Mets Ace Kodai Senga Dealing With Tricep Tightness

Senga was unable to throw his scheduled bullpen session on Sunday.

May 14, 2024; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets injured pitcher Kodai Senga (34) throws in / Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

When it rains, it pours, and it's certainly pouring for the New York Mets.

With the team already mired in a slump, the Mets were anticipating the continued buildup of ace Kodai Senga, who is currently recovering from a right shoulder strain. Unfortunately, that recovery hit a snag on Sunday when he was unable to throw his scheduled bullpen session on Sunday.

According to manager Carlos Mendoza, Senga is dealing with tricep tightness. However, he isn't overly concerned about the setback.

"He went out and played catch, did his long-toss, got on the mound but felt something on his tricep," Mendoza said. "Doctors took a look at him, but were not concerned, it's a low-level concern right now. He's not throwing today, but hopefully he throws again tomorrow and then throws a bullpen by the end of the week."

Kodai Senga experienced tricep tightness and did not throw his scheduled bullpen session yesterday

Carlos Mendoza says it is a "low-level concern" and that they hope he will throw a bullpen by the end of the week pic.twitter.com/EDa0QScylt

— SNY (@SNYtv) May 20, 2024

Even if team doctors aren't concerned, this is still a setback that will slow down Senga's return to the big leagues. This news is made much worse due to the Mets' recent pitching woes in both the starting rotation and bullpen.

The starting rotation is getting a reinforcement in the return of Tylor Megill, who will start on Monday against the Cleveland Guardians; however, this will be Megill's second start all year due to an injury he sustained in just the third game of the season. Adrian Houser has also returned to the rotation after two appearances out of the bullpen and will start on Tuesday, but his 8.16 ERA in his starts is definitely not encouraging. As for the bullpen, the recent struggles of Edwin Diaz have made it difficult for the Mets to finish games.

With the Mets sitting at 21-25 and 2.5 games out of the last Wild Card spot, they need Senga back to make a playoff push. However, this setback means that they will have to keep their heads above water without him for a little bit longer.