Pitcher Kodai Senga hopes to pitch in a minor league game next week.
The Mets right-hander expects to face batters in batting practice on Thursday and then, if all goes well, be ready to take the final big step in his rehab by pitching in a minor league game.
“Everything’s feeling really good, so I don’t think there’ll be any issues,” Senga said through an interpreter before the Mets’ 9-7 win over the Yankees on Tuesday at Citi Field.
Senga faced batters on Sunday for the first time since suffering a right shoulder rehabilitation setback last month.
Asked about the possibility of needing to make five or six minor league starts to prepare for his season debut with the Mets, Senga said he hopes those numbers will be fewer and he’ll be able to contribute to the team sooner.
“It really depends on how my body feels,” Senga said.
According to manager Carlos Mendoza, Sean Reed-Foley underwent an MRI which revealed he has a compression fracture in his right shoulder.
The right-hander will receive the injection and is expected to resume pitching within the next few days.
With veteran outfielder Starling Marte placed on the disabled list with a bone bruise in his right knee, Ben Gamel was designated for assignment from Triple-A Syracuse to take Marte’s roster spot.
Gamel, a former Yankees player, will add another left-handed hitter to the team.
Gamel reflected on his time in the 2016 Subway Series, where he sacrificed bunt in his only at-bat.
He said one of the reasons he signed with the Mets in the offseason was because of his relationship with Mendoza, who managed him during his first full season in the Yankees’ minor league system in 2012.
The Mets released a video tribute in memory of Willie Mays, who died last week at age 93.
Mays’ son, Michael, is scheduled to throw out the ceremonial first pitch before Wednesday’s game at Citi Field.
Willie Mays played for the Mets from 1972-1973 and had his number 24 retired by the team two years earlier, fulfilling a promise made to the Hall of Famer by former Mets owner Joan Whitney Payson.
