PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- About a year ago, soon after the New York Mets reported to spring training, presumed ace Kodai Senga was shut down indefinitely with a shoulder injury.
On Tuesday, the right-hander said the shoulder trouble is behind him and he is healthy and ready to assume a full workload in 2025.
"I'm not worried at all," Senga said through an interpreter at the Mets' spring training complex Tuesday. "I just need to ramp up slowly and get through spring training healthy and get through the year healthy."
And if Senga can do that, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said he expects the team to deploy a six-man starting rotation to give Senga an extra day of rest between starts.
"It depends on Senga, obviously," Mendoza said. "But if Senga's healthy -- knock on wood -- there's a good chance we'll go with a six-man rotation throughout the year, even with some off days included there. We got options. We got depth."
Senga, 32, is entering the third year of a five-year, $75 million contract with the Mets after beginning his professional career in Japan. His 2023 rookie season was an unmitigated success: He posted a 2.98 ERA over 166⅓ innings across 29 starts with a second-place finish in National League Rookie of the Year voting.
Last year, however, was very different.
Senga was sidelined with a shoulder capsule strain in mid-February and began the season on the 60-day injured list. Between the bothersome shoulder and pitching mechanics he deemed not up to par, Senga didn't make his season debut until July 26. He was dominant with nine strikeouts over 5⅓ innings in that outing against the Atlanta Braves at Citi Field.
"Those five innings were electric," Mendoza said.
Senga strained his calf on an infield popup, however, and didn't pitch again in the regular season as the Mets rebounded from a dreadful start to reach the postseason.
He returned for the playoffs, making two abbreviated starts and appearing out of the bullpen in another game. He allowed seven runs across five innings.
"I'm glad that I was able to play there," Senga said. "I'm grateful that they called on me and I was able to get in there. It's obviously something that the whole team looks forward and works toward for the entirety of the season. And I'm glad that I was also able to experience that.
"And now that I have experienced that, I can work toward that this year and again staying healthy is going to help me push the team to our ultimate goal."
Reaching that goal, which would require surviving a loaded National League topped by the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers, would require a strong showing from a rotation that enters the season with questions.
Sean Manaea re-signed after a resurgent second half last season, but Luis Severino and Jose Quintana are gone. Clay Holmes, a converted closer, and Frankie Montas, who has a 4.43 ERA in 58 appearances over the last three seasons, were signed to replace them. David Peterson, Paul Blackburn, Griffin Canning, Tylor Megill and Senga round out the options for a potential six-man rotation, which is the norm in Japan.
"I think what's really important is my health," Senga said. "And if I feel good, I'm able to throw. Whether it's a six-man rotation, five-man rotation, regular rest or long rest. And it's up to the manager and the people over there to decide when I'm going to throw. I just need to be prepared to throw whenever they call."
Senga said he felt healthy in October but pitching after so much time off was foreign to him. The work to remain healthy began with an offseason that Senga described as "half rehab, half normal." He said he felt back on track by early January.
"We just got to see the intensity and how he's going to bounce back and things like that," Mendoza said. "But our goal is to have him ready to break camp. What that looks like, we'll see. But he's healthy, knock on wood, feeling good, and ready to go."
Senga's offseason, however, didn't include recruiting Roki Sasaki, the 23-year-old star right-hander who chose to make the jump to the major leagues from Japan this winter. The Mets were one of eight teams that met with Sasaki in Los Angeles, but they weren't one of the three finalists.
Sasaki, as widely predicted, signed with the Dodgers, joining fellow countrymen Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto on baseball's most expensive roster. Sasaki and Senga share agents, but Senga said he did not speak to Sasaki during his recruitment process.
"Of course I would love to have some more on the Mets, but the weather -- the climate's nice [in Los Angeles]," Sasaki said. "And I think that definitely plays a part."
Senga added with a laugh: "We need to build a roof."