New York Mets Pitcher Kodai Senga Addresses 'Iffy' Physical
Despite letting Carlos Correa walk due to concerns over his physical, the Mets did not do the same with Japanese pitcher Kodai Senga.
As The New York Post's Jon Heyman reported earlier this month, Senga had an "iffy" physical, which had to do with his elbow, with the Mets before they agreed upon a five-year, $75 million deal.
Alas, Senga and the Mets were able to work through this issue and came to an agreement.
On Thursday in Port St. Lucie at the Mets' spring training facility, Senga addressed this situation.
"I think one thing that was really important to me deciding to sign with the Mets was because of how they approached that situation and how much they had confidence in me," Senga told reporters. "So that was one reason I was really excited to sign here and play for the Mets."
There's no denying Senga's upside. While pitching in the Nippon Professional Baseball League, the righty posted an 87-44 record and 2.59 ERA across 1,089 career innings. Last season, Senga had a 1.89 ERA, 1.041 WHIP and 159 strikeouts in 148 innings.
The hope is that Senga's elbow, which has some wear-and-tear, will hold up across a full season. At the moment, Senga is slotted in to be the Mets' No. 3 starter in their rotation.
Senga, 30, threw a 50-pitch bullpen session on Thursday, which he described as so-so. However, he did hit 96 mph on the radar gun.
Senga is using big-league camp to get used to the steepness of the slope of the mound, as well as the baseballs, which are bigger than the NPB's.
"The biggest difference so far has been the steepness of the mound," Senga said through a translator. "So that will be an adjustment I have to make. ... Just a little bit of drifting and leaking of my front side down the mound, so that's something to look into for the next bullpen session."
"As of right now I don't feel that the ball has any effect on the so-so bullpen," he said. "It's mostly just the steepness of the mound. Perhaps it's the climate that's helping with the tackiness of the ball, but as of right now the ball isn't bothering me at all."
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