Kodai

Senga

Senga blanked the Giants over the first five innings, and then gave up a pair in the sixth to turn a dominant outing into a solid one. The 33-year-old generated a solid 12 swings and misses before leaving, and he allowed five hits and a pair of walks. Senga has looked the part in his first two starts, and he’ll get the A’s next Sunday.

The Cardinals went double, single, double to get to Senga in the third, but that was their only successful stretch. Senga averaged 97.4 mph with his fastball tonight, up 2.8 mph from last year, and got six strikeouts with the pitch. The other three came on his ghost forkball. He did finish with three walks, starting just 12 of the 25 hitters he faced with strikes, but with his stuff all of the way back to where it was in 2022, he has the ability to be one of this year’s biggest bargains. Senga is slated to make his next start Sunday against the Giants. If that happens, it’ll be just his fifth time pitching on four days’ rest for the Mets. He did it three times in 2023 and once last year.

Mendoza added that David Peterson will follow Opening Day starter Freddy Peralta before McLean gets the ball on Sunday against the Pirates at Citi Field. He’ll be followed by Clay Holmes and Kodai Senga with Sean Manaea being used in a piggyback role, as needed. The hard-throwing 24-year-old top pitching prospect will make his season debut with an extremely favorable matchup at home after a starring role in the World Baseball Classic earlier this month. He’s a top-25 range fantasy starter in remaining drafts.

The 33-year-old right-hander scattered three hits on the night while issuing one base on balls. At no point during the start did the Astros put multiple men on base against him. Senga got five swings and misses on 63 pitches in the contest — two on his forkball — while registering a CSW of 29 percent. His fastball velocity averaged 95.0 mph and touched as high as 97.3 mph. He finishes an impressive spring with a 1.86 ERA, 0.72 WHIP and an 11/1 K/BB ratio over 9 2/3 innings of work.

Senga continued to make a statement in this one, firing 28 of his 38 pitches for strikes while getting eight whiffs and posting a strong CSW of 34 percent. His strikeout victims were Connor Norby, Graham Pauley, Christopher Morel, Fenwick Trimble and Chase Jaworsky. Senga’s velocity was up again in this one, averaging 96.5 mph with his fastball (+1.8 mph). Through his first two Grapefruit League starts he holds a 3.18 ERA, 0.53 WHIP and a 7/0 K/BB ratio across 5 2/3 innings. If he keeps this up, he could have a return to fantasy relevance in 2026.

Senga gave up a couple of homers, though one of those was a 341-footer from Miguel Ugueto that wasn’t even a hard-hit ball. He allowed just one other hit, walked none and struck out two. He topped out at 98.9 mph, and his 18 fastballs averaged 96.7 mph, which is two mph better than last year. Obviously, that’s pretty encouraging. The league hit .273 and slugged .530 against Senga’s fastball when he averaged 94.7 mph last year. When he averaged 95.7 mph as an MLB rookie in 2023, the league hit .243 and slugged .397 against the pitch.

Stearns noted that Senga has had a really strong offseason, is in great shape and will be ready to roll once spring training begins. The 32-year-old right-hander made 22 starts for the Mets in 2025, posting a 3.02 ERA, 1.32 WHIP and a 109/55 K/BB ratio over 113 1/3 innings before being optioned to Triple-A Syracuse in early September. It sounds like the Mets are confident that he’ll overcome his second-half struggles to be an asset in 2026.

David Peterson, Nolan McLean, Clay Holmes, Kodai Senga and Sean Manaea would seem to be the Mets’ rotation for the moment, with prospects Jonah Tong, Christian Scott, Brandon Sproat and journeyman Cooper Criswell in reserve. Depth is nice, but getting a true upgrade is going to be expensive. It’s already possible that one or two of those prospects are better than the team’s veterans.

Sammon adds that the Mets might still trade him prior to next season since his contract only includes a limited 10-team no-trade clause. The soon-to-be 33-year-old righty — owed $28 million over the next two years with a club option for 2028 — profiles as an intriguing fallback option for clubs unwilling to meet the astronomical asking prices at the top of the free-agent starter market. Durability has been an issue since his arrival in the majors, with injuries holding him to just 52 starts across the last three seasons, but he’s been highly effective when available, posting a strong 3.00 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 320/133 K/BB ratio over 285 innings during that span. New York still lacks a true front-of-the-rotation stabilizer, but they’re overflowing with depth heading into 2026, with top prospects Nolan McLean, Jonah Tong and Brandon Sproat supplementing veterans Clay Holmes, Sean Manaea and David Peterson. And if the Mets manage to land a certifiable ace via free agency or trade, Senga suddenly becomes far more likely to continue his career elsewhere.

Sammon makes it clear that the Mets have not stated a desire to trade Senga, but they are willing to listen to trade offers for him. The 32-year-old is only owed $28 million over the next two seasons, which is a reasonable amount for a pitcher with his raw stuff, but he has also dealt with injuries and mechanical concerns over the last couple of seasons. That could be a reason for the Mets to move on, but it could also dampen his value on the market. Of note is that “Senga moved from a full no-trade clause to a limited one this winter, in which he can block trades to 10 franchises.” This appears to be a situation to monitor this off-season.