Senga continues strong spring, making case for spot in Mets' Opening Day rotation

When a 21-35 finish to the 2025 season knocked the Mets out of the playoffs, the club's starting pitching was one culprit. The team's rotation ranked 18th in the Majors in ERA (4.13), including 27th after the All-Star break (5.31).

They’ve made moves to help remedy that in 2026, such as trading for former Brewers ace Freddy Peralta and slotting standout Nolan McLean into the rotation from the outset of the season.

One X-factor to getting back on track? Seeing a resurgence from right-hander Kodai Senga, who has started to look more like the 2023 All-Star version of himself during 2026 Spring Training

Senga had another dazzling performance on Thursday in a 6-2 over the Astros. With most of Houston’s starters in the lineup, Senga twirled four scoreless innings, striking out four while allowing three hits and a walk.

That dropped his spring ERA to 1.86 in three starts, striking out 11 in 9 2/3 total innings. Opponents are hitting just .176 off of him in camp. Thursday’s outing followed up a perfect three innings against the Marlins on March 13.

The best news for Mets faithful is that he’s running back up to the high 90s on his four-seam fastball. Though he’s averaging 94.7 mph on the pitch in spring -- the same as his 2025 mark -- he topped out at 98.9 in his March 7 start against the Cardinals, a number he hadn’t hit in the regular season since Aug. 13, 2023.

Senga sat 95 mph on Thursday and touched 97.3 mph on the four-seamer.

“Last year, he was pretty good, but we didn’t see this type of version here where there’s velo, there’s attack, there’s movement,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said earlier in spring. “There’s a lot of positives going on there.”

Senga is entering his age-33 season in 2026, his fourth in MLB since coming over from Nippon Professional Baseball’s Fukuoka Softbank Hawks. Senga signed a five-year, $75 million deal with the Mets. At times, his performance has exceeded that number. At others, it’s fallen well short.

Senga’s All-Star season in 2023 saw a 2.98 ERA and a strong 29.1% strikeout rate (on a 29.7% whiff rate) to combat his high career walk rate of 11.1%.

2024 was lost to injuries, but 2025 looked like Senga was back -- at least for a while. He had a 1.47 ERA in 13 starts with a 24% strikeout rate before straining his right hamstring while covering first base on June 12. He leaped for a high throw from Pete Alonso and exited the game immediately afterward.

After a stint on the injured list, Senga closed his time in the big leagues with a 5.90 ERA over nine starts in July and August, striking out opponents far less, still issuing walks and allowing much better contact.

It led to a September stint in the Minor Leagues from which he never returned.

However, this spring is shaking those trends. Senga is getting his mechanics back and is making his case to start 2026 in the Mets’ rotation, which seems likely to begin the year with six starters.

“I’m healthy,” Senga said through an interpreter, “and I think that’s the most important thing.”