Mets' Sean Manaea and Kodai Senga will bolster team's patchwork pitching staff
Kodai Senga of the Mets pitches during the first inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Citi Field on May 25. Credit: Jim McIsaac
One has to give the Mets a pretty high mark for creativity in the last handful of days.
From Wednesday to Sunday, they had to play six games in five days against playoff-contending opponents the Brewers and Yankees and do it with Sean Manaea, Kodai Senga, Griffin Canning, Tylor Megill and Paul Blackburn — a veritable starting rotation — all on the injured list.
They got pretty resourceful, too. They got a win in the nightcap of Wednesday’s doubleheader against Milwaukee using Huascar Brazoban as an opener and Blade Tidwell as a bulk guy. They got another Friday against the Yankees after giving career minor-leaguer Justin Hagenman his first start. And then they nearly beat the Yankees again Sunday by asking several non-starters, many new to the active roster, to give them an inning or two.
The good news for the Mets now is that the days of rotation improvisation should come to an end this week. The two pitchers at the top of the rotation on the preseason blueprint — Manaea and Senga — should return and make starts against the Royals in Kansas City before the All-Star break.
“Just to have those guys healthy is going to be huge — it’s almost like a trade-deadline acquisition,” Francisco Lindor said. “Those are two really good guys that that we definitely need and miss.
“That said, the guys here have done a fantastic job [in] the way they have maneuvered through lineups, the way they have stuck together,” he added. “That’s adversity. You know, whenever somebody goes down, somebody else has got to step up and get it done.”
The lefthanded Manaea has been out since he suffered a right oblique strain in spring training and also dealt with left elbow inflammation on his road back. He played a major role in the Mets’ run to the 2024 NL Championship Series, finished 12-6 with a 3.47 ERA and signed a three-year contract worth $75 million in the offseason. He is yet to pitch for the 2025 team.
The righthanded Senga pitched brilliantly in 13 starts this season, compiling a 7-3 record and going 73 2⁄3 innings with a terrific 1.47 ERA before injuring his right hamstring covering first base on a right-side ground ball June 12.
The lineup could also be getting a boost with the return of outfielder/DH Jesse Winker, who could see playing time in the series in Baltimore before the team goes to Kansas City. The lefty hitter was batting .239 with a home run and 10 RBIs in 24 games this season when he suffered an oblique strain and went on the injured list the first week of May.
“Getting those guys back is huge — they’re a big part of this team,” manager Carlos Mendoza said when asked about Senga and Manaea. “Since Day 1, we’ve been missing Sean. We saw what Kodai is capable of doing . . . And then Winker [and] that bat from the left side. It is exciting, but we have to get there.”
Senga threw 68 pitches in a minor-league rehab start for Double-A Binghamton and, if he continues to feel good, could start against the Royals on Friday or Saturday. That he might return this quickly is surprising for anyone who saw him rolling on the grass in foul territory after suffering the injury.
“When he went down, in my head it was more like ‘after the All-Star break,’ ” Mendoza said. “For him to be in play for us now, before we go into the All-Star break, it’s huge for us.”
Manaea is scheduled to pitch for Triple-A Syracuse on Tuesday, the sixth start of his rehab assignment. He threw 60 pitches in his fifth minor-league game on Wednesday for Binghamton, though it came after a delay. The week before, loose bodies were found in his elbow. He received a cortisone injection and was rested for 48-72 hours.
Though his numbers were not stellar last week, the important stuff was. As he put it, “I felt great, much better than the last time . . . and I was very encouraged.”
If everything goes well for Manaea after Tuesday, he could pitch Sunday in the final game before the break.
“Hopefully, he’s a player for us . . . on the next road trip, sometime in Kansas City,” Mendoza said. “He’s pitching Tuesday and we’ll see how he comes out of that one and then we have a decision there.”
The Mets could have a different and more formidable look when their second half begins on July 18 against the Reds at Citi Field. The starting rotation could be Senga, Manaea, David Peterson Clay Holmes and Frankie Montas.
Asked about the returns of Manaea and Senga, Pete Alonso said: “We have the utmost confidence in those guys when they have the rock in their hands. When those guys are healthy and pitching well, they could be as electric as anybody. So to have those guys back? it’s going to be really exciting.”
When asked about the team’s look in the second half, Alonso replied, “Being able to operate at full force is going to be really important for us coming down the stretch.”
Roger Rubin returned to Newsday in 2018 to write about high schools, colleges and baseball following 20 years at the Daily News. A Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2011, he has covered 13 MLB postseasons and 14 NCAA Final Fours.
