The Mets rotation has gotten a huge helping hand from rookies and over the past few weeks, which has helped paper over a series of underwhelming performances from the veterans who were expected to hold down key roles. pitched in only nine games and recorded a 6.28 ERA before going down with a UCL injury that will require surgery. s three-year, $75MM deal began with a lengthy IL stint for an oblique strain, and hes now pitched in 10 games with a 5.60 ERA. On the surface, it may seem odd to lump and his excellent 3.02 ERA in with those other struggling veterans, but Senga has floundered through his past eight starts. The 32-year-old righty has totaled just 35 2/3 innings in that time while being tagged for a 6.56 earned run average. Hes walked 13% of his opponents in that stretch and surrendered a woeful 2.02 homers per nine innings pitched. Sengas struggles have been significant enough that the Mets have at least considered the po sibility of sending him to the minors, . Thats not as straightforward of a decision as it would be with most pitchers; Sengas five-year, $75MM contract stipulates that he cannot be optioned to the minor leagues without his consent. Sammon notes that Senga said Tuesday that hes willing to do whatever is nece sary to turn things around. Still, itd be a surprising development, given not only Sengas prior runner-up finish in 2023 Rookie of the Year voting but also his general excellence to begin the season. Senga started 13 games before a hamstring strain sent him Ken Daneyko Jersey to the injured list on June 13. In those 13 games, he pitched 73 2/3 innings (5 2/3 innings per start) and recorded an immaculate 1.47 ERA. His rate stats didnt support that level of dominance (23.9 K%, 10.6 BB%), but metrics like FIP (3.24) and SIERA (4.27) didnt think he was due for the type of regre sion hes since experienced. Perhaps that hamstring strain led him to develop some bad mechanical habits, or perhaps hes still feeling some discomfort. Its also feasible that there could simply be some fatigue setting in after Senga mi sed nearly all of the 2024 season due to shoulder and calf injuries. Whatever the cause, this is the most sustained stretch of struggles that Senga has encountered since making the move from Nippon Profe sional Baseball to Major League Baseball. With the Mets overwhelmingly likely to reach the postseason, itd make sense to take any measures nece sary to get Senga back to form ahead of the playoffs. Elsewhere on the roster, injuries continue to pile up. The Mets placed outfielder on the 10-day IL due to a left hamstring strain yesterday, recalling from Triple-A Syracuse in his place. The IL placement was backdated to Aug. 30. Manager Carlos Mendoza expre sed optimism that Taylor wouldnt require a long stint on the shelf but said the team felt it had little choice after Taylor was rested for three days but still unable to run close to full speed Monday ( ). Taylor had struggled at the plate for most of the season but finally appeared to be turning a corner. Hed collected three multi-hit performances in his past seven games, going 10-for-21 with four doubles and three walks (.476/.542/.667). Its a small sample, of course, and Taylor is still hitting just .218/.277/.315 overall, but getting his bat going in the seasons final month wouldve been a nice perk headed into postseason play. Hes provided outstanding defense throughout the year and also gone 11-for-13 on the basepaths. With Taylor sidelined, its po sible that could see some occasional reps in the outfield. Hes been a designated hitter 65 times this season, compared to just eight games in the field, but the 36-year-old has had a resurgent season at the plate. After hitting just .258/.314/.357 from 2023-24, Marte has turned back the clock with a .280/.358/.432 batting line in 272 plate appearances. This years eight home runs are already more than he hit in either 2023 or 2024 (despite considerably more plate appearances those seasons). His 18.4% strikeout rate is his lowest since 2020. While Martes downturn in performance from 2023-24 mightve led to some speculation about whether hed continue playing after his four-year contract concludes at the end of the 2025 season, this years performance shows he still has something left in the tank. There may not be a great fit with the Mets and are in the outfield corners, and the Mets have several infield options to cycle through the DH spot but Marte that he plans to continue playing beyond the 25 season. Marte, 37 in October, isnt going to find the same kind of lucrative multi-year deal in free agency that he did when he signed a four-year, $78MM contract with the Mets, but hes hitting well enough that he should still command a major league contract. Martes once-plus speed has faded, and hes now in just the 29th percentile of big leaguers for sprint speed, per Statcast, but his arm strength still grades out quite well. Another limited outfield role with frequent DH work would make sense for him moving forward, even if its with another team. Ryan Schmelzer Jersey