NEW YORK — When he takes the mound for Triple-A Syracuse on Thursday night, Kodai Senga might be pitching for a spot on the New York Mets’ postseason pitching staff.
Senga opened the season with a 1.47 ERA in his first 12 starts but was optioned to Syracuse on Sept. 5 after posting a 5.90 ERA following his return from a hamstring injury.
“I think we’ll have the conversation and we’ll take the 13 guys that we feel are going to give us the best chance to win baseball games in October,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said before a series finale against the San Diego Padres. “I think the biggest thing for him [is] to go out there today and have a good performance. And then we have decisions there.”
The Mets entered Thursday 1½ games ahead of the Arizona Diamondbacks for the final NL playoff spot and two games ahead of the Cincinnati Reds and San Francisco Giants.
The Mets were aggressive in finding a spot on the playoff roster for Senga last season, when he missed the first 102 games due to a shoulder injury and then suffered a calf strain in his lone regular-season start July 26. He made three brief appearances, two as an opener, as New York reached the NL Championship Series.
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Senga allowed three hits and struck out eight with no walks in his Syracuse debut last Friday.
“I like the fact that there was no walks,” Mendoza said. “I think it starts with him throwing strike one and then staying on the attack.”
The Mets also continued making moves to bolster their depleted pitching staff on Thursday.
Reed Garrett (right elbow sprain) went on the injured list for a second time in a month while Sean Manaea was put on the paternity list and Dom Hamel was designated for assignment. New York recalled right-handers Huascar Brazobán, Chris Devenski and Wander Suero from Triple-A Syracuse.
Mendoza said Garrett — who was sidelined with right elbow inflammation from Aug. 23 through Sept. 6 — has been having trouble recovering following outings. The right-hander experienced more discomfort while warming up in the bullpen during a 7-4 loss to the San Diego Padres on Wednesday.
Mendoza acknowledged he’s worried about what the imaging might reveal and that it’s unlikely Garrett will pitch again this season even if no damage is found.
“It’s concerning that for the second time in less than a month, a guy’s gone down with elbow issues,” Mendoza said. “But we’ve got to wait.”
Garrett is 3-6 with a 3.90 ERA and three saves in a career-high 58 games for the Mets, who have used a major league-record 46 pitchers this season and lost three members of their opening day bullpen — Max Kranick (elbow), A.J. Minter (lat) and Danny Young (elbow) — to season-ending surgeries.
The only opening day reliever to remain on the active roster all season is All-Star closer Edwin Díaz.
The trio of Brazobán, Devenski and Suero, all of whom are stretched out enough to go multiple innings, provides depth for the Mets, who may need someone to serve in a bulk reliever role if Manaea doesn’t return this weekend. Manaea piggybacked Clay Holmes in Tuesday’s 8-3 win. The duo is expected to swap roles against the Washington Nationals on Sunday.
“We want to make sure that before we make any decisions, he’s able to continue with his in-between starts [routine],” Mendoza said.
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