The New York Mets made the most significant move of the offseason by signing Juan Soto. However, they were unable to sign Roki Sasaki, who had the potential to be their ace. After 11 seasons of pitching in Nippon Professional Baseball, Kodai Senga signed a five-year, $75 million contract with the Mets in 2023. He presented a solution to help the Mets better land Japanese athletes.
“We need to build a roof,” Senga told MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo. Recently, the Dodgers have had remarkable success convincing Japanese talent to sign with them. Last winter, they landed Yoshinobu Yamamoto. This year, they successfully landed Sasaki. Perhaps Shohei Ohtani had a lot of effect, but he also signed in Los Angeles, although with the Angels, when he made the transition from NPB to Major League Baseball.
Los Angeles’ more pleasant temperature and proximity to Japan make it an ideal location for NPB players to join. A roof would improve game conditions at Citi Field during the fall season. Senga threw in only one regular-season game for the Mets last year due to injury. He was an All-Star in his debut Major League Baseball season. However, Senga stated that he intends to be healthy this year and is unconcerned about his workload, according to DiComo.
“Kodai Senga, at Mets camp this morning, says he has felt completely healthy and normal since early January,” Di Como wrote in X. “‘This year, I expect to be healthy and pitching a lot of innings,’ he said through an interpreter, adding: ‘I’m not worried at all.'”
