Mets’ Kodai Senga solid in first Grapefruit League outing of spring

Kodai Senga has been as visible as a ghost over the past two seasons. Saturday in Jupiter, the Mets’ right-handed starter took the mound in a spring start that was far more normal than paranormal.

Facing the St. Louis Cardinals in his first Grapefruit League game of the year, Senga allowed two earned runs on three hits and struck out two in 2 2/3 innings. Both runs were solo home runs, one by Joshua Baez and one by Miguel Ugueto, but he walked neither and his fastball reached 98.8 MPH. Both strikeouts came on the slider and forkball, with the ghost fork looking much more like what it once was than the pitch he was throwing throughout the second half of last season.

It’s still too early in his progression to say he’s back, but this outing is a positive indicator that he’s on the right track this spring.

“Very good signs,” manager Carlos Mendoza told reporters in Jupiter. “We saw it from the start when we were watching live [bullpens] in the backfield. [The velocity] It’s not something I’ve seen since I’ve been here, the first day you throw 94-95, then the first day when he plays in a real game he’s 97-98.

Senga has mostly been practicing on the field this spring as the Mets try to help him get back to where he was in 2023, his first year in North America before injuries cost him significant time in 2024 and 2025. The Mets even talked about trading the 33-year-old veteran to the Nippon Professional Baseball League over the winter, but he ultimately told the club his preference was to stay in Queens — as it was his right with a no-trade clause.

A finalist for the NL Rookie of the Year award in 2023, a shoulder injury and calf strain limited him to just one regular-season start in 2024, and a strained hamstring he suffered while running for first base last June placed him on the injured list again. When he returned, he couldn’t figure out his mechanics, leading to inefficient releases and a loss of rhythm.

Senga was fantastic before his injury last season. He had a 1.39 ERA in his first 14 starts with a 1.13 WHIP. But over his last eight starts, he’s allowed 26 earned runs, more than double what he allowed in the first half. With the Mets fighting for a playoff spot last summer and the standings leaving little room for error, the club asked him to move down to Triple-A to work in a less pressured atmosphere. He accepted the demotion.

A healthy offseason has paid off for Senga.

“I think it’s pretty clear that when I don’t feel good, the velocity doesn’t pick up like that,” Senga said through translator Hiro Fujiwara. “I’m feeling really good, and I’m feeling really good. I’m able to attack all the things I wanted to work on last year, and I think it’s thriving now.”

JJ Wetherholt, one of the top prospects in the St. Louis organization who had a .931 OPS between Double and Triple-A last season, struck out to start the second inning. Senga fell behind 1-2, but threw two tough throws directly into the zone that Wetherholt fouled to tie the count. The 23-year-old left-handed hitter looked at a slider to the inside corner of the plate for strike 3.

With two outs, Baez jumped on a fastball and drove it over the center field fence, but Senga quickly got the next out.

In the third inning, he got Chase Davis swinging on a ghost fork before giving up the home run to Ugeuta. It was a fork ball right in the zone on two strikes. It was a good hit on a good pitch that didn’t spoil a solid outing.

“You see how sharp he was,” Mendoza said. “He’s healthy and we can see that now.”

Keeping him healthy will be the challenge ahead. The Mets know what Senga is capable of at his best, but he’s a special pitcher who needs the conditions to be right and his mechanics to be precise. Senga has always pitched every sixth or seventh day instead of every five, but the Mets may not be able to commit to keeping him on a Japanese schedule this season.

However, this can all be sorted out as the season progresses. For the moment, his progress and health are stable.

“I know my body is different than it was three years ago, so I’m not really trying to get back to that,” Senga said through Fujiwara. “It’s a new me and I’m trying to find new mechanics.”