Mets Place Struggling Kodai Senga on IL, Recall Christian Scott

The New York Mets will have yet another change in their starting rotation the next time through.

The team is placing struggling right-hander Kodai Senga on the 15-day injured list with lumbar spine inflammation, as first reported by Will Sammon of The Athletic. In a corresponding move, they are recalling right-hander Christian Scott less than a week after he was sent back to Triple-A following a poor season debut.

According to Newsday''s Laura Albanese, Senga was given an epidural in the spine and will be shut down from throwing for at least 7-10 days. Given the treatment and the recovery time, he could be looking at a lengthy rehab assignment beyond just the 15-day timeline.

Senga got an epidural. It'll be 7-10 days of no throwing at all. https://t.co/uiQ6HqfzOV
— Laura Albanese (@AlbaneseLaura) April 28, 2026

Senga has had a rough start to the season that has only gotten worse as of late. The 33-year-old followed a strong season debut in which he went 6.0 innings with nine strikeouts with another decent outing where he struck out seven across 5.2 innings. Since then, Senga has had three straight short outings (2.1, 3.1, 2.2 IP) and has seen his ERA balloon up to 9.00 on the season.

In his last time out against the Colorado Rockies, Senga managed just 2.2 innings, allowing three hits, three earned runs, hitting a batter, and issuing three walks before the Mets had to go to the bullpen in their 3-0 loss. On the back of this performance, it became clear that the club had a decision to make on the veteran right-hander's immediate future in the rotation.

“I’m gonna have a conversation with David [Stearns], see what’s next,” manager Carlos Mendoza said after Sunday's game. “But, obviously, it’s not good enough.”

It's not the first time this year that the Mets have had to make a difficult decision with a scuffling starter. It began before Opening Day, when the club decided that left-hander Sean Manaea would be making the move to the bullpen as declining velocity in his fastball raised red flags. New York also moved left-hander David Peterson to the bullpen where he has made two appearances, though he is expected to return to the starting rotation this week.

For Senga though, it is unclear what the long-term plan would be to reintroduce him to the big-league club. When things went bad for him at the end of last year, Senga accepted a minor league option to Triple-A Syracuse despite a clause in his contract that allowed him to block such a move.

When asked if he would do the same this year, Senga told reporters: “I think that warrants a lot of discussions with a lot of different people. I can’t give you a yes or a no answer right now.”

"That warrants a lot of discussion with a lot of different people"

Kodai Senga on if he would accept a demotion to Triple-A if the Mets were to make that decision: pic.twitter.com/6cnulSp2fy
— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) April 27, 2026

At the root of Senga's decline over the past few weeks has been a dip in his four-seam velocity, which was up to 97.4 mph in his first start of the year but hovered around 95 in his latest start. Beyond that, his control issues and inability to attack hitters inside the zone has been evident, something that could certainly be the result of an injury.

Though, just a few weeks ago on April 17, Senga said he was "completely healthy" and felt "great," instead pointing to mechanical issues for why he was not executing consistently.

"I'm completely healthy. I feel great. Mechanics, sure there are some minor things here and there, but that happens to everybody. Putting that aside, I just need to go out there and perform"

- Kodai Senga pic.twitter.com/Cu4NZxbvca
— SNY (@SNYtv) April 17, 2026

“When the pitches don’t have as much life approaching the hitter, approaching the catcher, with how high the level this league is, that’s just how the results end up being,” Senga explained on Sunday.

Coming up in his place will be Scott, who had a difficult return to the majors after a nearly two-year layoff. The young right-hander walked five of the first ten batters he faced and was pulled in the second inning after recording just four outs. For as long as Senga is sidelined, the Mets will have to lean on Scott to deliver quality outings to help lift the lifeless club out of their malaise.

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