Worrisome trends and some bad luck keeping Mets from being whole
Kodai Senga of the Mets watches from the dugout during the ninth inning of of game one of a doubleheader against the Detroit Tigers at Citi Field on April 4. Credit: Getty Images
The NHL’s Stanley Cup made a tour stop at Citi Field before Sunday night’s game, propped up on its portable stage in front of the home dugout, and a handful of Mets posed for photos en route to batting practice. J.D. Martinez even wrapped his arm around the trophy, hugging the silver chalice like a family member.
Hockey players would be aghast at such behavior. Touching the Cup without first winning the honor is a big no-no among the superstitious skater crowd, a taboo that could lead to all kinds of bad luck.
Good thing for the Mets: they don’t play for Lord Stanley’s Cup, so it’s not like they were going to jinx anything. As for the luck, well, they’re dealing with a few worrisome trends already, which explains why the Mets headed into Sunday’s series finale trying to avoid getting swept by Atlanta.
Let’s address a few existential threats first, namely the fuzzy status of Kodai Senga’s rehab timetable and the lack of clarity involving Brooks Raley’s left elbow. While the Mets’ pitching staff has performed above expectations to this point, it’s done so with the hope that Senga was returning in early June and they could count on Raley as a reliable lefty weapon for the relief corps.
Now both of those things appear to be in serious jeopardy. Regardless of the Mets’ efforts this weekend to reshuffle Senga’s schedule for the sake of “mechanical adjustments,” there’s no disguising the fact that he’s going backwards after facing hitters for only a second time a week ago. Rather than staying with simulated games and progressing to a minor-league stint, Senga is instead back to square one -- working on his delivery in the bullpen -- which essentially is resetting the clock on him, too.
“His arm feels good,” manager Carlos Mendoza said before Sunday’s game. “He keeps saying he just doesn’t feel his mechanics are there. And he doesn’t want to continue to push it until he finds that rhythm.”
This is not standard procedure. Mendoza repeatedly insisted the delay is not due to any physical issues involving the shoulder strain Senga suffered in February, but this current limbo makes any return date a moving target. Considering Senga’s kid-glove treatment, he’ll require at least five weeks of ramp up once he resumes pitching to hitters again -- perhaps more -- and that will start inching closer toward the All-Star break. June is quickly fading, if not out of the question entirely.
“It’s just more of his feedback,” Mendoza said. “What he’s feeling physically before we can take that next step.”
Raley’s situation seems more ominous, as he will visit an orthopedic surgeon in Texas on Tuesday, knowing that Tommy John surgery could be on the table for his damaged left elbow. Heading into Sunday night, the Mets’ bullpen had the lowest ERA in the National League (2.81) as well as third overall, behind the Yankees (2.36) and Guardians (2.48). Raley was a big reason for that, having allowed just two hits without an earned run in eight appearances (7.0 innings).
“It’s about being healthy,” Raley said Saturday. “If I’m not the same player on the field, I don’t really bring a whole lot to the team.”
Senga and Raley represent two key components for a Mets’ team that can’t spare many as it looks to stay in the wild-card race. They’re also going to need much more help from the offensive side, and may have dodged a bullet with Brandon Nimmo, who sounded optimistic Sunday about the intercostal irritation that caused him to exit Saturday’s game in the fifth inning.
Mendoza made the no-brainer move of sitting Nimmo for the series finale, replacing him with DJ Stewart atop the order, but they can’t afford to have him out for long. At best, the Mets’ offense is meh, as they rank 16th the majors in runs per game (4.32) and 20th in both OPS (.679) and batting average (.234). Removing Nimmo from the equation is almost unthinkable, as he leads these mediocre Mets with a .779 OPS, boosted by a previous two-week-plus tear at a .960 clip (14 games).
Given the serious nature of an intercostal injury, and the impact on that area by swinging a bat, the Mets might be wise to overcompensate when it comes to a breather for Nimmo. As of Sunday, however, they didn’t believe it even warranted an MRI and Nimmo was talking as if he’d be back for Monday’s visit by the Phillies.
“That’ll be discussed,” Nimmo said of his return. “It’s a little sore, as if you worked out or something a little too much. But other than that, it’s pretty good.”
This isn’t October. And if the Mets want to stay viable for playing games in the fall, they should be extra careful with Nimmo here in the spring. Better to knock out that irritation entirely rather than risk aggravating the injury into a more troublesome problem. We get the sputtering Mets feeling some sense of urgency -- after losing 12 of 18, with four games against the NL East-leading Phillies on tap this week -- but they have to think big picture, even though that’s been looking a bit cloudier lately.
David Lennon is an award-winning columnist, a voter for baseball's Hall of Fame and has covered six no-hitters, including two perfect games.
