WASHINGTON -- At some point Sunday, Kodai Senga will take the mound for his final appearance in 2026. Then it will be onto the offseason and an uncertain future.
For the past two months, the Mets have experimented with Senga as a leverage reliever -- an experiment that largely has gone well, with Senga producing a 3.78 ERA and striking out 22 batters over 16 2/3 innings in that role. Closer Devin Williams recently described Senga as a pitcher who’s “punching tickets, throwing 100 with a nasty forkball.”
“What else do you want?” Williams concluded.
Well, a different role, for starters. Through it all, Senga has “been really good expressing to us that his passion resides in the rotation,” as manager Andy Green put it. That’s something Mets officials intend to take into account as they draw up their 2027 roster plans.
But ultimately, the decision resides with the team, not the player. Given how many young starters have emerged for the Mets this season, Senga is highly unlikely to report to Spring Training as one of the team’s top five starters. The Mets’ rotation should include some combination of Nolan McLean, Christian Scott, Zac Thornton, Jonah Tong, Sean Manaea and/or one or more external additions.
While the Mets could decide that Senga is more valuable to them as a rotation depth piece than as a one-inning reliever, that decision could require him to consent to more time at Triple-A Syracuse -- something Senga may not be willing to do. Or, the Mets could keep Senga in the bullpen, hoping he can become a dynamic bridge to Williams, who’s under contract for two more seasons.
“I’d love to have him in the back end,” Williams said recently. “I can’t really speak to what he wants, but I think if he was in the bullpen, he would be a great high-leverage arm to have.”
Whenever Senga is asked about his role, he says that he signed as a starting pitcher and wants to be a starter. Green has frequently referenced Senga’s rookie season in 2023, when he pitched to a 2.98 ERA, made the National League All-Star team and, in his manager’s words, proved “unlike anybody else from a production standpoint that we have.”
“I’d love to see him recapture some of that,” Green said.
As a reliever, though, Senga has finally developed into the type of pitcher Mets coaches have long implored him to be. Since moving to the bullpen full-time at the start of August, Senga’s four-seam fastball and forkball usage has spiked, while his reliance on his five other pitches -- all of which rank well below-average in terms of the Stuff+ metric -- has dropped.
“We have an idea of how he fits in a ‘pen now, which is really, really helpful,” Green said. “We don’t know the depth of our rotation going into ’27 right now. There’s a free agency period. There’s a lot of uncertainty that could unfold over the offseason. He’ll fit in a spot that he fits the best for us, because that’s how we should move forward at this point in time.”
It’s also likely that the trade rumors that followed Senga last offseason resurface this winter. Senga is a more tradeable asset now, given both his bullpen success and the fact that he has just one year and $15 million remaining on his contract. From a cost-production standpoint, he may have more value than at any point since early 2024.
“What position I pitch in or what team I pitch in, I can’t decide that,” Senga said through an interpreter. “That’s beyond my control. So that’s completely outside my process in the offseason, or in-season too. What it comes down to is, how can I optimize my performance? I feel that if I can be the best version of myself, I can succeed in any role.”
Once the offseason hits, Senga intends to go back to Japan and work with his personal pitching instructor, looking to “reeducate myself on how the body moves and how my body in specific is supposed to move.” He still believes his 2023 All-Star form is inside of him.
But it’s entirely possible the Mets have run out of patience with Senga as a starter, regardless of his personal beliefs.
“Nothing has changed in my mindset,” Senga said. “Just to be in position to pitch in the big leagues is a feat in itself. So being a reliever, every day is tough. Every day, you have to prepare. Every day, you have to be ready to pitch, and that’s different. It’s very tough. This league is just so competitive, so that’s first and foremost. But in terms of the mindset or preference, nothing has changed.”