The Mets have done it again.
New York’s spending spree continued Saturday as the club signed Japanese star pitcher Kodai Senga to a five-year, $75 million contract, per multiple reports.
Following 11 seasons in Nippon Professional Baseball, Senga is finally slated to pitch in the majors after exercising his international free-agent rights. The soon-to-be 30-year-old hurler is coming off the best year of his pro career, having registered a 1.89 ERA and 159 strikeouts over 148 innings in 2022.
Senga becomes the latest high-profile free agent to strike a deal with the Mets, joining Justin Verlander and Brandon Nimmo in just the past six days.
Jordan Shusterman wrote this about Senga in early November while ranking the hard-throwing right-hander as the No. 20 free agent this winter:
Senga has been one of the best pitchers in Japan for the past decade, and is primed to become the latest top NPB arm to make the jump to MLB. His fastball is up to 99 MPH, but his forkball is the true headliner. But for all the hype and intrigue surrounding Senga, some teams will prefer to target starters who have Been There, Done That.