Kodai Senga made his third rehab start yesterday — his second with Triple-A Syracuse — and threw 4 2/3 innings of one-run ball while throwing 67 pitches. The manager Carlos Mendoza told the Mets yesterday that Senga's next steps are “TBD” (X link via MLB.com's Anthony DiComo), but the righty is on the road to a major league comeback in some form. In particular, Senga would need to be reassessed, although Mendoza's comments leave the door open for the right-hander's next outing to reach the big league level. Newsday's Tim Healey tweeted before Senga's exit that the Mets wanted a right-hander who could throw 75 to 80 pitches before starting him.
Senga's impending return is an obvious benefit of the Mets' turnaround that has gone so well over the past month. Going back to June 15, Mets starters have a 3.62 ERA that is tied for seventh in the majors against Kansas City. Veteran lefty Jose Quintana (2.00 ERA) and Sean Manaea (2.05) have been outstanding over the past 30 days, as has the southpaw David Peterson (2.33). Luis Severino Not nearly as sharp but he was the Mets' best starter of the season overall, sitting at a 3.78 ERA in a team-leading 109 2/3 innings. High hopes Christian Scott is getting another look in the big leagues and so far has a 4.36 ERA in 43 1/3 innings.
Adding Senga to that mix would deepen the team and raise its ceiling significantly. The 2023 NL Rookie of the Year runner-up had a 2.98 ERA and a 29.1% strikeout rate in 29 starts last season (166 1/3 innings). A healthy Senga would slot into the Mets' postseason rotation — possibly starting Game 1 if he had the luxury of qualifying early enough to line up the rotation. Joel Sherman of the New York Post wrote that the Mets plan to rotate six people when Senga is ready to return.
A view from an outsider Star Marte it's not nearly as good. The 35-year-old veteran has been out since June 22 with a bone bruise in his knee, and Mendoza admitted just yesterday that Marte's recovery has been slower than expected (X link via DiComo). The Mets are “not sure when he'll be back,” according to Mendoza, who noted that Marte has not resumed baseball activities and is not expected to do so anytime soon.
Before his injury, Marte was in the midst of a strong comeback campaign. He posted a career-worst .248/.301/324 batting line in 2023 — the second season of a four-year, $78MM contract — but slashed .278/.328/.416 in 66 games/266 plate appearances over two months of the current campaign. Marte's seven home runs prior to his current IL outing were more than the five homers he hit in a large sample of 86 games and 341 plate appearances last year.
Both Brandon Nimmo again Harrison Bader they used to play outside, and in Marte's absence, New York provided more outside representatives Jeff McNeil. Joined by Tyrone Taylor, DJ Stewart again Ben Gamel – the last replacement in recent games since leaving Syracuse (12 plate appearances in nine games).
Depending on how much time Marte is expected to miss, adding a bat to that pitching mix would be smart for a Mets club that has played its way back into Wild Card contention. None of McNeil, Stewart, Taylor or Gamel has been a middle hitter in 2024.
Still, the Mets remain focused on bullpen relief for now, in both Sherman and fellow pitcher Jon Heyman. The Mets already added one arm to the bullpen when the righty was successfully acquired Phil Maton from the Rays last week, but other moves to deal with the support team will probably be on the horizon, barring a catastrophic loss that will face the team's qualification hurdles.
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