The Mets’ rotation picture keeps getting messier, and Kodai Senga’s latest outing only sharpened the issue. After opening the season with a 9.00 ERA and losing his hold on a starting job, Senga has already been pushed into the bullpen as the Mets try to get him back on track. The results have been uneven at best.
His first bulk-relief appearance on June 28 offered a flicker of hope. Senga worked five innings, gave up two runs, and looked a little more like the pitcher the Mets thought they were getting.
He followed that up on July 3 against the Braves with 2.2 innings and one run allowed. But Tuesday night brought a step backward: three innings, four walks, and four runs.
For a pitcher whose 2026 season has already gone off the rails, that kind of outing only strengthens the case for a change.
Zach Thornton is the name sitting there in Triple-A, and the Mets have already seen enough to know he belongs in the conversation. The 24-year-old has now made his mark in the majors twice this season, and his June 26 start against the Phillies stood out.
In the first game of Andy Green’s managerial career with the Mets, Thornton went six innings, allowed one run on five hits, struck out seven, and walked one. Not long after that, the club sent him back to Syracuse to make room for another arm.
Thornton’s work in Triple-A since then has been solid as well. On July 1, he threw 5.2 innings for the Syracuse Mets, allowing two earned runs and striking out four. His next outing is scheduled for Wednesday, though the Mets could skip that start and line him up for this weekend against the Red Sox instead.
What makes Thornton appealing isn’t just the line score. In his second career start, he showed he can pitch through trouble.
He gave up three straight hits and a run in the first inning, then settled in and fired five straight scoreless frames, allowing only two more hits the rest of the way. That kind of response is exactly what a team wants when it’s looking for stability.
The obstacle, of course, is Senga’s contract and leverage. He is in the fourth year of a five-year, $75 million deal, and the Mets still owe him the rest of that money plus a guaranteed $15 million for 2027.
That makes him almost impossible to move unless the club is willing to eat the full cost. On top of that, he has a 10-team no-trade list and a no-demotion clause that let him block a minor league assignment.
Still, the roster may force the issue anyway. After journeyman reliever Matt Seelinger’s rough debut on Tuesday night, a spot should open on the active roster, and that could give the Mets a path to promote Thornton for good.
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The more interesting part is whether the Mets would use that kind of swap to bring in a pitcher who is close enough to matter soon, but still has some development left in the tank. With A.J. Minter and Brooks Raley no longer in the mix, there is at least a path for a left-handed arm to get a look, and Seattles system has one that has been moving through the upper levels with strong strikeout numbers and steady run prevention. The wrinkle is timing, because a pitcher in that spot can be useful to a club now, while also carrying enough roster pressure that the other side has to decide whether to hold on or make a move before the offseason changes the calculus. [Read more 🡒]