The New York Mets may have their best pitcher back soon.
Mets manager Carlos Mendoza told the media that ace Kodai Senga is currently slated to begin throwing next week; additionally, doctors have cleared Senga to begin baseball activities after receiving a clean MRI on Tuesday. But he must pass the Mets' internal strength test first.
"The results were very, very encouraging," Mendoza said. "Now, it's up to our internal testing, making sure he passes the power test, shoulder strength, things like that before he starts throwing, which should happen within the next week."
This is a massive development for the Mets' starting rotation, which currently consists of Luis Severino, Jose Quintana, Adrian Houser, Sean Manaea, and Tylor Megill; Quintana is currently scheduled to be the Opening Day starter, with Severino, Megill, Manaea, and Houser following suit.
Senga, however, was originally going to be the Opening Day starter before being sidelined with a posterior capsule strain in his shoulder. He entered the season as the team's undisputed ace, due to an impressive rookie season (finishing runner-up for the NL Rookie of the Year Award) and the departure of previous aces Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander at the 2023 trade deadline.
In said rookie season, Senga made 29 starts and pitched 166 innings, posting a 2.98 ERA. Thanks to his "Ghost Fork" serving as a devastating strikeout pitch, he struck out 202 batters, nearly averaging 11 punchouts per nine innings.
Even with this highly encouraging update, it's still clear that Senga will miss some time to begin the season, as he still needs to build his arm back up to full strength. Nonetheless, this also indicates that Senga could return by mid-to-late May, so it shouldn't be too long before the Mets get their ace back.
The Mets' goal is to field a competitive team while also discovering which players are worth trying to build around. Senga is already part of the team's future core, and having him return in the early portion of the season will greatly assist the Mets' efforts towards making the playoffs.
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