NEW YORK — The Mets' biggest addition before the trade deadline could be on the mound on Friday night.
Kodai Senga is set to make his season debut against the Braves after spending the first four months of the season on the injured list with a right shoulder capsule strain. Now, the Mets will see their ace for the first time with the playoff race really heating up.
"Very excited. It will be my first time watching him pitch live," Carlos Mendoza said. "We’re all excited. Obviously it’s been a long road for him and for all of us, but I’m just excited that we’re finally getting our guy back here and he’s gonna be a huge help for us."
Senga made four rehab starts over the last three weeks, building up to 79 pitches in his last outing for Triple-A Syracuse when he surrendered five earned runs across three innings.
The 31-year-old right-hander said he was not as worried about the results in his final rehab appearance. He does feel prepared to throw 100 pitches, but Mendoza said that the team will be keeping a close eye on him and will be "smart" with his workload while letting the game dictate how far he goes.
Now, Senga will take the ball on the major-league mound for the first time since his final start of last season on Sept. 27, 2023.
Senga's looking forward to aiding the Mets' push to the playoffs after watching the team's rise to 54-48 over the last two months.
"Because the team is doing so well and the vibes are so high, I'm there in the locker room with them, but I'm not really in the circle with them," Senga said through his interpreter on Tuesday. "I was just really itching to get back out there for them."
The most encouraging sign from Senga would be a return to his high velocity fastball, which averaged 95.7 mph during his rookie season, a handle of his ghost forkball, which produced a wicked 59.5 percent whiff rate in 2023, and the cutter to keep hitters off balance. The return of the slider, sweeper and curveball will be secondary.
In his first season in Major League Baseball last season, Senga elevated himself to the ace of the Mets' staff following the deadline deals that sent away Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander. Senga finished with a 12-7 record, 2.98 ERA and 202 strikeouts in 166⅓ innings.
The Mets rarely pitched Senga on normal rest as he got acclimated in his first season coming over from Japan, where he pitched once per week. The team will continue to roll out a six-man rotation following Senga's return, with Tylor Megill filling in a void for the injured Christian Scott beginning on Saturday.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Kodai Senga returns for the Mets on Friday night. What is the best-case scenario?
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