Senga has swung from starter to reliever ... So what's the bigger plan?

ATLANTA -- This was not exactly what the Mets had in mind for Kodai Senga heading into the season. When the Truist Park bullpen door swung open in the sixth inning Friday and Senga came jogging through, it represented the sum of nearly three years of false starts and frustrations for the Mets’ $75 million starter.

Perhaps this, however, is how the Mets will get Senga right. Since moving into a bullpen role last week, Senga has allowed three runs over 7 2/3 innings -- all of them on homers by two of the league’s top sluggers, Kyle Schwarber and Matt Olson. Otherwise, Senga has looked far better than he did as a starter, with eight strikeouts against one walk. Though he took the loss last weekend against the Phillies, Mets officials lauded his performance outside of Schwarber’s home run.

On Friday in Atlanta, Senga hit 98.5 mph on the radar gun while mowing down just about everyone but Olson in a 5-3 loss to the Braves.

“He’s been throwing the ball really, really well,” interim manager Andy Green said. “I know he’s given up a couple home runs, but honestly, I think you have to like the look of it.”

Despite Juan Soto’s best efforts (he homered again), by the time Senga took the mound on Friday, the Braves held a two-run lead. Tasked with keeping things there, Senga mostly looked sharp, relying heavily on his fastball to set up his signature ghost fork. Only when he strayed from that formula, throwing a loopy cutter to Olson and a hanging sweeper to Michael Harris II, did Senga suffer damage.

That has been a trend for Senga, who tends to struggle when relying on anything other than his four-seamer and ghost fork. Entering Friday’s play, opposing hitters were slugging .630 off Senga’s cutter (a number that increased after Olson’s homer) and .889 off his sweeper, the third and fourth options in his arsenal. Stuff+, a metric that measures a pitcher’s effectiveness compared to his MLB peers, rates Senga’s forkball well above average and his fastball roughly average. Everything else grades out well below the mean.

Aware of this, team officials have communicated their desire for Senga to stick to a narrower pitch tree. Sometimes, he has complied. Other times, he has not, citing the difficulty of navigating Major League lineups with only two pitches. Asked about that after Friday’s appearance, Senga said through interpreter Hiro Fujiwara that things have recently become “more simple out there on the mound” for him.

“Previously, I felt like I had to make the perfect pitch to get guys out,” Senga added. “But I know that it doesn’t have to be perfect. Hitters are going to make mistakes just like pitchers are going to make mistakes. I don’t have to throw every pitch precisely and perfectly. [I’m] going out there and just giving it what I’ve got.”

It remains unclear what will happen next with Senga, who had been an option to fill the Mets’ rotation opening next Tuesday. Because he threw only 44 pitches against the Braves, Senga should be available at least for bulk relief innings in that game, though he likely won’t start. At the least, Senga has reinserted himself into the conversation for a Mets team starving for reliable pitching.

Consider Sean Manaea, another Mets starter-turned-reliever who found himself stuck in the bullpen for much of the early season. Given the Mets’ lack of alternatives, the Mets kept giving Manaea opportunities until he proved to be one of their five best starting options again. He’s now back in the rotation with a real chance to stick there for the rest of the season.

Senga isn’t quite there yet, but with two solid relief appearances under his belt, he’s at least on his way. He says he feels freer on the mound and is having fun again. He’s doing his best to simplify the game.

Team officials are taking note. Even in the bullpen, continued progress from Senga would be a boon for the Mets, who are still wedded to him for another year and $15 million after this season.

“I’ve started some games this year and haven’t operated well as a starter,” Senga said. “So it doesn’t matter if I start or if I’m throwing in the second, third, eighth, ninth, whatever inning it is. When I’m given the ball, I’m just going to continue to do what I can and perform.”