Senga named finalist for NL ROY Award
This browser does not support the video element.
NEW YORK -- Kodai Senga’s sparkling rookie season could end with a bit of personal hardware.
Senga was named a finalist for the National League Rookie of the Year Award on Monday, along with D-backs outfielder Corbin Carroll and Dodgers outfielder James Outman. That means Senga was one of the top three vote-getters from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, which polls annually on the awards.
The winner will be revealed at 6 p.m. ET on Monday on MLB Network.
Senga was not a finalist for the NL Cy Young Award, though he is likely to receive down-ballot votes for that honor as well. The three NL Cy Young finalists were Zac Gallen of the D-backs, Blake Snell of the Padres and Logan Webb of the Giants.
This browser does not support the video element.
Although Senga will have a difficult time upsetting Carroll -- who played in 155 games as a rookie, hit 25 homers and stole 54 bases -- the right-hander’s season will still merit strong consideration for top rookie honors. In his first MLB season following an 11-year career in Japan, the 30-year-old Senga went 12-7 with a 2.98 ERA. He finished second behind Snell in the NL in ERA, third in league-adjusted ERA+ (142) and tied for eighth in strikeouts (202).
But Senga ranked just 18th in the NL in innings, in part because the Mets limited his output in hopes of keeping him healthy. He did make every one of his 29 scheduled starts.
“Honestly, going into the season, I had no expectations,” Senga said after his final start in September. “I had no idea what I was capable of. When it comes to numbers, I had no idea.”
Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez, who hit 25 home runs as a 21-year-old, was not named a finalist for Rookie of the Year.
Voting for BBWAA awards takes into account only regular-season statistics and is conducted before the start of the playoffs. As such, Carroll’s postseason numbers will not affect his candidacy.
Senga will be back with the Mets next season for the second year of a five-year, $75 million contract. He can opt out after 2025 if he amasses at least 233 2/3 innings over the next two seasons combined.