The Mets 2024 campaign has been disappointing. A little more than one-third through the campaign, the blue and orange are nine games under .500 (27-36) and dealing with uncertainty up and down the roster.
A lot of that uncertainty has been caused by the injury bug rearing its ugly head around the Mets locker room for another season.
Francisco Álvarez tore the ulnar collateral ligament in his thumb, which required surgery to repair. Edwin Díaz was placed on the 15-day injured list with a right shoulder impingement. Brooks Raley had to undergo season-ending elbow surgery.
While all those players got hurt during the course of the campaign, the blue and orange have been without their ace since before the season began.
Kodai Senga has yet to appear, as he began the season on the injured list after suffering a shoulder strain during spring training. The 31-year-old was forced to be shut down for an extended period after he received a PRP injection to help with the injury.
The Japanese native is coming off a great debut season for the Mets as Senga threw 166.1 innings across 29 starts to a 2.98 ERA with a 1.220 WHIP and 202 strikeouts. For his performance, Senga earned a trip to the all-star game, finished second in the National League Rookie of the Year voting, and seventh in the National League Cy-Young Award race.
Since being shut down, the 31-year-old has undergone setback after setback, and Mets manager Carlos Mendoza revealed before the opening game of the London series against the Philadelphia Phillies that Senga’s timeline has been delayed again.
Senga won’t return to the Mets until after the all-star break
When Mendoza was asked about Senga’s rehab timeline, resulting in the right-hander debuting after the all-star break the first-year manager said, “That’s fair to say.”
The 31-year-old has begun long tossing and will hopefully be able to start throwing bullpen sessions at some point next week.
Time will tell when Senga eventually returns, but the season is getting late early on, and by the time the 31-year-old manages to get back on the bump in a Mets uniform, the season may already be over.
Discussion about this post