For the first time in about six weeks, Kodai Senga took to the mound and showed some powerful pitching.
The first signs of a potential late-season weapon, regardless of how he's used, came on Wednesday when the right-hander looked strong, throwing 25 pitches in a bullpen session, Carlos Mendoza reported.
“The way the ball came out [was encouraging]”It was good to see him in uniform and out in practice. It was a good step today,” the Mets manager said before wrapping up the series against the Red Sox at Citi Field.
The next step for Senga, who missed his only appearance of the season on July 26 with a severe calf injury, will likely be to work more in the bullpen. There isn't enough time in the regular season for Senga to be an option for six or seven innings late in games.
Senga has plenty of time to pitch three or four innings early in the game, a possibility that president of baseball operations David Stearns hinted at this week.
“I think the first step is to get him on the mound and get him healthy enough to compete at the major league level,” Stearns said. “Then we'll work on that role, whether that's in the bullpen, starting or maybe the early innings of a game.”
Senga said he believes he can contribute immediately when he is eligible to return from the 60-day injured list on Sept. 25.
On that day, the Mets will be in the middle of what is expected to be their biggest series of the season, a three-game series in Atlanta, with five games remaining in the regular season.
As of now, the Mets have three reliable starters in Sean Manaea, Luis Severino and David Peterson, along with the up-and-down Jose Quintana, the returning Paul Blackburn and Tyler Megill who has filled Blackburn's void in the rotation.
It's possible that the Mets could try Senga as a starter for a few innings in the final week of the season, then have Blackburn handle the middle innings.
As of now, Blackburn is expected to return to the starting rotation for the series at Toronto starting Monday. After missing time with a bruised right hand, the right-hander allowed just one run over 6 2/3 innings at Triple-A Syracuse on Tuesday.
Blackburn has been impressive in three games since joining at the trade deadline but struggled in two, and he doesn't have the upside of Senga, who is looking to help the team come the end of a lost season.
The 31-year-old, who finished seventh in NL Cy Young Award voting and second in NL Rookie of the Year voting last season, has had setback after setback in his second season with the Mets.
First, he suffered a right shoulder capsule injury during spring training that meant he would miss the start of the season, then a series of complications during his rehabilitation left him feeling unsure of his movement and fearful of further injury, which delayed his season debut.
After four rehab appearances, Senga returned to a major league mound on July 26 and held the Braves to just two runs in 5 1/3 innings while striking out nine, but he sustained the injury chasing a pop fly and collapsed in pain in what was initially thought to be his season end.
After weeks of not being able to stand up and throw, Senga began training and made some big strides on Wednesday.
The Mets want to see how much he can contribute and in what role.
“If we [role] “I'm really happy to be able to make these decisions,” Stearns said.
