NEW YORK — On Friday, Kodai Senga, a right-hander for the New York Mets, leading Major League Baseball in ERA, was reported to have a Grade 1 strain in his right hamstring. This update came just hours after his placement on the 15-day injured list. The announcement was made by Mets manager, Carlos Mendoza, after the team’s 7-5 defeat to the Tampa Bay Rays.
Mendoza stated that Senga will be resting for two weeks before undergoing another evaluation. “According to our trainers, it’s somewhat positive news,” Mendoza explained.
Senga’s injury occurred while he was covering first base during the sixth inning of a match against the Washington Nationals. As per Mendoza, Senga felt his hamstring strain just one step prior to making a jump to catch Pete Alonso’s high throw, which successfully retired CJ Abrams.
With a 7-3 record and a 1.47 ERA, Senga has been vital for the Mets, whose starting rotation maintains the lowest ERA in the league at 2.78, standing strong despite injuries to Sean Manaea (right oblique) and Frankie Montas (right lat) from spring training.
In Senga’s absence, Paul Blackburn is set to start next Wednesday’s game against Atlanta. Blackburn, who pitched for a brief stint on Friday, allowed four runs in just one-third of an inning following Clay Holmes.
“It’s difficult to witness, especially with someone like Senga who’s been pitching remarkably well,” Mendoza remarked before Friday’s game. “Nevertheless, we are confident in our current pitching staff. They’ve shown resilience all year long and will continue to do so, albeit losing Senga is quite a setback.”
This is not the first leg injury for Senga, who previously strained his left calf during a regular season start on July 26 of last year. After his return post a 102-game hiatus due to a right shoulder strain, Senga conceded two runs in 5 1/3 innings against the Braves but was later injured while sprinting off the mound, assisting Alonso with a pop-up from Austin Riley.
Senga later came back to contribute in three playoff appearances, including two short outings in the starting role.
To fill Senga’s spot on the roster, the Mets have called up reliever Max Kranick from Triple-A Syracuse. Kranick assumed the loss on Friday after permitting two runs in 1 2/3 innings.
The Mets are likely to see additional help for their starting rotation soon as Montas and Manaea are anticipated to recover. President of baseball operations, David Stearns, mentioned that Montas could make a couple more starts in the minors. However, news came before he surrendered eight runs in 1 2/3 innings at Triple-A Syracuse, inflating his rehab ERA to 13.17. Manaea has posted a 6.23 ERA in his initial two rehabilitation appearances for Single-A Brooklyn.
“I’d rather have an excess of major league-caliber pitchers than too few,” shared Stearns. “In my experience, you rarely face a situation where you have a surplus of starting pitchers ready for the roster.”
Additional players like outfielders Jose Siri (left tibia fracture) and Jesse Winker (right oblique) still face significant recovery periods. Siri had his rehab halted recently as imaging revealed his fractured bone was healing slower than expected after the April 12 incident against the Athletics. Winker, injured on May 4, is progressing but remains distant from starting a rehab assignment.
Stearns also noted that left-handed reliever Brooks Raley, post-Tommy John surgery and bone spur removal in May 2025, is participating in live batting practice sessions and might embark on a rehab assignment as early as next week.