Challenges for the Mets’ Rotation

The Mets are dealing with a slew of injuries, but one pitcher remains absent from the lineup.

Let’s take a look at the current starting pitching situation. The team has four key players vying for roles. David Peterson seems trapped in a sort of limbo regarding his position. Then there’s Sean Manaea, and if things go well, we might see Tobias Myers. Christian Scott has recently been brought on board. Jonah Tong appears to be finding his groove at Triple-A Syracuse, where misses are quite common.

In terms of depth, the Mets are not lacking, although they do face significant hurdles in maximizing the potential of their pitching talent.

This makes it crucial for Kodai Senga to quickly come to terms with his capabilities.

For Chiga, the organization is offering a fresh start along with a few days of rest. However, manager Carlos Mendoza hasn’t given any solid commitments following what happened last time.

April 26 is shaping up to be a pivotal moment for Chiga, as he’s set to pitch in the second game of a doubleheader against the Rockies at Citi Field.

After losing 13 of their last 15 games, the Mets can’t afford to keep relying on Chiga if his struggles persist.

This season began with high hopes—two strong outings suggested improvement—but things quickly took a turn. In his last two starts, Chiga surrendered 13 earned runs over 5 ⅓ innings.

“There have been glimpses of what he can do. Consistency, however, has been hard to find,” said David Stearns, the President of Baseball Operations, on Friday. “We’re leaning on him to maintain his rhythm, but we definitely need more reliability.”

Those glimpses included a promising season opener against the Cardinals, where he allowed only two runs in six innings and struck out nine batters.

There are moments when he looks like he could become an All-Star candidate in 2023; despite his current form not being stellar, there’s still room for optimism.

Senga is making strides himself.

His four-seamer clocked in at an average of 95.7 mph when he had a sub-3 ERA in 2023, down slightly from 94.7 mph last season.

He has made four starts this year, consistently pitching at about 96.3 mph.

Currently, he has an 8.83 ERA but an expected ERA of 3.92.

Surprisingly, despite his numbers, he isn’t entirely outmatched on the mound.

The concerning part, though, is Chiga’s recent issues with command and his apparent difficulties in overcoming challenges.

In two rough outings against the Athletics and Cubs, Senga issued five walks over 5 ⅔ innings.

The situation was aggravated by subpar defensive support from the Chicago team, which may have contributed to his struggles.

When there are runners in scoring positions, opposing hitters have a .333 batting average and an OPS of 1.176 against him.

Now, some of this could be chalked up to misfortune.

But then again, some of this falls directly on Chiga himself.

“I’m not getting forward, I’m not getting first-pitch strikes, and I’m missing counts against batters,” he shared through an interpreter at Wrigley Field last week. “It’s a troubling sign, but I’m not too far from fixing it either.”

The Mets remain hopeful that he can turn things around—otherwise, there might have been plans to start Manaea or bring up Myers or Tong instead.

Sunday looms large for both the Mets and the pitcher who is signed for $15 million this year and the next.

“He’s very detail-oriented about his work and mechanics,” Mendoza noted. “However, he needs to deliver when it counts.”