Despite positive returns from a recent MRI, New York Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns is hesitant to pick a date for ace Kodai Senga to make his first start of the season amid a right shoulder injury.
“I think we probably need to get a little bit farther into his throwing program before we’re able to provide a concrete timeframe,” Stearns told reporters Friday. “(He’s) making good progress but probably another week or two before we can map out a real throwing program and get a sense of when he can be back on a major league mound.”
Senga, 31, had a platelet-rich plasma injection in his ailing right shoulder in late February after he was diagnosed with moderate right posterior capsule strain. He is starting the season on the injured list.
After not throwing for three weeks, a follow-up MRI on March 21 was positive.
“Inflammation is gone,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said at the time, “so he’s pretty much cleared from the doctor.”
Senga resumed pitching Monday and on Wednesday he played catch in right field while he mimicked his delivery.
Senga, who is entering the second year of a five-year, $75 million contract, had a stellar rookie season. After spending 11 seasons in Japan, he went 12-7 with a 2.98 ERA in 29 starts for the Mets, with 202 strikeouts and 77 walks in 166 1/3 innings.
Senga finished second to Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Corbin Carroll in the National League Rookie of the Year balloting and seventh in NL Cy Young Award voting.
Stearns also said a recent MRI revealed a “shoulder impingement” for right-handed pitcher Sean Reid-Foley, who was placed on the 15-day IL Thursday.
“It’s not something that we think is something we think is overly serious,” Stearns said.
Mendoza said Reid-Foley played catch Thursday and his return will be based on his the confidence level he has amid decreasing discomfort.
In parts of six major league seasons, Reid-Foley, 28, is 7-10 with a 4.58 ERA in 48 games (13 starts) with the Toronto Blue Jays and Mets, with 126 strikeouts and 70 walks.
–Field Level Media