Kodai Senga Facing Potential Demotion After Mets' Roster Decision on Thursday

"The New York Mets are calling up RHP Brandon Sproat to start Sunday for what will be his Major League Debut," Ford reported. "Sproat had a 4.24 ERA along with 113 strikeouts in 121.0 innings for the Syracuse Mets."

Senga was originally scheduled to start against the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday, via ESPN.

Sproat is New York's No. 5 overall prospect and No. 3 pitching prospect, via MLB.com. McLean and Tong are ranked No. 3 (No. 1 pitcher) and No. 4 (No. 2 pitcher) overall, respectively.

The Mets selected Sproat No. 56 overall in the 2023 MLB Draft, and he appeared in the 2024 All-Star Futures Game. The 24-year-old is 15-10 with a 3.83 ERA in 50 career minor-league games.

Mets Could Demote Kodai Senga

The fact that New York is replacing Senga with Sproat on Sunday doesn't bode well for the veteran's future as a starter this season. Manager Carlos Mendoza was candid on Wednesday when asked what the team will do with him moving forward, via SNY.

"Everything is on the table, whether he makes the next start ... there's a lot going on right now," he said.

The Mets could either stick Senga in the bullpen or send him down to the minors, but Mendoza sounded unenthusiastic about the latter option.

"I don't know about that," he said. "We all know he's gonna have to give his consent if that's the case."

Either way, Sproat will have the chance to be the third New York pitching prospect to prove his worth in the last few weeks.

The Mets are off on Thursday before starting their road series with the Reds on Friday. They are 5.5 games behind the Phillies for first place in the division heading into the latter team's bout with the Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday afternoon. Additionally, New York holds a four-game lead over the San Francisco Giants for the third and final wild-card spot.