Right-hander Kodai Senga lost his full-time spot in the New York Mets' starting rotation before the club punted on the rest of the 2026 season by embracing a fire sale ahead of this past Monday's MLB trade deadline. 

Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns gutting the team's bullpen resulted in Senga being moved to a high-leverage relief role, beginning with Tuesday's game at the Cleveland Guardians. After Senga pitched a scoreless ninth inning in New York's 6-2 win at Cleveland on Tuesday evening, he spoke through an interpreter about how he likely will be used through the end of the ongoing campaign.

Kodai Senga knows he doesn't "deserve a starting pitching rotation spot" with Mets

"That type of situation is easier to prepare for than previously, so I’m grateful for the opportunity and to be able to pitch in situations like that," Senga said, per Abbey Mastracco of the New York Daily News. "At the same time, I made sure to tell the team that I signed as a starter, and starting is something that I’d love to do. But I also understand that my results — my stats — don’t show that I necessarily deserve a starting pitching rotation spot." 

Senga's struggles as a starter are among the many reasons the Mets fell to the basement of the National League East standings en route to becoming trade-deadline sellers. According to Danny Abriano of SNY, Senga compiled a 10.08 ERA over his first seven starts of the season. In total, Senga has accumulated a record of 0-8 on the campaign. 

Mets have nothing to lose with Kodai Senga gamble

Anthony DiComo of the MLB website noted that the Mets have Senga under team control for one more season at $15M. The perception exists that Senga, 33, currently has little value as a tradeable piece. Meanwhile, the Mets moved on from relievers Luke Weaver, Huascar Brazoban, Brooks Raley and A.J. Minter ahead of the trade deadline. 

In short, interim manager Andy Green has little to lose in seeing what Senga can offer the 48-66 Mets in his new role.

"There’s a long list of pitchers who started for a long time," Green said while speaking about Senga. "They went to the pen and eventually dominated, and we believe he has the kind of stuff to do that. I thought he was really good." 

Whether or not Senga can be "really good" through late September could determine if he remains with the Mets through the offseason.