New York Mets right-hander Kodai Senga was scratched from his scheduled Saturday start because of discomfort at the base of his right index finger, the club announced. The pitcher's status will be updated after he undergoes imaging exams.
Earlier this offseason, the Mets signed the 30-year-old hurler out of Japan to a five-year, $75 million free-agent contract. Senga was an accomplished moundsman in Japan over his 11-year career in NPB, and in 2023 he's expected to stabilize the middle of the New York rotation behind Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer. In his first and thus far only start this spring, Senga on March 5 allowed one run on one hit in two innings of work against the Cardinals. Over that span, he struck out two and walked two.
The Senga news comes not long after the Mets lost veteran right-hander Jose Quintana was diagnosed with a small stress fracture in his rib cage. Quintana still does not have a clear timetable for his return. Needless to say, being two starters down not even halfway through spring training is far from optimal. On the upside, neither is an arm injury, and Opening Day is still more than two weeks away.
