The Mets got their guy — yep, another one.
They agreed to a five-year, $75 million deal with Kodai Senga, a source said late Saturday night, ending their weekslong pursuit of the Japanese righthander and bringing in their new third starting pitcher of the week.
That rounds out the Mets’ rotation, which now includes Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander, Senga, Jose Quintana and Carlos Carrasco. David Peterson, Tylor Megill, Joey Lucchesi, Elieser Hernandez and others remain as depth options — or bullpen candidates, since that section of roster is still very much in flux.
Following the Senga signing, once he passes a physical to make it official, the Mets’ 2023 luxury-tax payroll will be about $350 million. With penalties that will be applied for spending so much, their overall commitment is more than $420 million. And they still have moves to make regarding relievers and maybe a hitter.
As someone who has never pitched in the majors, Senga, who turns 30 in January, is inherently an unknown and comes with some amount of built-in risk. But his track record in Japan was extensive and impressive. Across 11 seasons with the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks in Nippon Professional Baseball — the highest level of baseball in Japan — Senga had a 2.59 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and 10.3 strikeouts per nine innings.
An aspect of his history worth noting: His career-high innings total is 180 1/3, set in 2019. He passed 150 in only one other year.
Mets manager Buck Showalter was openly complimentary of Senga when he spoke Tuesday at the winter meetings in San Diego but wondered about one piece of his transition to the majors: How would Senga fare pitching once every five games instead of once per week in Japan?
“It's tough to project those guys. But a good pitcher is a good pitcher,” Showalter said. “You're always thinking about the load of pitching every fifth day compared to the other (schedule), but they said that about some really good Japanese pitchers that came over here and did well. So he's a good one. We've talked with him. And he's impressive. You can see why they think so highly of him. I enjoyed our little talk with him.”
Senga’s agent, Joel Wolfe of Wasserman, told reporters this offseason that Senga wanted to play in a big city and for a team ready to win immediately. The Mets check both of those boxes — and wound up giving Senga the length of contract he sought. Showalter said Senga spent time in Manhattan during his visit with the Mets.
The Mets have committed more than $460 million to six free agents this offseason. Brandon Nimmo leads everybody with $162 for his eight-year deal, ahead of Edwin Diaz ($102 million), Verlander ($86.66 million), Senga, Quintana ($26 million) and David Robertson ($10 million).
