Kodai Senga to the IL, Christian Scott Recalled
Per Will Sammon of The Athletic, Mets starting pitcher Kodai Senga has been placed on the injured list with lumbar spine inflammation. The team confirmed the move.
At this time it is unclear how long he will be out or how serious the injury is. He received an epidural and won’t throw for seven to 10 days.
After looking dominant in his first two starts, Kodai Senga has given up 16 earned runs in 8.1 innings across his last three starts, good for a 17.28 ERA and 3.00 WHIP. He exited his last start early after surrendering three runs.
Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images
Through that span of starts, Senga’s stuff graded very similar to his first two starts and to how he looked in 2023, but his ability to locate his pitches was much worse. His velocity, movement, and spin were all in line with where you would expect, but he struggled to find the zone with the pitches he wanted to attack with, and left breaking balls meant to end outside of the zone over the heart of the plate. His forkball in particular regularly sat in the middle of the zone instead of below the zone like it did in 2023.
The Mets are calling up Christian Scott to replace Kodai Senga. Scott struggled in his first start back walking five batters but looked strong in his previous two Triple-A starts before getting the call. In those two starts he threw 10.1 innings to a 1.74 ERA and 0.58 WHIP.
What is the most exciting from that showing is his pitch arsenal changes from 2024. His new splitter, which Scott has said is actually a changeup, looks like it could be a true weapon against left-handed hitters. His fastball showed improved velocity with more break, and his sliders moved with much better breaking profiles. He looks like a much more complete pitcher than the one we saw in 2024.
He will likely start Wednesday’s game against the Nationals.
Soto, Robert Jr. Marred
In addition to the Senga news, it was revealed that Juan Soto has forearm tightness and can’t play the field yet. He has no structural damage, received treatment, and may be able to return to the field later this week.
On the other hand, Luis Robert Jr. has back tightness. He’s day-to-day.
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