Kodai Senga Injury Update: Mets ace takes enormous step towards recovery after resuming throwing

The New York Mets received some encouraging news concerning Kodai Senga ahead of Opening Day.

Per SNY, the Japanese ace threw in right field, played catch and even mimicked his pitching motion sometimes as the Mets worked out at Citi Field on Wednesday.

Senga was ruled out of action after suffering a mild strain on his right shoulder. He received a PRP injection to counter the issue. Now that he has resumed throwing, it is expected that Senga will be ready to return sometime in May.

Jose Quintana has been announced as the Opening Day starter. The Mets will also have Luis Severino, Sean Manaea, Adrian Houser and Tylor Megill to choose from down the order.

The Mets will get their season underway with a three-game set against the Brewers in Milwaukee, followed by a three-game homestand vs. the Tigers.

Kodai Senga’s MRI results ‘very, very encouraging’

Mets manager Carlos Mendoza recently shared some good news for Mets fans. He confirmed that Kodai Senga’s latest MRI scans were ‘very, very encouraging.’

"Inflammation is gone. So he's pretty much cleared from the doctors," Mendoza said. And now it's up to our internal testing, making sure he passes all the power tests, the shoulder strength, and things like that before he starts a throwing program, which should happen within the next week.

"But everything is good, clear. Once he's passed all of our internal testing, he'll begin a throwing program."

It seems like Senga passed all internal tests, which should lead to a return sooner rather than later. The Mets rotation will be heavily dependent on him in 2024.

Senga went 12-7 in his first MLB season with a 2.98 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and 202 strikeouts over 166 ⅓ innings. He firmly established himself as a Cy Young-caliber pitcher in his first year and the Mets rotation will be hopeful of having him back at the earliest.