start got off to a scintillating
start, with Senga touching 98.9 mph and striking out a pair in the first inning — but things swiftly came crashing down, as the Cubs pounced for five runs in the second and two more in the fourth. That seems to have been the final straw in pushing Senga out of the rotation.
“We saw what he’s capable of doing,” Mendoza said in a press conference before Wednesday’s games. “We’ve seen flashes of it. You see the first inning yesterday, and he comes out throwing 98, 99, just throwing the fastball by people.”
With Christian Scott on the cusp of returning from an IL stint with a right hip impingement, Senga’s next turn in the rotation is likely accounted for. Scott, Freddy Peralta, Nolan McLean, Sean Manaea, and David Peterson will be the Mets’ starting five — at least for now. If Senga can replicate Tuesday night’s high-velocity, high-command first inning a few times per week, perhaps he’ll be a valuable piece of the 2026 Mets’ pitching puzzle once again.
