Mets ace says one of his main goals is to be better away from Citi Field in ‘24

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — When Kodai Senga came to New York from Japan a year ago, he slotted into a rotation full of established Major League talent. No longer behind two future Hall of Famers, every other pitcher will slot in behind Senga, the last ace standing.

However, Senga isn’t necessarily ready to call himself an ace.

“I think the fact that I’m getting these types of questions means maybe some other people out there might think of me that way,” Senga said through translator Hiro Fujiwara on Wednesday at the Mets’ Clover Park. “But that was a result of me just staying healthy and running through the season. And I plan to do no different. Just staying healthy and getting through 2024 and we’ll see what happens to me.”

An ace in Japan for much of his 11-season career in the Nippon Professional Baseball League, Senga showed his bona fides last year when he went 12-7 with a 2.98 ERA and 202 strikeouts for the Mets. He was a finalist for the NL Rookie of the Year Award and received NL Cy Young votes. The infamous “ghost fork” proved to be a deadly finisher.

Senga was satisfied with some aspects of his rookie season. At 30 years old, he stayed healthy enough to avoid the injured list and make 29 starts. Had the Mets not had him on an altered schedule with several extra days off, he could have made 30.

Now 31, he has keyed in two particular aspects of his game that he would like to improve on: Cutting down on walks and improving his home-road splits.

Senga fell into a familiar pattern last season, dazzling at home in front of fans at Citi Field, then struggling in his next start on the road. Walks and bad counts were often his problem away from Queens with extra balls often pushing his pitch count up early in games.

The right-hander went 6-3 at home with a 2.42 ERA and a 1.075 WHIP. He gave up eight home runs at Citi Field and held opponents to a .179 average. Away from home, he went 6-4 with a 3.68 ERA and a 1.405 WHIP, giving up nine home runs and holding opponents to a .242 average.

“With the long flights and long travel, my body can start to become unsynced,” Senga said through Fujiwara. “It’s all about how to sync it back up and how to get it synced up as quick as possible.”

This was a challenge Senga didn’t see coming when he came from Japan. The travel in Japan isn’t as extensive as it is in the United States and the changing weather patterns aren’t nearly as drastic as they are in the Major Leagues, when you can battle lake effect winds and freezing rain in Detroit in one start and enjoy optimal, sunny conditions in Los Angeles in the next. Not to mention the time changes — Japan has a single time zone.

Having played a full season in the Major Leagues already, Senga hopes that the experience will help him be able to get his body synced back up quicker after arriving in new cities. Still, leaving nothing to chance, his offseason training over the winter mimicked road conditions. Senga did not delve into the specifics of what that training looked like, only saying it involved mechanics.

“We’ll see this season when I pitch on the road,” Senga said. “But that’s something I was working on throughout the whole offseason.”

The Mets have not gone over any specifics about his schedule this season. Former general manager Billy Eppler had a lot of influence in his 2023 schedule, which had him throwing every sixth or even every seventh day instead of every fifth. Senga voiced a desire to get on a Major League schedule but said he would ultimately do what’s best for the team.

The Mets plan to use a six-man rotation again at certain points this season, but they’ll take it on a case-by-case basis with Senga.

“It’s going to be a lot of conversations,” said manager Carlos Mendoza. “It’s day-to-day and not only with him, but we have a lot of other people that are going to be involved with the decision-making as well, like the trainers. It’s going to be fluid.”

Senga is working on adding another pitch, but he’s not ready to talk about it. If it doesn’t work, he can abandon it. He threw his first bullpen of spring training Wednesday, the official report date for pitchers and catchers. He’s comfortable with his pitch mix and more comfortable in Port St. Lucie.

“It’s an environment I’m used to,” Senga said. “I’ve been here already, I’m able to stay calm, throwing and working out and everything else.”

Whether he agrees with the title or not, Senga will be the Mets’ ace in 2024.