Are evaluators worried about Mets' Kodai Senga after rough rehab start?

Mets starting pitcher Kodai Senga has yet to make his 2024 regular-season debut for the club.

As Andrew Tredinnick of NorthJersey.com pointed out, the Mets ace surrendered five earned runs on eight hits and three walks across 79 pitches and three innings of work in a rehab start for Triple-A Syracuse on Saturday night.

Such numbers may sound alarms in the ears of some Mets fans, but Will Sammon of The Athletic shared on Monday why what likely will be Senga's final rehab appearance isn't all that concerning.

"Two rival evaluators who watched Senga’s outing said he simply appeared less engaged than usual," Sammon explained. "That’s not unusual for someone who had already made multiple rehab starts. It could indicate that Senga was ready to move on and rejoin the Mets."

Senga suffered a moderate capsule strain in his right shoulder during spring training and later endured multiple setbacks that prevented him from joining New York's rotation before the All-Star break. 

According to Alex Smith of SNY, Senga ended this past weekend on track to start for the Mets against the Atlanta Braves at Citi Field on Friday night.

While the Mets are expected to shift back to a six-man rotation once Senga is activated for an MLB start, his return could allow team president of baseball operations David Stearns to get creative and make out-of-contract starters such as Jose Quintana and Luis Severino available to other clubs ahead of the July 30 MLB trade deadline. 

Specifically, the Mets likely need to acquire some bullpen help and at least one bat if they are serious about remaining in postseason conversations through late September.

New York suffered losses to the bad Colorado Rockies (36-64) and worse Miami Marlins (35-64) in three of its past four games but began Monday in the wild-card portion of the National League standings. 

As All-Star first baseman Pete Alonso alluded to on Sunday, however, Stearns could try to convince Mets owner Steve Cohen to punt on the remainder of this season if the club loses more than it wins between Monday's game at Miami and this coming Sunday's home series finale versus the Braves.