Mets starter Kodai Senga to begin minor league rehab assignment Friday

WASHINGTON (AP) — New York Mets pitcher Kodai Senga will make his first minor league rehab start Friday since going on the injured list last month with lower back pain.

The right-hander is 0-4 with a 9.00 ERA in five starts and has not pitched since April 26 due to lumbar spine inflammation. New York manager Carlos Mendoza said Senga could throw between 50 and 60 pitches, with a four-inning maximum for Class A St. Lucie. He recently threw around 40 pitches during live batting practice.

“He feels really good and he’s ready to go in competition, so he’s pitching tomorrow,” Mendoza said Thursday before the Mets’ series finale against the Washington Nationals.

The 33-year-old Senga, an All-Star as a rookie in 2023, is 20-17 with a 3.39 ERA in 57 career starts, all with the Mets.

Mendoza also said first baseman Jared Young (left meniscus tear) and left-handed pitcher A.J. Minter (left lat surgery) are close to returning.

Young, who went on the injured list April 13, is 2 for 14 in four rehab games between St. Lucie and Triple-A Syracuse. Mendoza said Young feels fine physically but is still working on his timing at the plate.

Minter, who last pitched in the majors in April 2025, appeared in back-to-back rehab games for the first time this year on Tuesday and Wednesday. He is expected to pitch for Syracuse again Saturday.

“Then we’ll probably have a discussion,” Mendoza said.

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