Kodai Senga has given the NY Mets no other choice

Kodai Senga's season is in the toilet. There's no two ways around it, the guy just isn't an effective MLB pitcher anymore. Even with a strong strikeout rate of 25.45%, he can't get around an embarrassing amount of walks (27 in 39.1 innings) nor an inability to keep runs off the board (8.69 ERA).

He's tried making the shift to the bullpen after completely flaming out as a starter, though he's given up three homers and five walks in 11.2 frames as a reliever. Opposing batters are absolutely pummeling the ball when Senga does find the strike zone and the only pitch of his that's being graded out as above-average by run value is his famous forkball.

With one guaranteed year still remaining on his contract (plus a 2028 club option), it looks like the New York Mets are kind of stuck with the right-hander for right now. If he's truly not willing to accept another demotion to the minor leagues, then it seems like the only option is to let him keep failing at the highest level.

The Mets can't win with Kodai Senga, but they may be able to escape

The Mets could always cut Senga (by designating him for assignment), though that would require them to accept $15 million in dead money ahead of the 2027 lockout. That kind of financial burden, even for a franchise as free-spending as this one, could significantly hamper progress in a post-lockout world.

Instead, we may be entering "how much worse could it get" territory. Senga gracefully accepted a demotion to Triple-A in September of last year, though such a solution doesn't appear to be on the table this time around. Letting him continue to pitch out of the bullpen may be the Mets' lone way out of his contract.

Thanks to his experience as a starter, Senga can functionally serve in a long reliever role. He hasn't had much success with that so far this year, but there are a lot of teams who would trip head over heels to bring in a reliable bulk reliever, even at his bloated salary. It would take some time before the right-hander approached that caliber of pitcher again, but a successul second half in that role could make him movable over the offseason.

Alternatively, the coaching staff can shove Senga in a true fireman position, having him pitch just one inning at a time like a traditional bullpen arm. That would make his salary less tolerable, but it would also grant him the chance to shed the fat from his arsenal and focus exclusively on a heater-forkball combo that could be devastating in short spurts.

And, in a true worst-case scenario, the Mets can use Senga as something of a secret weapon in the tanking game if they decide to sell at the trade deadline. That's not exactly a glamarous role (or a real position on the depth chart), but it's the reality both team and player are facing during a disastrous season.

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