Mets' Kodai Senga frustrated by latest injury as pitcher's downfall continues
Mets pitcher Kodai Senga throws during the first inning against the Colorado Rockies in the second game of a doubleheader at Citi Field on April 26, 2026. Credit: Jim McIsaac
Once upon a time, Kodai Senga was the Mets’ ace: a pitcher who dazzled in 2023, earned an All-Star nod and finished second in National League Rookie of the Year voting and seventh in NL Cy Young voting.
Nowadays, after just five starts in 2026, he’s looking at a third straight season in which he is going to spend a chunk of time on the injured list.
Senga — who is 0-4 with a 9.00 ERA, 1.95 WHIP, 23 strikeouts and 13 walks in 20 innings — was placed on the 15-day IL Tuesday (retroactive to Monday) with lumbar spine inflammation. He received an epidural Tuesday and won’t be able to throw for about 7-10 days.
Senga met with reporters at Citi Field before Wednesday night’s game against the Nationals. The next steps are unclear and he did not provide a specific timeline for his return, noting that “it varies how long it takes for the injection to start working on each person.”
“It wasn’t like a super recent development or anything, but I was able to manage it,” the 33-year-old righthander said through an interpreter. “Sunday it got to the point where it was definitely affecting my pitching, and I had to bring it to attention.”
After a tremendous start to his MLB career three years ago, Senga pitched in only one game in 2024, working his way back from a right shoulder capsule strain to start that season and suffering a left calf strain in his lone big-league start.
He looked like he had potentially regained his ace-caliber form to start last season, going 7-3 with a 1.47 ERA in his first 13 starts. But a right hamstring strain kept him out a month, and he hasn’t been able to string together consistently strong outings since. He ultimately accepted an assignment to Triple-A Syracuse last September — something his five-year, $75 million contract gives him an option to deny — amid the Mets’ collapse that led to them missing the postseason.
In Senga’s last 13 MLB starts, he is 0-7 with a 7.44 ERA and 1.80 WHIP.
“As a baseball player, my job is to be out on the field and play for the team,” he said. “And not being able to do that is frustrating.”
His most recent start Sunday was a clunker that lasted only 2 2⁄3 innings; he allowed three runs, three hits and three walks and struck out one.
“I’m going to have a conversation with David [Stearns], see what’s next,” Carlos Mendoza said Sunday. “But obviously, that’s not good enough.”
Perhaps Senga could have been demoted to Triple-A again, but he said Wednesday: “There was no talk about any options or anything like that or the IL. It was first, let’s get an image on this and see where it takes us. The image showed some inflammation there, so that’s the route we took.”
In 2023, Senga averaged 95.7 mph on his four-seam fastball. That dipped to 94.7 in 2025, but it was back up to 96.1 this spring training, including a 97.1-mph average and a high of 98.9 during his first spring training start.
Senga’s signature ghost forkball, though, has still been effective — opposing players are batting .148 against it — but his fastball velocity was an average of 95.1 mph on Sunday, topping out at 96.3.
“I had [the inflammation] some during spring training and through the first outing,” Senga said. “However, there were some moments that I felt great throughout that period.
“That’s what made it difficult for me to raise my hand and say, ‘Hey, this is really affecting my pitching,’ because there were some promising flashes.”
Concern for Robert
Centerfielder Luis Robert Jr. (lower back tightness) was not in the Mets’ lineup for a second straight night Wednesday. He was scheduled to receive an MRI Wednesday and an IL stint is possible, Mendoza said.
Robert previously was plagued by injuries with the White Sox, missing time over the previous two seasons with hamstring and hip issues. The Mets knew the risk that came with Robert’s injury history, purposely easing him into the season; he did not play a big-league spring training game until March 12.
“Every time you send someone for an MRI, you’re always concerned,” Mendoza said. “But given the history of Luis the past couple of years with injuries and us trying to get to know the player and the personality, that’s what we got right now, you know? But again, we got to wait.
“We’re doing everything in our power to kind of keep him on the field, and hopefully this is just a minor thing that we’re dealing [with] for a couple of days, and he’s back out there soon.”
Ben Dickson is Newsday Sports' general assignment reporter. He joined Newsday’s high school sports staff in 2023 after graduating from Maryland, where he covered several of the Terrapins' teams.
