The New York Mets are in for a line for an interesting MLB offseason as they will need to do anything possible to turn the team back around and reach the MLB Playoffs once again after falling just short of it in the 2025 MLB season.
One way the Mets can do so is by trading players, and one player that is gaining trade consideration so far is Kodai Senga. The return for Senga won’t be immense, but the Mets can at least get something in return to start to add more assets to the team.
With it being reported that Kodai Senga is available, there is one team that makes sense to trade for Senga, and that team is the Tampa Bay Rays.
*THIS IS A PREDICTION, NOT A REPORT*
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The Tampa Bay Rays just non-tendered their closer in Peter Fairbanks, leading to them having room to fill out their pitching depth a bit further. With the uncertainty remaining when it comes to Shane McClanahan returning from his nerve issue he had in his left triceps, paired with the overall lack of talented depth in rotation makes this even more important to fix this offseason.
With the struggles Kodai Senga had to close out the 2025 season, he presents the Rays with someone they wouldn’t have to give up an immense amount of assets for, and instead can try to fix and turn back into a prominent pitcher like he once was.
Kodai Senga has shown promise as he had a 2.98 ERA and 202 strikeouts in his rookie season. However, his 2024 season was filled with injuries that limited him to just one regular season game as he dealt with a right shoulder capsule strain, right triceps soreness, nerve inflammation, and a high-grade calf strain.
Upon returning in 2025, he was off to a strong start with a 1.47 ERA, but then went on to suffer a hamstring strain in June, and after returning, his ERA suffered as it went to 4.73. Still, when Kodai Senga is healthy, and playing up to his potential, he is among the best young pitchers in MLB.
For the spot the Rays are in, they can bank on Kodai Senga turning things around and finding his rhythm once again. If this happens, then the Rays can get a legitimate impact starter in their pitching rotation to build around fully for the future in a trade that benefits the future for both teams.