New York Mets Shift Ace To 60-Day Injured List

The New York Mets have shifted their ace starting pitcher to the 60-day injured list.

Feb 19, 2024; Port St. Lucie, FL, USA; New York Mets starting pitcher Kodai Senga (34) warms-up | Jim Rassol-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Mets have moved their ace starting pitcher Kodai Senga to the 60-day injured list after calling up left-handed reliever Tyler Jay.

Senga has been on the shelf since Spring Training when he went down with a posterior capsule strain in his shoulder.

Senga, 31, began throwing recently and will need several weeks to ramp up in order to be ready to pitch in live games again. The righty will not be able to return to the action until May 27 at the earliest when he is eligible to come off the IL.

In the meantime, the Mets have had to rely on Jose Quintana, Luis Severino, Sean Manaea, Adrian Houser, Tylor Megill, Jose Butto and Julio Teheran to round out their rotation. For the most part, these hurlers have picked up the slack in Senga's absence. However, Teheran and Houser got knocked around by the Atlanta Braves, and Megill landed on the IL with a shoulder injury.

The Mets designated Teheran for assignment after a poor start in Atlanta. As a result, they called up Butto, who has been impressive in his starts dating back to last season.

New York also has a plethora of young talented arms in the upper levels of the minors leagues, who president of baseball operations David Stearns said could be called on at any point this season to help the major league club.

The good news is that Senga is on the road to recovery and should be able to rejoin the Mets' rotation by Memorial Day Weekend in late May.

For now, the Mets are off to a 4-7 start, but their struggles have stemmed from a lack of offense. Luckily, DH J.D. Martinez could be activated in the coming weeks as long as his back tightness responds well to the cortisone shot he received on Tuesday.