Carlos Mendoza is done dancing around it. The Mets manager called out Kodai Senga publicly after another disastrous start against the Cubs at Citi Field, and the message could not have been clearer. Either get better, or get out of the rotation.
“Performing matters here and having outings like these are not gonna cut it,” Mendoza said via Tyler Kepner of The Athletic. “I’m pretty sure we’re gonna have a decision, but that ain’t gonna do it. We need better. They know that, and we’re to a point where you gotta go out there and earn it. So that’s the bottom line.”
Senga was rocked in the 9-6 loss. He gave up seven earned runs on three hits across just 3 2/3 innings. Two of those hits were home runs. He walked five Cubs hitters. He struck out six but the location was a problem all night. This was his second start back from the injured list after dealing with lumbar spine inflammation. He has been bad in both.
The numbers paint an ugly picture. Across his last two starts, Senga has given up 11 runs and four home runs while walking nine. His overall 2026 line is brutal. A 0-6 record. A 10.08 ERA. A 1.916 WHIP. A 7.48 FIP. The 33 year old right hander has not looked like the pitcher who arrived from Japan and had a 2.98 ERA in his rookie season.
The injury history complicates everything. Senga has dealt with shoulder issues, calf strains, and now the back problems. Each return has come with a question about whether his stuff is the same. Based on the radar gun and the late life on his pitches, the answer right now is no.
Mendoza’s public callout is a signal. Senga has a guaranteed contract and pedigree, which buys him some runway. But the Mets are sitting at 34-44, fourteen games out of first place in the NL East. They cannot afford to keep running him out there every five days hoping he figures it out. The bullpen is running on fumes. The rotation needs reliability.
Options are limited. Christian Scott is still working his way back. Tylor Megill has been useful in spot starts. The Mets could promote a Triple A arm to take Senga’s spot in the rotation. They could move him to the bullpen and let him try to find his stuff in a lower leverage setting. Both options come with downside.
The bigger conversation is what happens by the trade deadline on August 3. If Senga keeps pitching like this, the Mets are not selling him. Nobody is buying a starter with a 10 ERA. If he turns it around, his deal still has team options that make him an asset. The team would rather find out which version they have before the deadline gets closer.
For now, Mendoza has handled this the right way. Praising your guys when they struggle gets you nothing. Public accountability sometimes gets you better. Senga has the talent to be the front line starter the Mets thought they signed. He has not had any of that this season.
His next start is the most important one of his career in New York. Another outing like this one and the calls for a roster move will get loud, both from inside the clubhouse and from a fanbase that has watched too many similar seasons. Mendoza just said the quiet part out loud. The clock has started.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
