NEW YORK — When he takes the mound for Triple-A Syracuse on Thursday night, Kodai Senga might be pitching for a spot on the New York Mets\u2019 postseason pitching staff.<\/p>\n
Senga opened the season with a 1.47 ERA in his first 12 starts but was optioned to Syracuse on Sept. 5 after posting a 5.90 ERA following his return from a hamstring injury.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we\u2019ll have the conversation and we\u2019ll take the 13 guys that we feel are going to give us the best chance to win baseball games in October,\u201d Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said before a series finale against the San Diego Padres. \u201cI think the biggest thing for him (is) to go out there today and have a good performance. And then we have decisions there.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Mets entered Thursday 1 1\/2 games ahead of the Arizona Diamondbacks for the final NL playoff spot and two games ahead of the Cincinnati Reds and San Francisco Giants.<\/p>\n
The Mets were aggressive in finding a spot on the playoff roster for Senga last season, when he missed the first 102 games due to a shoulder injury and then suffered a calf strain in his lone regular-season start July 26. He made three brief appearances, two as an opener, as New York reached the NL Championship Series.<\/p>\n
Senga allowed three hits and struck out eight with no walks in his Syracuse debut last Friday.<\/p>\n
\u201cI like the fact that there was no walks,\u201d Mendoza said. \u201cI think it starts with him throwing strike one and then staying on the attack.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Mets also continued making moves to bolster their depleted pitching staff on Thursday.<\/p>\n
Reed Garrett (right elbow sprain) went on the injured list for a second time in a month while Sean Manaea was put on the paternity list and Dom Hamel was designated for assignment. New York recalled right-handers Huascar Brazob\u00e1n, Chris Devenski and Wander Suero from Triple-A Syracuse.<\/p>\n
Mendoza said Garrett \u2014 who was sidelined with right elbow inflammation from Aug. 23 through Sept. 6 \u2014 has been having trouble recovering following outings. The right-hander experienced more discomfort while warming up in the bullpen during a 7-4 loss to the San Diego Padres on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Mendoza acknowledged he\u2019s worried about what the imaging might reveal and that it\u2019s unlikely Garrett will pitch again this season even if no damage is found.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s concerning that for the second time in less than a month, a guy\u2019s gone down with elbow issues,\u201d Mendoza said. \u201cBut we\u2019ve got to wait.\u201d<\/p>\n
Garrett is 3-6 with a 3.90 ERA and three saves in a career-high 58 games for the Mets, who have used a major league-record 46 pitchers this season and lost three members of their opening day bullpen \u2014 Max Kranick (elbow), A.J. Minter (lat) and Danny Young (elbow) \u2014 to season-ending surgeries.<\/p>\n
The only opening day reliever to remain on the active roster all season is All-Star close Edwin D\u00edaz.<\/p>\n
The trio of Brazob\u00e1n, Devenski and Suero, all of whom are stretched out enough to go multiple innings, provides depth for the Mets, who may need someone to serve in a bulk reliever role if Manaea doesn\u2019t return this weekend. Manaea piggybacked Clay Holmes in Tuesday\u2019s 8-3 win. The duo is expected to swap roles against the Washington Nationals on Sunday.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to make sure that before we make any decisions, he\u2019s able to continue with his in-between starts (routine),\u201d Mendoza said.<\/p>\n
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