Report: Yu Darvish protégé Kodai Senga met with San Diego Padres, could possibly play for team

Per the San Diego Padres beat writer for The Athletic, Dennis Lin and Kodai Senga reportedly met with Padres officials. Senga is one of the aces of Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball League and is on his way stateside after spending 11 years in the NPB.

Senga was one of the focal points of the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks' mid-to-late 2010's NPB dynasty. The team won all but one Japan Series championships from 2015 to 2020 that included a four-peat from 2017.

"The Padres met with Kodai Senga in San Diego yesterday, sources said. SD is one of many teams with interest in Senga, who could fill a remaining hole in the rotation. The righty is close with Yu Darvish, and played with Nick Martinez and Robert Suarez in Japan." - @ Dennis Lin

The Padres, who are contending with big-spending National League teams, such as the Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Mets, could possibly poach Senga from bigger market organizations as they have connections with the star pitcher.

In a separate report made by Jon Heyman for the New York Post, the columnist stated that Senga looked up to MLB All-Star Yu Darvish as his mentor. The Padres also have both Nick Martinez and Robert Suarez, who both spent time with the SoftBank Hawks and were teammates with Senga.

The Padres will be banking on this familiarity with former NPB stars and players in their pursuit of NPB ace Senga.

Kodai Senga is MLB-ready

Kodai Senga during the World Baseball Classic

Unlike some of the pitchers who make the transition from a foreign league to the MLB, Kodai Senga seems to have no problems adjusting to the game. The NPB has one of the most competitive leagues in the world. Senga's half-decade dominance just asserts his brilliance on the mound.

The hurler will bring an arsenal of pitches to the MLB that includes an improved high velocity fastball and the dreaded "Ghost Fork" pitch. The pitch was named as such because Senga masks the fork ball with his fastball with the only difference being the direction of the two—the fastball going high and the fork ball suddenly dipping.

His bread-and-butter forkball pitch had NPB batters swinging foolishly as it fetched a high wiff and chase rate during the 2022 season. With power being valued in the MLB more than ever before, it might not take long before Senga puts the league on notice.