CINCINNATI -- An injury to Christian Scott has opened the door for Kodai Senga, once again, to prove himself in the Mets’ rotation.
The team on Monday placed Scott on the 15-day injured list with a right hip impingement, with plans to activate Senga on Tuesday to take his place. Senga, who has been on the IL since April 28 due to both lumbar spine inflammation and ulnar nerve irritation, was originally scheduled to make another Minor League rehab start this week, before Scott’s injury changed the equation.
“He’s ready to go,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “He’s telling us that he feels 100 percent. He was on board with, ‘Hey, if you guys want me to go in the Minor Leagues and pitch again, I’ll do it. But I’m ready to compete at the big league level.’ So for him to be very vocal about it, it’s a really good sign.”
That hasn’t always been the case for Senga, who has missed time over the past three seasons due to shoulder, calf, hamstring and back injuries. On multiple occasions, Senga asked for additional rehab time when he felt his mechanics weren’t in line. But he looked sharp in his most recent appearance last Thursday with Double-A Binghamton, allowing just one hit over six innings while sitting in the low-90s. One scout in attendance lauded the quality of his signature ghost fork.
“We’ve been saying we want to see results, which we had in his last outing,” Mendoza said.
Given the continuing uncertainty in New York’s rotation, Senga could easily stick there if he succeeds against the Reds. He has had a highly inconsistent career since signing a five-year, $75 million contract with the Mets prior to the 2023 season. An All-Star that summer, Senga has since gone 8-10 with a 3.89 ERA, flashing his old form at times while struggling at others.
As for Scott, the right-hander began feeling hip discomfort following his last outing against the Cardinals, but he didn’t think much of it until the soreness lingered into his routine between-starts bullpen session. The Mets sent Scott on Sunday for an MRI, which revealed an impingement. He received a cortisone injection and was already feeling better by Monday afternoon, leading to optimism that he will only need a minimum IL stint. Scott is eligible to return on June 27.
Right now, the only entrenched members of New York’s rotation are Nolan McLean and Freddy Peralta, though Sean Manaea has also pitched well enough to receive another opportunity this week. Senga will take one of the remaining two spots, and the Mets are at least temporarily filling the final vacancy with Tobias Myers, who started Monday.
Myers is not stretched out enough to deliver full starts at this point, and it remains to be seen if team officials will stretch him out on the fly or limit him to shorter stints, perhaps piggybacking him with David Peterson.
“We haven’t gotten that far,” Mendoza said.
Before Monday’s game, the Mets recalled Myers and reliever Jonathan Pintaro, who came up as a fresh arm to replace Daniel Duarte. The team will have to make another move on Tuesday to activate Senga.