Carlos Mendoza was not ready to reveal his rotation plans for the Mets coming out of the All-Star break Friday in Miami, but he said it’s still to be determined when Kodai Senga will rejoin the starting staff.
Senga, who has not pitched this season due to shoulder and triceps issues, will make another minor-league rehab start Sunday for Syracuse against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, the Yankees’ Triple-A affiliate.
Asked before Saturday’s 7-3 win over the Rockies whether the 2023 All-Star would need at least one more minor-league outing after the break, Mendoza replied, “That’s still TBD.”
But he didn’t rule it out.
“We gotta get him through [Sunday], and then probably not until Tuesday, we gotta give him Monday and Tuesday to see how he’s responding,” Mendoza added. “He’s going to go 60 to 65 [pitches], so that volume is going up now. We’ll have a better idea after he goes through [Sunday’s] outing.”
Mark Vientos’ solo home run Friday night was his ninth homer since the start of June and his 12th overall after opening the season in the minors.
He didn’t make his season debut until April 27, but he has assumed the team’s everyday third base job.
“I think we have a young player here that is developing and he’s maturing here at this level,” Mendoza said of Vientos, who went 0-for-4 on Saturday. “It was hard for him, he went through a lot, but credit to him, but he’s made some huge adjustments.
“We know his ability to impact the baseball, but now I feel like he’s becoming more of a baseball player. With runners in scoring position, he’s not trying to do too much. He’s not afraid to go the other way, and when he hits it, he hits it far. … So credit to him and a lot of the coaches and people who’ve been right next to him along the way.”