NEW YORK — As the Mets push for the postseason, there’s still a chance they add a significant piece to their pitching staff.
Ace Kodai Senga is aiming to make a one-inning appearance in a minor-league game before the end of the Triple-A season this weekend. If that goes well, Senga could be ready for a major-league return next week.
The Athletic previously reported the Mets’ best-case scenario for Senga, which would include serving as an abbreviated starter during their critical series in Atlanta next week.
“The one thing I’ve learned is, you never know with Senga,” manager Carlos Mendoza said before Wednesday night’s game. “We’ve just got to wait and listen to the player.”
Senga has consistently stated he will only return this season when he feels 100 percent; that stance led to a longer, four-month absence earlier in the season when he was coming back from a spring training shoulder injury.
“We’re a phenomenal team and the vibes in there are amazing,” Senga said through interpreter Hiro Fujiwara. “I need to do whatever it takes to get back out there at 100 percent. What I can’t do is go back out there at less than 100 percent and bring the team down.”
Senga estimated that he feels between 70 and 80 percent right now. In order to get into a minor-league game this weekend, “Everything needs to feel good,” he said.
Senga said even one inning in a minor-league game this weekend would be “plenty” to know if he’s capable of pitching in a big-league game.
“I’ve been working my tail off and devoting all my time toward this. If this doesn’t go well, I’m just going to be in the dugout rooting for my teammates. So I need this to go well.”
Senga has made a single start this season, back at the end of July. The shoulder injury knocked him out from the start of spring training until late July. He suffered a calf strain in that one start back, after striking out nine in 5 1/3 innings.
The Mets’ rotation has been their strength of late, with a league-leading 1.90 ERA in September.
(Photo of Kodai Senga: Rich Schultz / Getty Images)
