When Carlos Mendoza was asked if he had considered how a starting rotation The manager said he had not given it much thought when asked how it would look with the logjam of arms before the Mets' game on Wednesday.
Often, those situations have a way of resolving themselves when the time comes.
After Thursday's win over the Nationals, the Mets must now come to terms with how they will deal with the absence of Kodai Senga. The Mets right-hander crumbled to the grass and grabbed at his hamstring after leaping for a high throw at first base on a play in the top of the fifth inning. He was removed from the game and expected to miss some time, although the severity of the injury has yet to be revealed.
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It’s hard for me to speculate, but obviously we know he’s going to be down," Mendoza told reporters. "As soon as he goes down like that and he grabs the hamstring like that, we saw it last year (with his calf), it’s unfortunate.
Senga has been one of the best pitchers in the National League this season. The 31-year-old boasts a 7-3 record with an MLB-best 1.47 ERA, along with a 1.11 WHIP and 70 strikeouts in 73⅔ innings. The strong season is coming on the heels of a season where he made only one start due to shoulder and calf strains.
While the Mets might not have the singular firepower to replace Senga in the short-term, they had already begun to feel the squeeze with the spots available for their arms.
"You hate to see anybody go down, especially a guy like Senga after what he went through last year and how hard it was," Mendoza said. "I keep saying it, 'Injuries happen.' We feel for him, but nobody's going to feel sorry for us. We got people coming and the people that are healthy now will continue to step up."
Paul Blackburn, who was in contention for a rotation spot in spring training before an injury hampered his start to the season, has made one start and one long relief appearance since returning from the injured list on June 2. He should be the first to get a crack at Senga's rotation spot while the Mets continue to get healthy near the top of the rotation.
Frankie Montas will make his fifth rehab start on Friday for Triple-A Syracuse as he approaches his 30-day maximum rehab window. Sean Manaea has now made two rehab starts.
Montas has been inconsistent so far down in the minor leagues, pitching to a 9.00 ERA with nine strikeouts and a 2.00 WHIP in 12 innings across four combined starts for High-A Brooklyn and Triple-A Syracuse. Manaea's second start was better than his first for Brooklyn. The lefty threw 2⅔ scoreless innings with four strikeouts in his last outing, throwing 46 pitches.
With Montas nearing his return but still not back, here is the Mets' projected rotation for at least one turn:
Mets projected rotation with Kodai Senga injured
- Clay Holmes
- Tylor Megill
- Griffin Canning
- David Peterson
- Paul Blackburn
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Here's the NY Mets projected starting rotation with Kodai Senga dealing with an injury.
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