“Hi, I am Kodai Senga of the New York Mets,” said the Mets’ newest hurler, introducing himself to the Major Leagues on Monday at Citi Field. “I am very happy and excited to be in the Big Apple and to join such a great team.”
It was a moment long in the making. General manager Billy Eppler had an eye for nearly a decade, going back to his days as a Pacific Rim scout who famously aided in the signing of Masahiro Tanaka with the Yankees and Shohei Ohtani with the Los Angeles Angels. Eppler first came across the right-hander in 2013, three years after he was taken by Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks in the developmental player draft.
Senga, who turns 30 in January, went from being a developmental, non-rostered player to becoming one of the most dominant players in the NPB. He went 87-44 with a 2.59 ERA and 1,252 strikeouts (10.3 strikeouts per nine innings) over 11 seasons. He helped the Hawks win six Japan Series titles including four straight championships from 2017-2020, and a gold medal in the 2021 Tokyo Olympic Games.
