Japanese star right-hander Kodai Senga and the Mets came to an agreement Saturday night on a five-year, $75 million contract. Check it out.
Kodai Senga : Signed with mets | Announcement
Kodai Senga is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent.
| Born: January 30, 1993 Gamagōri, Aichi, Japan |
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Bats: Left
Throws: Right
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| NPB debut | |
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| 2012, for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks |
He made his Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) debut in 2012 for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, and played for them until 2022. He is a three-time NPB All-Star.
On October 28, 2010, Senga was drafted as a developmental player by the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks in the 2010 Nippon Professional Baseball draft with Takuya Kai and Taisei Makihara.
From 2011 to mid-2012, he played in informal matches against the Shikoku Island League Plus’s teams, other amateur baseball teams, and played in the Western League of NPB’s second league.
Kodai Senga Signed with mets
The New York Mets have reached an agreement with free-agent right-hander Kodai Senga, formerly of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball league, according to SNY.
It’s a five-year contract worth $75 million, CBS Sports HQ’s Jim Bowden confirms. The contract is pending a physical.
Senga, 29, pitched for the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks for 11 seasons, accumulating a 2.42 ERA and a 2.92 strikeout-to-walk ratio in more than 1,340 innings pitched. He visited the Mets in New York a few weeks ago.
Senga entered the offseason ranked by CBS Sports as the 23rd best free agent available. Here’s what we wrote at the time:
Senga is an accomplished right-hander who posted a 1.89 ERA and a 3.18 strikeout-to-walk ratio this season across 148 innings. Senga’s best pitches are his lively mid-90s fastball and his devastating “ghost” forkball, a true out pitch in the majors or anywhere else.
He’s capable of stair-stepping with that combination, raising the heat before burying the fork. He also throws a decent curveball.
The contract figure exactly matches the projection from MLBTR, as Senga ranked 11th on the list of the offseason’s Top 50 Free Agents. There is no further posting fee involved in the Mets’ costs, since Senga became a full free agent after exercising an opt-out clause in his contract with Nippon Professional Baseball’s Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks.
Senga turns 30 in January, and he leaves the Hawks after 11 outstanding seasons. The righty has a 2.59 ERA, 28.22% strikeout rate, and 9.33% walk rate over 1089 innings at Japan’s highest level.
Senga’s four-pitch arsenal is highlighted by an excellent splitter and a fastball that routinely hits the upper-90s. Scouting reports indicate that Senga’s control is sometimes inconsistent, but otherwise, many pundits feel his stuff can translate quite well to North American baseball.
Announcement
Another influx of NPB talent might be coming to Major League Baseball in 2023. A couple of the Japanese league’s stars have declared their intention to play stateside and are on their way to file for international free agency.
A year after the arrival of five-time NPB All-Star Seiya Suzuki to the Chicago Cubs, a pair of stars from the league might play stateside as well as early as Opening Day 2023.
Senga has achieved almost every viable award during his time in the Nippon Professional Baseball League. In 11 sensational seasons, he posted a 87-44 record with a 2.65 ERA and 1,252 strikeouts.
The absurd statline helped him clinch three All-Star selections, two Golden Glove awards, and two Pacific League Best Nine Awards.
The Chicago Cubs are reportedly interested in pursuing the ace to help their underwhelming pitching rotation.
Fresh from claiming a Japan Series ring, reports are now circulating that Orix Buffaloes star Masataka Yoshida might be on his way to MLB with the World Series-contending Philadelphia Phillies as his preferred organization.
The Fukuoka Softbank Hawks ace and one of the most prolific pitchers in the league, Kodai Senga has filed for international free agency, according to multiple reports.
The five-time Japan Series champion is one of the most decorated active pitchers in the NPB with a no-hitter and a pitching Triple Crown on his resume.