Rocked in minors, Senga feels unready to return

NEW YORK -- When New York Mets right-hander Kodai Senga agreed to beryllium optioned to Triple-A earlier this period to enactment connected his mechanics, the perfect script was that helium would rejoin the nine soon aft helium was eligible to instrumentality connected Sept. 20. But that isn't happening.

Senga told nine officials connected a telephone Friday that, contempt being healthy, helium is not acceptable to transportation astatine the large league level aft surrendering 4 runs implicit 3⅔ innings for Triple-A Syracuse connected Thursday. With the insignificant league play concluding Sunday, the program alternatively is to person Senga look hitters successful a simulated mounting adjacent Tuesday oregon Wednesday.

Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said the squad is determining wherever that volition instrumentality place, due to the fact that Senga is not allowed to beryllium with the large league squad portion optioned.

Senga's archetypal commencement since volunteering for the demotion was encouraging: Six innings, 3 hits, 1 tally and 8 strikeouts to nary walks. But Thursday's commencement represented a important regression for the reset.

"Stuff wise, [he] was down," Mendoza said of Senga's outing connected Thursday. "Whether it was the velo, execution, the secondary pitches were not sharp. So that's the study that I got. And then, watching film, you could spot it. And that's astir apt 1 of the reasons he's asking for 1 much clip to look hitters, conscionable to benignant of proceed to enactment done those issues. So that's what we saw."

This isn't the archetypal clip a steadfast Senga, 32, has informed the Mets that helium is not comfy pitching successful large league games portion healthy. Last season, Senga cited mechanical problems aggregate times arsenic the crushed for delaying his play debut until precocious July aft a enarthrosis wounded had healed. He past strained his near calf successful his archetypal commencement and didn't transportation successful the regular play again.

This year, Senga was 1 of the champion pitchers successful the majors until helium strained his hamstring connected June 12. He landed connected the injured database with a 1.47 ERA successful 73⅔ innings crossed 13 starts. The Mets had the champion grounds successful the majors. Then helium missed astir a period and returned to flip 4 scoreless innings connected July 11. From there, Senga recorded a 6.56 ERA successful 35⅔ innings crossed 8 starts. He pitched into the sixth inning erstwhile and completed 5 innings 3 times. The Mets, coincidentally, floundered.

With the Mets nary longer capable to spend short, ineffective starts arsenic they dropped successful the standings, they asked Senga to spell to Triple-A. All along, helium has told the Mets helium is healthy. The struggles proceed to perplex the team.

"We're asking the aforesaid thing," Mendoza said erstwhile asked wherefore Senga hasn't returned to his early-season form. "Health-wise, he's 100% fine. There's nary issues with him. He's not favoring anything. We conscionable haven't been capable to assistance him, whether it's mechanicals oregon execution, immoderate the lawsuit mightiness beryllium here. But we haven't gotten determination yet. So this is wherever we're at. But physically he's fine."

Senga's troubles combined with Sean Manaea's ineffectiveness and injuries to different starting pitchers person forced the Mets to thrust 3 rookies -- Nolan McLean, Jonah Tong and Brandon Sproat -- into the rotation successful the vigor of a playoff race.

McLean was called up archetypal to marque his large league debut connected Aug. 16. Tong followed, and past Sproat. McLean has shined successful six starts, registering a 1.19 ERA with 40 strikeouts implicit 37⅔ innings, and is expected to commencement successful the three-game wild-card bid should the Mets scope the postseason. Tong and Sproat's roles are little certain.

Senga's presumption is adjacent much unclear. Mendoza said Senga could "maybe" beryllium successful information to instrumentality to transportation successful the Mets' season-ending bid against the Miami Marlins, but that wo...