"Kodai Senga absolutely cannot be one of the leaders” - Fans question David Stearns' stance on Mets $75M fallen ace after rough 2025

The New York Mets held the best record in baseball in June and veteran starter Kodai Senga was one of the driving forces behind the team's strong start to the season.

Senga had a. 7-3 record with a 1.47 ERA (12 earned runs over 73 2/3 innings) with 70 strikeouts in his first 13 starts. However, the Mets ace suffered a hamstring injury and was never the same after that.

Following the Mets' heartbreaking loss to the Miami Marlins on Sunday, which ended their postseason hopes. President of baseball operations David Stearns said:

“Kodai has had two very inconsistent, challenging years in a row,” Stearns said bluntly. “We know it’s in there. We know there’s potential. We’re going to do everything we can to help get it out of him. ... “Can we put him in ink as making 30 starts next year? I think that would be foolish.”

However, Mets fans questioned Stearns' stance on the veteran ace who has been optioned to Triple-A.

"It’s may be to move on from Kodai. Brings quirky vibes to the team but he absolutely cannot be one of the leaders of our rotation if we seriously want to compete. I would only want him if he was a 4th or 5th guy."

"So just run the same scrubs back next year? GTFOH."

"Clown. What does the analytic dept and the “numbers” tell ya David."

"Why sign a guy for that much money that can't make 30 starts a season this Mets franchise is a disaster."

"By far the most interesting comment of the presser."

About the author

Chaitanya Prakash is an editor who covers US Sports at Sportskeeda. His first brush with sportswriting was in 2012 when the greatest football manager of all time, Sir Alex Ferguson, bid farewell to the beautiful game.

Although having started out professionally as a cricket writer in 2022, Chaitanya's curiosity and indiscriminate interest in all sports in general eventually introduced him to America's favorite pastime.

While Chaitanya's favorite player from the current crop is the dynamic Venezuelan Ronald Acuna Jr., his all-time favorite, however, is Pedro Martinez, for his self-belief and consistency. He also rates Jose Bautista's iconic bat flip in 2015 as his favorite moment in baseball history.

Chaitanya specializes in reporting on technical aspects of the game or analyzing patterns behind specific plays. He also likes pondering over players' self-assessments following the conclusion of a game as it helps him get an idea of how they think about the sport in general.

When not cheering for his favorites across sports, Chaitanya likes being transported to the past through a good war documentary or a historical documentary in general.

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Edited by Chaitanya Prakash