Mets' Kodai Senga to face live hitters next week; status for potential playoff roster spot even murkier

Kodai Senga hasn't yet taken the mound for the last time this season, but the Mets already know the right-hander's next appearance won't occur in a big league uniform.

Prior to their home series opener with the Nationals on Friday afternoon, manager Carlos Mendoza revealed the upcoming plan for Senga, which will include him pitching either live batting practice or a simulated game sometime next week.

"The plan is for him to face hitters again. The question now is, where's that going to be?" Mendoza explained. "The minor league season ends on Sunday. Now we're in the process of trying to figure things out, to where we're going to give him those live looks."

If the Mets still envision Senga contributing at the major league level again in 2025, time is obviously running out for him to prove he's ready and worthy of the task. He's not a lock to make the potential postseason roster, and his latest outing in the minors was underwhelming.

Senga struggled in his second and final start with Triple-A Syracuse on Thursday night, allowing four runs on six hits and two walks with four strikeouts across 3.2 innings. Call it several steps backward, as he logged six frames of one-run ball with eight punchouts on Sept. 12.

"Stuff-wise was down. Whether it was the velo, execution, the secondary pitches weren't sharp," Mendoza said. "That's the report I got, and watching film, you could see it. That's probably one of the reasons why he's asking for one more time to face hitters, to continue to work through those issues."

It's been a confounding season for Senga, who undisputedly resembled the Mets' ace before injuring his hamstring in mid-June. But mechanical issues and a patent lack of consistency have plagued him since mid-July — he owns a bloated 6.56 ERA across his last eight starts (35.2 innings).

When asked what the Mets would need to see from Senga moving forward in order to promote him, Mendoza didn't offer a concrete answer. He called the situation "a tough spot" for proper evaluation, and justifiably so. It's a role undefined. The clock is ticking for him to regain trust.

Earlier this week, Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns said Senga needs to demonstrate he can "consistently get major league hitters out," while also emphasizing "results always matter."

The Mets (79-74) also don't have the luxury of casually testing Senga's stuff out during one of their nine remaining regular-season games. They enter the weekend with a narrow two-game lead over the Diamondbacks for the third and final NL wild card spot.