Hours before Monday’s loss, the Mets’ dugout was crowded with staff and front-office execs, including president of baseball operations David Stearns, trying to get a glimpse of the team’s ace.
For the first time since suffering a right shoulder capsule strain in February, Kodai Senga took the mound to face hitters.
They were not major league hitters — the Mets called up prospects Karell Paz and Jose Hernandez from High-A Brooklyn — but it was a major step that Senga feels he passed.
Senga threw about 20 pitches, induced plenty of whiffs and said he reached the mid-90s with his fastball. Senga is not eligible to be activated from the 60-day injured list until May 27 and hopes his official return will not be delayed much beyond then.
“As long as things keep going well,” Senga said through interpreter Hiro Fujiwara, “I think I’ll be back right around then.”
Next up for Senga are two more live batting practices every fourth day, so Friday and then next Tuesday. If he continues to feel well and is recovering well, a rehab assignment could be in play afterward.
Manager Carlos Mendoza said that when Senga begins a rehab assignment, he will be pitching on five days’ rest — getting the extra day that the Mets usually gave Senga last season.
As for Monday’s step, Mendoza was pleased.
“The way the ball was coming out, there was no hesitation,” Mendoza said before a 3-1 loss to the Cubs at Citi Field. “He was just letting it loose, using all of his pitches.”
Mendoza did not strictly use analytical data Sunday in allowing Jose Quintana to record the final out of the eighth inning. Quintana talked his way into staying on the mound and struck out Willson Contreras.
According to Stearns, that is the kind of feel that Mendoza owns that appealed to him during the hiring process.
“I think one of the things that made Mendy so appealing throughout the interview process was his ability to read situations — that’s both in-game and in a clubhouse with people,” Stearns said. “Understand how human beings are going to react in different situations. And I think we’ve seen that play out over the course of the first month of the season, both in terms of how he’s managing the clubhouse and how he’s managing in-game.
“This is what we expected. I think he’s doing a really good job.”
David Peterson (hip surgery) threw two perfect, five-strikeout innings with Low-A St. Lucie on Sunday.
“Came out well,” said Mendoza, who said Peterson’s fastball was 93-95 mph. “Everything’s positive.”
Peterson is set to pitch again Friday with St. Lucie.
A promising, far-off prospect was promoted.
Jonah Tong, a 20-year-old righty who did not allow an earned run in 18 ²/₃ innings in which he struck out 36 with St. Lucie, has been bumped up to High-A Brooklyn.
Starling Marte is expected to be activated from the bereavement list Tuesday, which means another Met must exit to create room.
The just-summoned Mark Vientos is the most likely candidate to be shuffled back to Triple-A Syracuse, but the Mets at least have left the door open for the unexpected.
“I think we’ll see what happens when Marte gets back,” Stearns said. “One thing I’ve learned in this job is: Don’t make a decision until you have to make a decision.”
Mendoza made the decision to start righty-hitting Vientos over lefty-hitting Brett Baty to face righty Jameson Taillon on Monday. Vientos, Sunday’s hero with a walk-off home run, went 0-for-3 before being subbed out.
Defensively, Vientos did well to range over and field a soft grounder from Christopher Morel in the fourth inning, but his throw forced Pete Alonso to dive, barely managing to keep his foot on the base for the out.
Baty took a seat amid a funk that could lead to further questions about the Mets’ third-base job. Baty has cooled significantly after a strong start this season. After his pinch-hit strikeout in the ninth, Baty owns a .632 OPS with one home run in 26 games.
Could the Mets find a way to keep Vientos’ bat at the major league level? It is possible, but not likely. They could option DJ Stewart, who has the advantage of being a lefty bat who can face late-inning righty arms. They also could decide that their best course of action at third base would be a timeshare, with Vientos and perhaps Joey Wendle platooning if they feel Baty needs some more time at Triple-A.
Such a move would be uncharacteristic for Stearns, who says he likes to wait for about 45 games before analyzing his team (and perhaps making more significant changes). But a nice day for Vientos at least guaranteed him a second look, which meant Baty was watching from the dugout Monday.
Asked about Baty, Stearns first complimented a glove that has been much better than last season.
“Continuing to get more comfortable over there,” Stearns said of Baty’s work at third. “Making not only the routine play, but also sometimes the really difficult play. And that’s been really encouraging for us.”
Less encouraging has been Baty’s bat, which is making more contact this season but striking pitches with less authority.
Still, Baty was hitting .316 with a .757 OPS on April 15. The 24-year-old left a game with hamstring tightness on April 16, sat for a few days and entered play 3-for-23 since returning.
“I think he got off to a really good start. A little bit cooler of late since he’s come back from missing a few days with a hamstring,” Stearns said during his once-a-homestand sitdown with media. “That’s part of a baseball season, and this is part of what young players have to go through to really establish themselves is fight through stretches like this and get back to where they feel good at the plate.”
