Kodai Senga's Poor Return Raises More Questions About His Mets Future

An injury to Christian Scott opened the door for Kodai Senga to make his return to the New York Mets' rotation on Tuesday night. There was some hope that a strong final rehab start for Senga would make him an option to fill a spot in the back of their rotation, but that hope went unfulfilled against the Cincinnati Reds.

Senga was not sharp from the jump, walking the first two batters of the game before serving up a three-run homer to Sal Stewart to put the Mets in a big hole. Things didn't get much better as Senga gave up another homer to Spencer Steer, putting the Mets behind 4-0 and throwing 36 pitches in the frame.

With the bullpen heavily taxed, the Mets asked Senga to give them a bit of length, and he got them through four innings with 82 pitches. The final line for Senga was a mixed bag as he didn't give up another run or hit after the first, but he finished with four walks and five strikeouts on the night.

Those results appeared to be good enough for the Mets as Carlos Mendoza hinted after the game that Senga would likely get another start the next time through the rotation. There is always a chance the Mets could change their mind after a look at the tape of his performance, but there aren't many great options to choose from at this point.

Kodai Senga will likely remain in the Mets' rotation, Carlos Mendoza said.
— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) June 17, 2026

Kodai Senga's inconsistency is a big problem for the Mets

The change of tone from the Mets regarding Senga was fascinating to watch. Mendoza said just 10 days ago that it was time for the Mets to see results from Senga on his rehab assignment, yet the results he delivered on Tuesday were quite poor.

Inconsistency has been the name of Senga's game for a while, specifically in terms of stringing together five good innings, let alone in consecutive starts. Senga himself said after the game that he needs to do better at avoiding having innings spiral out of control, but saying it and doing it are two different things.

Kodai Senga on the responsibility to return to the consistency he showed earlier in the season

"That's certainly something that I'm striving for. In that first inning, there were some other aspects other than just doing my job. Unfortunately, I think that got the best of me" pic.twitter.com/tOnPrgCkkj
— SNY (@SNYtv) June 17, 2026

It is easy to see why the Mets want Senga to figure it out because he has the kind of stuff that can dominate big league hitters when he is in sync. Staying in sync has remained elusive for Senga, who has never truly been dominant for an extended period outside of the end of 2023 and a month in 2025 before getting injured.

Things got so bad for Senga last season that the Mets asked him to accept a minor league assignment in September, feeling more trust in rookies like Nolan McLean and Jonah Tong to get critical outs. Senga did well in spring training to earn a rotation spot, though the inconsistency returned quickly and appears to be a feature of who he is at this point.

If the Mets felt like they had better options, it would be easy to say Senga is pitching for his future in the next few turns. Watching Tobias Myers get crushed in his rotation return on Monday, David Peterson's continued struggles to get going, and Tong's minor league command problems suggest that Senga has more rope than fans would want to admit.

With an off day on Friday, the Mets will likely look to give Senga an extra bit of rest before his next turn, which would be on Monday against the Chicago Cubs. Unless the Mets decide to give Zach Thornton another look sooner rather than later, it is likely that Senga has at least until Scott is ready to come back to prove himself as a capable rotation member.

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