Things are different for Kodai Senga now. The New York Mets starter is coming off two straight injury-riddled seasons, so he’s trying to get back in the good graces of both his manager and the organization as a whole.
“My body is different from where it was three years ago now, so I'm not really trying to get back to that,” Senga said via an interpreter in an article written by Chuck White of MLB.com. “It's a new me, and I'm trying to find new mechanics.”
Senga made his first start of the spring yesterday, and while the results of his changes in mechanics didn’t show up in his pitching line, they did impress manager Carlos Mendoza. Senga allowed two solo home runs in 2-2/3 innings as the Mets beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 3-2 in Jupiter, FL.
“Really good signs,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “We saw it from the very beginning when we're watching live BPs on the backfield. It's not something that I've seen the two years that I've been here. On the first day 94-95 [mph], and then Day One, when he's playing in a real game, and you see 97-98 and just how sharp he was. He's healthy, and we can see it now.”
Senga’s ability to throw into the third inning was based on the steady work he’s been doing on the back lots of Mets camp. The pitcher wouldn’t go into the mechanics in detail, saying they were “too long to delve into,” but he also threw 34 of 50 pitches for strikes while allowing just one other hit other than the home runs.
“I feel really good,” Senga said. “I'm really content with where I'm at. Obviously, some work still to do, but very happy.”
Senga has a reputation for being fussy about his mechanics, and this became a problem when he was hurt last year. He strained his right hamstring after a strong start, and while he was able to return for the second half of the season, he had a 5.90 ERA before finishing in the minor leagues.
He also had some issues with both Mendoza and the Mets organization. Senga was deemed healthy at one point but refused to pitch because of the way he felt, which is how he wound up at Triple-A Syracuse, but this season has been different so far.
“He's been very professional,” Mendoza said. “You have to give him credit. He put in the work in the offseason. He came in, and so far we have seen a different version of him as far as the intensity, the way he's throwing the baseball.”
It’s entirely possible that Mendoza is talking up his pitcher. Trade rumors about Senga surfaced as soon as the season ended, and in some ways it’s surprising to see him still on the roster. The Met have too many back-end starters and not enough slots, so this is a situation worthing monitoring for the rest of spring training.