Mets' Kodai Senga absent from workout with 'arm fatigue'
Instead of playing catch and participating in fielding drills, Kodai Senga was checked out by the Mets’ athletic training staff. Credit: Newsday/Alejandra Villa Loarca
UPDATE: Kodai Senga has been shut down with a shoulder strain
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Kodai Senga missed the Mets’ workout Wednesday because of what manager Carlos Mendoza described as “overall arm fatigue.”
Instead of playing catch and participating in fielding drills, Senga remained indoors, getting checked out by the Mets’ athletic training staff.
Mendoza said he did not know if Senga would get an MRI.
“After his side session yesterday, he came in and experienced some arm fatigue,” Mendoza said. “So he stayed inside and we’re taking a look at him.”
Senga, 31, entered spring training last week atop the Mets’ starting pitcher depth chart, poised to lead the rotation in his second season in the majors. As a rookie last year, he had a 2.98 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and 202 strikeouts in 166 1/3 innings, excelling as the Mets arranged their schedule around almost always giving him extra rest.
If needed, the Mets have lots of starter depth lined up on the 40-man roster, including a quartet with major-league experience: Tylor Megill, Joey Lucchesi, Jose Butto and Max Kranick.
“We’ve been talking about depth, right?” Mendoza said on that subject, before the Senga reveal. “(The backups) know where they’re at coming into camp. But the biggest thing is they’re getting ready for the season. A lot can happen throughout the next six weeks or the next (six) months. We’re going to need a lot of them to get through 162-plus.”
Kranick, an offseason waiver claim from the Pirates, said: “I’m looking forward to the challenge. There’s definitely depth here. I just want to get back up there (to the majors) and show them I’m there to stay. It’s not just, hey, you can throw some innings here and there.”
Guests of honor
The Mets will host three of their former greats as guest instructors in the next few weeks, Mendoza said: Carlos Beltran, Darryl Strawberry and Edgardo Alfonzo.
“We want these guys around,” Mendoza said. “They bring a lot to the table, what they mean to the organization. These guys performed here at the highest level and have success. To have them around and share some of the experiences they had in New York with some of the players is huge.”
Beltran is the only one of the above with a formal role with the Mets. He is entering his second season as a special assistant to the head of baseball operations, now David Stearns. They plan to have him spend time around the major-league team and the farm system this year.
Mendoza and Beltran know each other from their shared time with the Yankees.
“I’ve learned a lot from him,” Mendoza said. “Smart guy. His career speaks for itself. I’m excited to have him and have those conversations with him.”
Extra bases
Megill will start the Mets’ exhibition opener Saturday against the Cardinals . . . Mendoza deftly avoided the fray surrounding MLB’s new Nike-designed, Fanatics-manufactured jerseys, the quality of which has left something to be desired among players. “They’re big-league uniforms, right?” Mendoza said. “Every time you get an opportunity to put on a big-league uniform is a blessing.”
Tim Healey is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. Born on Long Island and raised in Connecticut, Tim has previously worked for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, the Boston Globe and MLB.com. He is also the author of “Hometown Hardball,” a book about minor league baseball in the northeast.
