A day after Carlos Mendoza alerted the world that Kodai Senga’s rehab from the strained shoulder he suffered during the spring had, at best, slowed down, there was still not much clarity regarding the pitcher who was expected to be the Mets’ ace this season.
The Mets insist Senga is OK physically and that the change in schedule is simply because of some mechanical issues the right-hander alerted them to.
“He said he feels fine [and] his arm feels good,” Mendoza said before the Mets finished their series against the Braves at Citi Field on Sunday. “He keeps saying he’s not feeling his mechanics are there and doesn’t want to push it til he finds that rhythm.”
Senga didn’t talk to reporters Saturday and wasn’t in the clubhouse prior to Sunday’s game.
But it’s a bit of a mysterious situation, especially considering the Mets were floating the idea on Friday of Senga advancing from throwing live batting practice to minor league rehab games as his next step.
Instead, Senga will have “days when he won’t throw and just do dry sessions,’’ and just works on his mechanics, according to Mendoza.
“Just to make sure he can repeat his delivery,” the manager said. “This is a guy that knows himself better than anybody and is meticulous about his delivery and mechanics.”
Mendoza also noted Senga’s lengthy shutdown before his comeback.
“We don’t want to put him at risk and if you’re dealing with mechanics and your arm is not catching up or you’re flying open, you’re at risk of injury or re-injury,’’ Mendoza said. “There’s a feel to it. That’s what he’s going through.”
Asked if there was anything the team would be looking for before Senga would face hitters again, Mendoza said there wasn’t.
“It’s just more his feedback and what he’s feeling physically before we take the next step,’’ Mendoza said.
The 31-year-old Senga was the Mets best pitcher a year ago after signing a five-year, $75 million deal. He has a player opt-out following the 2025 season if he pitches 400 innings by the end of next year and Senga tossed 166 ¹/₃ innings in 2023.
The progress of David Peterson and Tylor Megill seems more clear cut, as Mendoza did not rule out a potential May 27 return for Peterson, which is the day he’ll be eligible to come off the 60-day IL after offseason hip surgery.
He is expected to have another rehab outing either Monday or Tuesday with Double-A Binghamton.
“He feels really good,’’ Mendoza said. “We’ll have another decision [regarding his activation off the IL] coming up.”
Peterson has made three rehab outings with Low-A St. Lucie and his pitch count in most recent start was 63 pitches.
And Megill had another solid outing Sunday with Triple-A Syracuse, tossing 5 ¹/₃ scoreless innings and getting his pitch count up to 74.
Regarding both pitchers, Mendoza said the Mets would rely more on how they are feeling than their rehab performances to determine whether they are ready to rejoin the roster.
Both would be welcome additions to a rotation that entered Sunday ranked 25th in the majors in innings pitched from its starters, as well as 23rd in both ERA and WAR, according to Fangraphs.
