Jason Burgos
As we near MLB Opening Day 2026, the New York Mets have officially unveiled their starting rotation for the start of the new season.
Heading into spring training, there were only two guarantees when it came to the NY Mets starting staff. New acquisition Freddy Peralta would lead the group, and it would include National League Rookie of the Year favorite Nolan McLean. After that, nothing was a sure thing.
A key factor in the team’s ugly late-season collapse last fall was disappointing performances from their starting pitchers. Namely, Kodai Senga, Sean Manaea, and David Peterson. All three had a lot to prove this spring. Well, after 24 games, we now have the official winners of the race to land a spot in the NY Mets opening day rotation.
Kodai Senga makes the NY Mets’ 2026 starting rotation
On Saturday morning, manager Carlos Mendoza revealed that after Peralta’s already announced Opening Day start will be followed by one-time All-Star Peterson on March 28. Next up will be McLean, Clay Holmes lands the fourth spot, and Senga’s spring training showing earned him the fifth and final spot in the rotation.
The big omission from the starting five is the 10-year vet Manaea, who is in year two of a $75 million contract he inked before last season. While he wasn’t bad this spring, as he posted a 3.72 ERA over 9.2 innings, he was soundly outpitched by Holmes and Senga.
Holmes pitched 12.2 innings, struck out 13, had 3 walks, and finished with a 2.84 ERA. While Senga fanned 11, walked just one, in 9.2 innings, and had a 1.86 ERA.
However, Manaea serves as a strong replacement option for Peterson. He struggled mightily at the end of last season, and that continued in the spring as he was on the mound for 8 innings, had just 5 strikeouts to 2 walks, and a whopping 5.63 ERA.
That’s why it is surprising that he is the No. 2 starter. However, he was great in the first half of 2025, which is why he earned All-Star honors. New York is clearly still hopeful they can get the 30-year-old back to that level of play early in the season.
