Will Mets Trade Kodai Senga? Latest Rumors on Pitcher amid Interest from MLB Teams

There is interest around baseball in New York Mets starting pitcher Kodai Senga. He would like to remain in the Big Apple, however.

According to Will Sammon of The Athletic, Senga "recently informed the Mets that he preferred to stay with the club as opposed to getting dealt elsewhere, league sources said."

Sammon added that Senga reportedly wants to "reestablish himself as a top starter in the Mets' rotation" and "feels an obligation to the organization and its fans," though he also "understands the business."

And the Mets don't have to oblige him, especially given his struggles with injuries in the past two seasons and a rough close to the 2025 campaign (5.25 ERA in three July starts, 6.28 ERA in six August starts) that eventually concluded with him being optioned down to Triple-A in September.

Senga, 32, was fantastic as a rookie in 2023, finishing 12-7 with a 2.98 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and 202 strikeouts in 166.1 innings. But a calf injury limited him to just one start in 2024, the 2025 campaign unraveled and the Mets have a pretty full rotation.

Nolan McLean, Clay Holmes, Sean Manaea and David Peterson are likely to take up four rotation spots, while Brandon Sproat, Jonah Tong and Christian Scott are options as well. And if the team wants to add another option atop the rotation, a Senga trade would make sense.

As Sammon reported, the Mets "are clearly in the market for rotation help. But league sources said at the beginning of the GM Meetings earlier this month that it's more likely they end up with one addition rather than two, given their crowded group—unless there's some subtraction."

Free agency has some solid starting options but isn't loaded compared to years past, so a few teams could feasibly see Senga as a worthy gamble. That might make it an easy enough decision for the Mets if they have another target in mind.