NEW YORK — For Mets starter Kodai Senga, it’s been a tale of two seasons: Pre- and post-hamstring injury.
Before injuring his hamstring attempting to make a play at first base against the Washington Nationals on Jun. 12, Senga pitched like an ace. He allowed 12 earned runs in 73 2/3 innings, a 1.47 ERA, with 70 strikeouts and four home runs allowed.
Since then, Senga has been abysmal. Including Sunday’s 5-1 loss to the Miami Marlins, where he allowed five runs in 4 2/3 innings, Senga has a 5.90 ERA with 39 strikeouts and eight home runs allowed in his last nine starts.
With the postseason nearing, how much longer can the Mets afford to ride with Senga?
“We’ve got to get him right, obviously,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said after the game. “I’m pretty sure we’re going to have some discussions (about) what’s next for him, but our job is to get him right. It’s been a struggle.”
It’s difficult to pinpoint what exactly is ailing the right-hander.
Before Sunday’s game, Mendoza said that Senga was “physically fine.” He also revealed that in conversations with pitching coach Jeremy Hefner, Senga has voiced that he “doesn’t feel his lower half the way he used to.”
After the game, Senga confirmed this, saying, “There are some parts of my body that aren’t moving the way I want it to.”
“At the same time, I’m out there and I’m competing,” Senga continued. “So it’s a fine line, and it’s tough for me because I’m out there, but I’m not able to perform.”
What the Mets do know is that Senga is running out of time to figure things out, and there’s an eager young prospect waiting for an opportunity to prove he’s worthy of a spot in the rotation: Brandon Sproat, the Mets’ No. 5 prospect (MLB Pipeline).
The Mets’ message to the young starter after he tossed seven scoreless innings with nine strikeouts against Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (Yankees): “We’re watching.”
“Yeah, look, it was good to see him throw the ball the way he did yesterday,” Mendoza said. “I think it was one of those where it’s like, ‘All right, here I am too.’”
After getting off to a rocky start in Triple-A this season, posting a 5.95 ERA in his first 15 starts, Sproat has settled back into one of the more exciting prospects in the Mets’ system. He’s allowed 16 earned runs in 59 innings, a 2.44 ERA, in 11 starts since then.
The Mets have seen two other top pitching prospects, Nolan McLean and Jonah Tong, energize the team in their combined four starts. Why not give another kid a chance?
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Manny Gómez may be reached at [email protected].
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