Dodgers Rumors: LA Offseason Target Kodai Senga Meets with NL Rival

Among free agent talks, Dodgers remain hopeful to gain NPB star pitcher.

Free agent pitcher, Kodai Senga, has caught the interest of many teams, including the Dodgers. With hopes to improve their rotation, LA has kept its eye on the Japanese right-hander as the offseason progresses

As a highly touted free agent, Senga is garnering interest from many teams. He has reportedly met with the New York Mets, and most recently, LA Dodger rival, the San Diego Padres. According to The Athletic’s Dennis Lin, the club met with the righty pitcher on Friday.

The Padres met with Kodai Senga in San Diego yesterday, sources said. SD is one of many teams with interest in Senga, who could fill a remaining hole in the rotation. The righty is close with Yu Darvish, and played with Nick Martinez and Robert Suarez in Japan.

— Dennis Lin (@dennistlin) November 18, 2022

The Athletic’s Will Sammon said that scouts are impressed with Senga's fastball, which can hit triple digits but most sits in the mid-90s. Over his 11 seasons in Japan's NPB, the star hurler owns a 104-51 record with a career 2.42 ERA over 1349.2 innings. He posted a career-best season in 2022, posting a sub-two ERA in 148 innings pitched.

Kodai Senga has been up to 102 mph, throws a ghost forkball, slider, curve & cutter. 1.89 ERA in 148 innings this year.

Senga’s agent noted Kodai would like to play in a big market on a win now team and is versed in/wants to learn more about analytics.

pic.twitter.com/EUd4RmxucB

— Mike Mayer (@mikemayer22) November 14, 2022

The Boys in Blue can surely benefit from his addition to provide depth in the rotation— something the club currently lacks. Having a roster full of healthy players is never a given, and injuries were certainly one barrier that the Dodgers were up against. 

The good thing is, Senga is allegedly interested in playing in a big market, so luckily for us, that keeps us in the discussion. 

As Sammon noted, FanGraphs has Senga projected for a four year, $60 million deal, which would be a steal for the Dodgers.

Although Senga is no comparison to the hype surrounding Shohei Ohtani as he was coming to MLB, he does have the potential to be great in the states. Let’s just hope it’s in Dodger blue.