The New York Mets expected Kodai Senga to be their anchor this summer, but lately, he’s looked anything but reliable.
When Senga landed on the injured list in mid-June with a right hamstring strain, he was at the peak of his dominance.
Through his first 13 starts, the right-hander carried a brilliant 1.47 ERA, a 1.11 WHIP, and a 70-to-31 strikeout-to-walk ratio across 73.2 innings.
He wasn’t just effective—he looked untouchable, the kind of pitcher capable of carrying a rotation through October.
That dominance feels like a distant memory. Since returning, Senga has looked mortal, a startling change from the ace the Mets leaned on.
His latest outing, five shaky innings in a loss on Wednesday, only fueled the growing concern. He surrendered five runs—four earned—on six hits and two walks, dragging his ERA up to 2.58.
On paper, that number remains elite, but the eye test tells a different story.
A troubling stretch since the injury
Over seven starts since returning, Kodai Senga has posted a discouraging 5.23 ERA with 19 walks and 29 strikeouts. The crisp bite that once defined his arsenal, particularly the devastating ghost fork, has dulled.
Instead of fooling hitters, he’s leaving pitches over the plate, often with predictable results.
As MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo pointed out, Senga has a 6.00 ERA over his last six outings. That level of regression is impossible to ignore.
For a pitcher once celebrated for making hitters look helpless, he’s now the one searching for answers.
Mets columnist John Harper voiced what many fans are thinking: Senga simply doesn’t look like himself. “It’s hard to know for sure what’s going on since his return,” Harper wrote. “Hanging ghost forks, hanging sliders, middle-middle cutters…used to be at his best with runners in scoring position. But not lately.”
The bigger picture for New York
The timing of Senga’s struggles couldn’t be worse. The Mets are entrenched in a heated fight for postseason positioning, where every start carries heightened importance.
Losing their ace-level version of Kodai Senga feels a bit like driving into October traffic with a flat tire—you can still move forward, but the ride suddenly feels unstable.
While the Mets have received encouraging news elsewhere in the rotation, the contrast makes Senga’s situation even more glaring.
Rookie Nolan McLean impressed in his MLB debut, David Peterson continues to shine, and Clay Holmes has steadied himself after a rocky stretch.
Those positives provide a cushion, but none carry the weight of Senga’s presence when he’s at his best.
What the Mets need from their ace
The Mets won’t remove Senga from the rotation if he’s healthy, nor should they. Even in his diminished state, he’s capable of providing innings, something every contender values in September.
Yet New York doesn’t simply need a placeholder—they need the Senga who carved through lineups with ruthless precision during the season’s first half.
For now, his velocity remains intact, which suggests the problem may lie in command or sharpness rather than lingering injury.
The hope inside the clubhouse is that he’s working through a rut rather than suffering from something more worrisome.
Still, the Mets cannot afford for this version of Senga to linger much longer. If their October dream is to stay alive, they need their ace to find himself quickly.
One hot streak could swing momentum, and nobody is more capable of delivering that surge than Kodai Senga.
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