After Kodai Senga injury, Mets must acquire a starting pitcher by the trade deadline
Mets starting pitcher Kodai Senga walks to the dugout after the top of the fifth inning of an MLB game against Atlanta at Citi Field on Friday. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
About the time on Friday night when Kodai Senga’s left calf gave way on the infield grass at Citi Field, Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns probably had a cellphone up to his ear.
Stearns probably said, “I’ll call you back” to whomever he was speaking. He likely also did something Senga no longer is able to do easily, thanks to what the Mets announced on Saturday is a regular season-ending high-grade strain:
He pivoted.
Tuesday is the trade deadline, and Stearns is trying to add to the Mets’ roster to improve their chances of holding on to a playoff spot and then doing something in the postseason.
Before Senga went down, Stearns likely was trying to procure some more bullpen arms and maybe an outfield bat.
Now that an MRI confirmed that Senga will miss the rest of the regular season? Trading for a starting pitcher has to be on the top of Stearns’ to-get list.
In a short span, the Mets lost Christian Scott and Senga to injuries. The six-man rotation the Mets envisioned to help Senga transition back from the shoulder injury that kept him from making his 2024 season debut until Friday is a distant memory.
The five remaining starters are Luis Severino, Jose Quintana, Sean Manaea, David Peterson and Tylor Megill, the last of whom
allowed four runs (three home runs) in six innings-plus in the Mets’ 4-0 loss to Atlanta on Saturday.
The good news for the Mets is three-fold: There are plenty of decent starting pitchers on the market; the Mets have a tradeable major league-ready prospect in third baseman Brett Baty, and the Mets have the bottomless Steve Cohen wallet.
Let’s say the Mets are trying to acquire a starter and the other team has two or three similar offers. The Mets can simply say “here’s a check for $5 million to sweeten the pot,” which is something few teams can match.
Cohen flexed his monetary muscle during last year’s trade season when he added huge dollars to deals to acquire better prospects. Now he can do it in reverse to replace Senga, the ace whose entire regular season amounted to one day on the active roster, 5 1⁄3 brilliant innings and an injury suffered when he tried to sprint out of the way of Pete Alonso on a pop-up near the mound.
The sudden movement popped Senga’s calf and should have changed the direction of Stearns’ endeavors at the trade deadline.
Manager Carlos Mendoza on Saturday dangled the hope that Senga could help the Mets in October if they make a deep run. How delicious would that be? But the Mets have to get there first, and adding another starter would help greatly.
Who could be available to fly to Flushing before 6 p.m. on Tuesday? As of Saturday afternoon, there were quite a few options (all stats are through Friday).
The reunion
Chris Bassitt, Blue Jays, or Max Scherzer, Rangers
Yes, it would be fantastical for the Mets to reacquire Scherzer one year after trading him to the eventual World Series champion Rangers. But haven’t stranger things happened?
The Rangers went into Saturday two games under .500, with plenty of talent to deal if they decide to be sellers.
Toronto already is a seller. Bassitt won 15 games for the Mets in 2022 and 16 for the Blue Jays last season. He’s 8-9 in 2024 but has a 3.78 ERA in 21 starts.
The White Sox duo
The hottest name on the trade market is lefthander Garrett Crochet, who leads the American League in strikeouts with 157 in 111 1⁄3 innings in his first season as a starter. It probably will take an arm and a leg to acquire the 25-year-old, and there are reports that he wants an immediate contract extension if he’s dealt or he won’t pitch in the postseason (What? That’s a thing?). But once you get him, he’s yours through at least the 2026 season.
Baseball’s worst team also has righthander Erick Fedde, who rebuilt his career in Korea and is 7-3 with a 2.98 ERA. Mets fans probably remember Fedde from his days with the Nationals, when the Mets pounded him for a 1-5 record and 6.51 ERA in 17 games. He’s better now.
The free agents to be
Jack Flaherty, Tigers; Yusei Kikuchi, Blue Jays; Frankie Montas, Reds.
Of this trio, Flaherty is the most intriguing. Once an ace-level pitcher with St. Louis, the 28-year-old righthander signed a one-year, $14 million deal to rebuild his value. It worked. Flaherty is 7-5 with a 2.95 ERA and 133 strikeouts in 106 2⁄3 innings.
Are any of these pitchers as good as Senga? Trick question! Senga can’t pitch right now, so they are all better than him.
One of them needs to be a Met by Tuesday.
Anthony Rieber covers baseball, as well as the NFL, NBA and NHL. He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since July 5, 2004.