Mets’ Kodai Senga looking forward to highly anticipated MLB debut

Kodai Senga, perhaps the Mets’ most intriguing addition this offseason, makes his highly anticipated MLB debut on Sunday afternoon when he takes the ball in the series finale against the Miami Marlins.

Senga, an ace in Japan, signed with the Mets on a five-year, $75 million deal this winter. After dominating during his 11-season’s in the NPB, the right-hander presents significant upside in the middle of a talented Mets rotation.

He struggled a bit early on but quickly adjusted and showcased some of that potential. In his final spring outing, Senga dominated in the Mets’ intrasquad game, throwing five scoreless innings and striking out seven.

Senga is grateful for that time during spring training, which helped him adjust both on and off the field.

"It’s obviously very different culturally and everything’s different from Japan," Senga said through an interpreter. "So getting acclimated as quickly as possible, that was a period of time that helped me get used to everything over here."

Mets manager Buck Showalter was actually impressed with how quickly Senga picked up on some of the newer things that were thrown his way, such as the pitch clock.

"A lot of the things we threw at him, he was one of the better guys at understanding everything going on," Showalter said. "He picked it all up quicker than some that were playing in the minor leagues last year. He seemed to pick things up very quickly."

Showalter admitted he’s also looking forward to seeing Senga work in a game that counts.

"You always look forward to something you’re a little curious about," Showalter said. "Having your curiosity satisfied doesn’t mean he pitches poorly or well. It’s another step of the things he did over there and the things he did in spring."

Buck certainly won’t be the only one looking forward to Senga’s debut. The right-hander, who takes the mound around 3 a.m. in Japan, expects family, friends, and locals back home to stay up and watch him pitch.

"If I’m good friends with them and they’re not gonna be awake to watch me, I will make sure they’re up," Senga said.

How’s he going to do that, you make ask?

"With lots of calls," he added with a laugh.

While he was feeling good as of Saturday afternoon, Senga certainly expects some nerves come game time.

"I didn’t even think I’d get to make a living playing baseball in Japan," Senga said. "So things have changed and my dreams have changed day by day, step by step, and here we are now. As of right now no big changes in emotion, but it’ll probably hit me pretty soon.

"Just want to be able to perform at the level I want to tomorrow by using everything I learned the past couple of months in spring training."