New York Mets right-hander Kodai Senga says he's no longer injured, but it might be a while before he gets into a game.
Manager Carlos Mendoza said Sunday that Senga, who hasn't pitched this season due to a shoulder injury, is still having issues with his mechanics that are delaying his return to the mound.
"He said he feels fine. The arm feels good, it's just more mechanics," Mendoza said, according to Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. "He keeps saying he doesn't feel his mechanics are there, and he doesn't want to continue to push it until he finds that rhythm."
Last year's NL Rookie of the Year runner-up will continue to throw bullpen sessions while tinkering with his mechanics. Senga will inform the team once he's ready to progress his rehab, Mendoza said.
Senga was shut down with arm fatigue early in spring training and then diagnosed with a shoulder strain. He received a platelet-rich plasma injection in February and didn't start throwing again until late March.
The 31-year-old appeared to be closing in on a rehab assignment last week when he threw to hitters for the second time since his injury. Instead, he threw a bullpen session Friday and played catch on flat ground Sunday, while a third live BP session wasn't scheduled.
"When you're dealing with your mechanics, whether your arm is not catching up or you're flying open, you're putting individuals at risk of injury or reinjury," the manager said. "And that's the case here. He's very meticulous about his craft, right?
"And that's the way he goes about his business. … It's not that we don't want to do it, or he doesn't want to do it. It's just the conversations we're having."
Senga is in the second season of a five-year, $75-million contract he signed with the Mets following an 11-year run in his native Japan.
