Kodai Senga

Early life

Senga was born in Gamagori, Aichi Prefecture, where he started playing rubber-ball baseball as a third baseman until he graduated from middle school, then switched from third baseman to pitcher due to the manager of Gamagori High School baseball club, who saw the quality of Senga's throwing fitting more as a pitcher. Although Senga and his team never made it to either Japanese High School Baseball Championship or Japanese High School Baseball Invitational Tournament in Koshien Stadium, the owner of a sporting goods store in Nagoya recommended Senga to Kazuo Ogawa, then-the scout manager of Fukuoka Softbank Hawks, as a potential player to be drafted.

Professional career

Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks

On October 28, 2010, Senga was drafted as a developmental player by the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks in the 2010 Nippon Professional Baseball draft with Takuya Kai and Taisei Makihara.

From 2011 to mid-2012, he played in informal matches against the Shikoku Island League Plus's teams, other amateur baseball teams, and played in the Western League of NPB's second league.

On April 23, 2012, he signed a 4.4 million yen contract with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks as a registered player under control. On April 30, Senga debuted in the Pacific League against the Chiba Lotte Marines as a starter. In 2012 season, he pitched two games in the Pacific League.

In a game against the Saitama Seibu Lions on May 12, 2013, Senga pitched as a relief pitcher and obtained his first win as a pitcher. In the 2013 season, he tied the Pacific League record of consecutive no-Run innings (34+1⁄3 innings) by a relief pitcher. On July 19, he participated in the All-Star Game for the first time in MAZADA All-Star Game 2013. On September 4, he left the team with a strain on his left flank and spent the rest of the season rehabilitating. Senga recorded 51 Games pitched, a 1–4 Win–loss record, a 2.40 ERA, 17 Holds, one save, and 85 strikeouts in 56.1 innings.

In the 2014 season, Senga pitched as a reliever, but on June 15 he hurt his right shoulder and spent the rest of the season rehabilitating his right shoulder. He finished the regular season with a 19 Games pitched, a 1–1 Win–loss record, a 1.99 ERA, 3 Holds, and 28 strikeouts in 22.2 innings.

In the 2015 season, Senga pitched in the Pacific League in August, partly due to the rehabilitation of his right shoulder. On August 19, he got his first win as a starting pitcher, finishing the regular season with 4 Games pitched, a 2–1 Win–loss record, a 0.40 ERA, and 21 strikeouts in 22.1 innings. In the 2015 Japan Series against the Tokyo Yakult Swallows, he relief pitched in Games 3 and 4.

In the 2016 season, Senga pitched as a starting pitcher and finished the regular season with 25 Games pitched, a 12–3 Win–loss record, a 2.61 ERA, and 181 strikeouts in 169 innings. The 12 wins in the regular season were the most wins for a pitcher drafted as a developmental squad player and became an NPB record.

New York Mets

On December 17, 2022, Senga signed a five-year, $75 million contract with the New York Mets.

On April 2, 2023, Senga made his major league debut against the Miami Marlins. He earned his first career victory after pitching 51⁄3 innings, giving up one run and striking out eight in a 5–1 Mets win. On May 17, Senga struck out 12 batters in a game against the Tampa Bay Rays, setting a new Mets franchise record in strikeouts by a Japanese pitcher. He was named to the 2023 National League All-Star team on July 8, replacing Marcus Stroman of the Chicago Cubs. On September 27, during a game against the Marlins, Senga recorded his 200th strikeout of the season, becoming the first Mets rookie since Dwight Gooden to accomplish the feat. In Senga's stellar rookie season, he made 29 starts for the Mets, posting a 12–7 record, a 2.98 ERA, and 202 strikeouts across 1661⁄3 innings pitched.

Senga finished second in voting for the 2023 National League Rookie of the Year Award. He also finished seventh in voting for the National League Cy Young Award.

On February 22, 2024, the Mets announced that Senga had been diagnosed with a moderate posterior capsule strain in his throwing shoulder and would begin the season on the injured list. He was transferred to the 60-day IL on April 10. Senga was activated from the injured list on July 26 and made his first start of the season that evening against the Atlanta Braves. He pitched 51⁄3 innings, allowing two runs and striking out nine batters, but suffered a high grade calf strain in the fifth inning, forcing his return to the injured list. On September 22, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza announced that Senga would be officially shut down for the remainder of the season. However, on October 4, it was announced that he would be the Game 1 starter in the 2024 National League Division Series against the Philadelphia Phillies, scheduled for the following night. Senga struggled in the 2024 MLB postseason, as he posted a 12.60 ERA with 4 strikeouts across 5 innings pitched in 3 appearances.

Senga was put on the 15-day injured list on June 12, 2025, after suffering from a hamstring injury during a 4–3 home victory over the Washington Nationals. Before landing on the IL, Senga was leading the majors with a 1.47 ERA across 13 starts, and was well on his way to a second career All-Star appearance. However, Senga struggled to a 6.56 ERA upon his return, before being sent to Triple-A on September 5. Across 22 games started in 2025, Senga posted a 7–6 record, a 3.02 ERA, and 109 strikeouts across 1131⁄3 innings pitched.

International career

Senga represented the Japan national baseball team in the 2016 exhibition games against Mexico and Netherlands and 2017 World Baseball Classic.

In the 2017 World Baseball Classic, following the conclusion of the tournament, he was named to the 2017 All-World Baseball Classic team.

On October 1, 2019, he was selected at the 2019 WBSC Premier12. But he canceled his participation because of the accumulation of fatigue in the regular season.

On July 5, 2020, he was selected to play for the Japanese national baseball team at the 2020 Summer Olympics. He became a gold medalist by beating the United States in the final round, allowing no runs in two games.

Playing style

Senga is a 6 ft 1 in, 202 lb right-handed pitcher. With a three-quarters delivery he throws a fastball averaging nearly 96 mph (tops out at 164 kph/101.9 mph in NPB), a deceptive forkball, a cutter, a slider, and an occasional curveball. Due to the effectiveness of his forkball, the pitch has been nicknamed "ghost fork(ball)" in Japan. His forkball is also referenced in his pitching glove, which features a graphic of a ghost holding a pitchfork.