PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — About a year ago, soon after the New York Mets reported to spring training, presumed ace Kodai Senga was shut down indefinitely with a shoulder injury.
On Tuesday, the right-hander said the shoulder trouble is behind him and he is healthy and ready to assume a full workload in 2025.
“I’m not worried at all,” Senga said through an interpreter at the Mets’ spring training complex Tuesday. “I just need to ramp up slowly and get through spring training healthy and get through the year healthy.”
Senga, 32, is entering the third year of a five-year, $75 million contract with the Mets after beginning his professional career in Japan. His 2023 rookie season was an unmitigated success: He posted a 2.98 ERA over 166 1/3 innings across 29 starts with a second-place finish in National League Rookie of the Year voting.
Last year, however, was very different.
Senga was sidelined with a shoulder capsule strain in mid-February and began the season on the 60-day injured list. Between the bothersome shoulder and pitching mechanics he deemed not up to par, Senga didn’t make his season debut until July 26.
He was electric in that season debut, posting nine strikeouts over 5 1/3 innings against the Atlanta Braves at Citi Field. Then he strained his calf on an infield popup and didn’t pitch again in the regular season as the Mets rebounded from a dreadful start to reach the postseason.
Senga returned for the playoffs, making two abbreviated starts and appearing out of the bullpen in another game. He allowed seven runs across five innings.
“I’m glad that I was able to play there,” Senga said. “I’m grateful that they called on me and I was able to get in there. It’s obviously something that the whole team looks forward and works toward for the entirety of the season. And I’m glad that I was also able to experience that.
“And now that I have experienced that, I can work toward that this year and again staying healthy is going to help me push the team to our ultimate goal.”
Reaching that goal, which would require surviving a loaded National League topped by the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers, would require a strong showing from a rotation that enters the season with questions.
Sean Manaea re-signed after a resurgent second half last season, but Luis Severino and Jose Quintana are gone. Clay Holmes, a converted closer, and Frankie Montas, who has a 4.43 ERA in 58 appearances over the last three seasons, were signed to replace them. David Peterson, Paul Blackburn, Griffin Canning, Tylor Megill and Senga round out the rotation depth.
The Mets could opt to at least begin the season with a six-man rotation, giving Senga the extra day of rest that is common in Japan.
“We have a lot of depth,” Senga said. “So, if a piece falls out, I know that there’s someone to cover and I hope that I can stay in there and stay healthy throughout the season.”
That began over the winter with an offseason that Senga described as “half rehab, half normal.” He said he felt healthy in October but pitching after so much time off was foreign to him.
His offseason, however, didn’t include recruiting Roki Sasaki, the 23-year-old star right-hander who chose to make the jump to the major leagues from Japan this winter. The Mets were one of eight teams that met with Sasaki in Los Angeles, but they weren’t one of the three finalists.
Sasaki, as widely predicted, signed with the Dodgers, joining fellow countrymen Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto on baseball’s most expensive roster. Sasaki and Senga share agents, but Senga said he did not speak to Sasaki during his recruitment process.
“Of course I would love to have some more on the Mets, but the weather — the climate’s nice [in Los Angeles],” Sasaki said. “And I think that definitely plays a part.”
Added Senga, with a laugh: “We need to build a roof.”
