New York Mets facing pitching injuries ahead of Opening Day

Kodai Senga was expected to make a spring training start for the Mets on Saturday, but the 30-year-old right-hander ended up a late scratch due to discomfort at the base of his right index finger.  

While he will undergo typical imaging tests on his hand, it would appear that the Mets are not particularly concerned about their new acquisition's long-term outlook. 

New York manager Buck Showalter indicated to reporters that Senga probably would have been able to pitch had the contest occurred in the regular season. Senga signed a five-year, $75M contract with New York in December. Count him as day-to-day with the finger issue.

On a wider level, possible obstacle to Senga’s readiness for Opening Day -- even if he is healthy -- would be his lack of spring action to date. He has pitched in only one exhibition game as of March 11.  

The Mets are slowly bringing Senga along in order to better acclimate the Japanese star to his new league. Should he have to miss time, Tylor Megill is likely the next choice up on the rotation depth chart.

With Jose Quintana already sidelined due to a stress fracture in his rib -- he has no concrete timetable for recovery at this juncture -- and Senga (at least for now) still working through his own injury concern, the Mets could potentially have two holes to fill in their rotation behind Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander, and Carlos Carrasco.

In further Mets pitching injury news , a "low-grade hamstring strain” forced reliever Brooks Raley's removal from Team USA roster at the World Baseball Classic. Aaron Loup will take Raley’s place on Team USA.

Southpaw bullpen option Raley might not require much ramp-up time to prepare for game action should he recover from the hamstring concern in reasonable fashion.

Raley is projected to serve as the top left-hander in the Mets bullpen. Perhaps even the only left-hander in the Mets bullpen, depending on how the club settles its Opening Day roster. With Joey Lucchesi being stretched out as a starter, Raley’s injury might create an opportunity for minor league signing T.J. McFarland to break camp with the big league club should the former require more time to recover.