Mets move Kodai Senga out of the starting rotation and into their bullpen

On a team starving for rotation help, the Mets announced Wednesday morning that Kodai Senga will now pitch out of the bullpen going forward.

The decision itself was not surprising, as Senga has been non-competitive, going 0-6 with a 10.08 ERA in seven starts this season. That includes 0-2 with a 12.91 ERA since returning from a back injury this month. On Tuesday night, Senga lit the fuse early in a 9-6 loss to the Cubs, blowing up for five runs in the second inning.

Still, the admission was stunning in the sense that the Mets struggle to fill out their rotation on a day-to-day basis, with an ever-shrinking list of viable candidates, and yet came to the conclusion Senga could not be given another chance for a starting staff with the fourth-worst ERA (4.87) in the majors.

“He understands where we are as a team,” manager Carlos Mendoza said Wednesday morning. “He knows that he hasn’t been at his best. He’s been dealing with injuries and all that, but he knows he’s more than capable to continue to help the team win baseball games.”

That’s debatable. A demotion to the bullpen, in what figures to be a mop-up role, is the last stop for an irreparable starter. Senga wasn’t sent there to help the Mets -- he’s being stashed in a less damaging role as they figure out what to do with him down the road.

Senga is earning $15 million this season and is due another $15 million in 2027, the final year of his five-year, $75 million contract. Combined with his poor performance, Senga is a roster nightmare, begging the question of how long the Mets can afford to keep him around.

Last season, Senga agreed to be sent to the minors to work out his issues, but it’s unclear if he would do so again. When the Mets were at a similar crossroads with the ineffective Senga back in April, he landed on the IL with what the team described as “lumbar spine inflammation.” Senga’s return also was delayed by an ulnar nerve irritation in his right forearm, but he’s supposedly healthy now and the results have been disastrous.

On Wednesday, Senga opened with a perfect first inning, striking out two with a fastball in the upper 90s, including a 99-mph heater that whiffed Cubs leadoff hitter Pete Crow-Armstrong. When Senga returned for the second inning, however, he switched up his plan of attack and immediately spiraled.

He loaded the bases with none out on a walk, single and hit batter before forcing in the first run with another walk. Dansby Swanson followed with a sacrifice fly before PCA hammered a 1-0 fastball for a three-run homer that put the Mets in an all-too-familiar 5-0 hole.

“We’ve seen flashes of it,” Mendoza said. “But then you see the next inning and he’s throwing sinkers, cutters. I think maybe out of this [bullpen] role you simplify and just say, 'hey man, throw your best pitches in the strike zone. You’re pretty good when you do that.' Our job is to help him. He’s talented, so trying to get the best out of him in this role.”