“Hi, I am Kodai Senga of the New York Mets,” said the Mets’ newest hurler, introducing himself to the Major Leagues on Monday at Citi Field. “I am very happy and excited to be in the Big Apple and to join such a great team.”
It was a moment long in the making. General manager Billy Eppler had an eye for nearly a decade, going back to his days as a Pacific Rim scout who famously aided in the signing of Masahiro Tanaka with the Yankees and Shohei Ohtani with the Los Angeles Angels. Eppler first came across the right-hander in 2013, three years after he was taken by Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks in the developmental player draft.
Senga, who turns 30 in January, went from being a developmental, non-rostered player to becoming one of the most dominant players in the NPB. He went 87-44 with a 2.59 ERA and 1,252 strikeouts (10.3 strikeouts per nine innings) over 11 seasons. He helped the Hawks win six Japan Series titles including four straight championships from 2017-2020, and a gold medal in the 2021 Tokyo Olympic Games.
It was this rise that piqued the interest of Eppler and the Mets.
“I’m not gonna lie, the fact that he went through the developmental league and had to scratch and claw his way to the NPB level and then to become a Game 1 starter for four Japan Series in a row, it’s a pretty good sign of resiliency,” Eppler said. “Frankly, I think it’s one that Mets fans and the community would really identify with and feel good about. So he’s a tough kid and I’m looking forward to watching them compete here.”
Senga expressed interest in playing for baseball’s best league earlier in his career but the Hawks never posted him. He finally had enough service time accrued to be able to explore free agency this winter and the interest from teams was instant. Eppler was finally able to bring the righty known for his deadly “ghost fork” pitch to New York.
Senga made his first trip to New York City in November specifically to meet with the Mets. He found Eppler to be welcoming and found comfort in his knowledge of the NPB. Initially, Senga wasn’t sure what to make of Buck Showalter, but the veteran manager won him over with his humor.
“At first, I thought he had a really intimidating face,” Senga said through interpreter Mako Allbee. “But after that, in getting to talk to him, he was cracking jokes and whatnot. I realized how comfortable I could be around someone like that.”
Senga told the Mets that he intends to win. He didn’t shy away from the fact that he wanted to play on a contender and the Mets loved the competitiveness. The opportunity to play with Max Scherzer also appealed to him and when the Mets added Justin Verlander during the winter meetings, it sweetened the deal.
“Those two pitchers that you named are obviously legendary pitchers that even every player in Japan would know,” Senga said through Allbee. “(I’m) very excited to learn from those two and be with them in the clubhouse.”
There are obvious questions that come along with signing any player from a foreign league, but especially pitchers. As Eppler noted, everything from the strike zone to the mound to the ball itself is different. There are cultural changes that the Mets will help Senga navigate and he’ll have to adapt to pitching every five days instead of once a week.
But the ghost fork, the nickname for his split-finger fastball, remains the pitch to watch once he finally faces hitters.
“Specifically, I’ve noticed that pitchers that have a split-finger or can kind of manipulate the split-finger a little bit to vary the speeds in it, I find that that it’s pretty effective,” Eppler said. “It kind of takes on a forkball characteristic — or at least that’s how we classify it — so if it goes very hard and dives down, then it’s a little bit more of a split. If it slows down, then it’s a little bit more of a forkball. Pitchers that can manipulate that, I’ve seen them have a good amount of success.”
In order to ease Senga into the big leagues, the Mets could open the season using a six-man rotation. The club currently has a surplus of starting pitchers with Senga, Scherzer, Verlander, Carlos Carrasco, Jose Quintana, David Peterson and Tylor Megill. It’s not an idea Eppler is ready to fully commit to right now but says the schedule could necessitate it at some point. Playing time always has a way of working itself out and the health of the staff out of spring training will dictate the early usage.
Lugo to San Diego
In other Mets news, former Mets swingman Seth Lugo agreed to terms with the San Diego Padres on Monday. He’ll now be a part of the same rotation as Darvish.
Senga’s contract runs through 2026 and 2027 and carries an AAV of $15 million. A contract of this length was what was needed to get the deal done and it means the club believes Senga will be an important piece of the rotation moving forward.
“(I’ve) been playing in Japan for a long time wanting to play here,” Senga said through the interpreter. That was the big goal. So I just want the fans to understand and know that I’m very blessed to play here and play in the States, and that, of course, I still want to put up good numbers as well.”
