Senga feels triceps tightness during rehab start, won't return in regular season

NEW YORK -- The Mets are going to play out the rest of this season without their best starter from the last one.

Pitcher Kodai Senga experienced a bout of right triceps tightness during his Minor League rehab start Saturday for Triple-A Syracuse. Although Senga doesn’t consider the issue serious, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said it will end his regular season.

Senga could still contribute if the Mets reach the postseason, but that will depend upon his recovery.

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“For me, it’s hard to tell now,” Mendoza said before Sunday's 2-1 win over the Phillies. “It’s been a hard year for him. He’s worked his tail off. You feel for him. Every time he wants to push it and he wants to take the baseball, he’s dealing with something. Hopefully, this is nothing serious, but it’s going to set him back a little bit.”

A team spokesman said Senga was unavailable for comment Sunday because he was receiving treatment.

All told this season, Senga made just one start. The right-hander missed the entire first half due to a strained posterior shoulder capsule and resulting complications, including a triceps issue that set back his initial recovery. Senga returned on July 26 to pitch 5 1/3 effective innings against the Braves at Citi Field, but he strained his left calf in that game and has been rehabbing it ever since.

“It’s been a hard year for him -- that’s how I’d put it,” Mendoza said. “It’s been really hard for him, and you feel for him, because he works really hard.”

Last year, Senga was the Mets' best pitcher, finishing second in National League Rookie of the Year voting and earning down-ballot NL Cy Young Award votes after going 12-7 with a 2.98 ERA in 29 starts. He’s under team control for three more seasons at $15 million per year. Of note, Senga could have triggered an opt-out in his contract if he pitched at least 400 innings from 2023-25, which is now all but impossible; he has thrown just 171 2/3 so far.

Without Senga, the Mets will proceed with a rotation of Sean Manaea, Luis Severino, Jose Quintana, David Peterson and Tylor Megill for the rest of the regular season. The first three of those will all be free agents in November, adding to Senga’s long-term importance. But the Mets are currently only worried about their short-term pitching plan, which doesn’t include Senga.

“He’s a competitor, and he knows that we are a better team if he’s healthy,” Mendoza said. “And he’s going to continue to push it. He’s going to continue to try everything that he can in his power to be available for us [in October]. If that doesn’t happen, then we’ll do what we’ve got to do. But we’re going to listen to him. And as of right now, he wants to continue to do it.”