Analyzing the Mets' plan for Senga

This story was excerpted from Anthony DiComo’s Mets Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

On his off days with the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks, Kodai Senga was not permitted to watch games from the dugout. Instead, Senga would find a spot in the clubhouse -- sometimes the weight room, sometimes the training room -- to keep track on television.

In America, without such rules to limit him, Senga watches every game from the dugout. That allows him to stay “locked in,” as he discussed through interpreter Hiro Fujiwara, even during longer spells away from the mound -- this current stretch, for example, of eight days between starts.

“It’s not my call,” Senga said of his extended absence, which will end when he takes the mound Friday night against the Rockies. “It’s really up to the manager, the GM and the pitching coaches. But I’m staying ready.”

Over the season’s first five weeks, Senga has started five times, whereas most healthy MLB starters recently completed their seventh rotation turn. The Mets have taken every opportunity to space out Senga’s starts, using him exclusively on five days’ rest or more. The traditional standard for American starters is four days’ rest, and Senga believes he’s capable of throwing on that schedule. But the Mets aren’t ready to test him that way yet.

“He definitely wants to get out there, and I certainly respect that, because he sees what the other starters are doing,” pitching coach Jeremy Hefner said. “But when you look back at his track record in Japan, he very rarely threw on five days. … If at any point we have the opportunity to give him an extra day or two, we’re going to take that opportunity.”

Senga’s career high in innings with Fukuoka was 180 1/3, achieved back in 2019. From 2020-22, he averaged 130 per season. In the eyes of Mets officials, a jump from those levels to a full, American starter’s workload would be reckless -- and that’s without considering the reported concerns that arose during Senga’s pre-signing medical screening -- an issue that neither he nor general manager Billy Eppler has been willing to discuss publicly.

This week, weather and roster considerations made it difficult for the Mets to avoid scheduling Senga on four days' rest, so they instead chose the ultra-conservative route, waiting eight days between starts. Senga threw an extra bullpen session to stay sharp, with Hefner noting there’s a balance between giving Senga the rest he needs and making sure he doesn’t lose his feel for pitching. Maintaining command is a big deal for Senga, who owns MLB’s third-highest walk rate among pitchers with at least 25 innings.

How long things might continue in this manner remain to be seen. When asked how he feels about the elongated schedule, Senga laughed and replied: “I’m a rookie, so I don’t make the decisions.”

“Whatever the team tells me to do, I’ve just got to be ready,” he continued. “I really feel thankful that the team is looking out for me and making sure they do whatever they can so that I get acclimated to the new country, the new league.”

Added Hefner: “Most major arm injuries for pitchers happen within the first six, seven weeks of the season. … We’re just trying to do our due diligence and make sure we’re doing whatever we can to not have [things] be so different than what he’s used to.”