Laura Albanese: With Devin Williams out, it should be Kodai Senga time as Mets closer

It was undoubtedly bad news.

When Mets interim manager Andy Green reported that closer Devin Williams experienced arm fatigue last week, almost anyone who's been around baseball cocked a circumspect eyebrow. And when Williams landed on the injured list Monday with a right shoulder strain, it was simultaneously expected and concerning.

Williams isn’t a cheap signing, and he’s here next year — a necessary component in a gutted bullpen, and likely 2027's closer, especially after the Mets traded away the statistically superior Luke Weaver at the deadline. The good news is that the Mets don’t expect the injury to be significant, and Green told reporters in Atlanta Monday that he believes Williams will pitch again this year.

But there’s an opportunity to be had. Maybe.

Here’s the part where I say that I believe the Mets should try to make Kodai Senga their closer. (Feel free to throw a few rotten tomatoes my way.)

Could it fail? Of course. Should they try it, even if it doesn’t go particularly well at first? Absolutely.

After his breakout year in 2023, Senga became something of an albatross. He was hurt throughout 2024, and scuffled so badly in 2025 that he accepted a relegation to Triple-A Syracuse. He has an 8.29 ERA this season, is guaranteed $30 million over the next two years, with a conditional club option in 2028, when he’ll be 35. At this point, he’s pretty close to untradeable.

But there’s a strange luxury to being one of the worst teams in baseball. The games don’t matter, but the building blocks certainly do. While other clubs are shuffling around chess pieces, looking for the exact algorithm that will topple the powerhouse Dodgers, the Mets can simply say, “Why not?”

Monday, Green (smartly) didn’t commit to shoehorning Senga into any one role. But he left the door ajar.

“I think we’ll stop short of being declarative right now,” he told reporters. “Flexibility is one of our greatest strengths right now. Nobody is attached to a defined role. He’s done a really nice job in a couple of his bullpen outings and I’m excited to see him continue to get tested that way.”

And sure — he’s got Daniel Duarte and Jefry Yan, both of whom are at least intriguing possibilities (especially Yan, who can dial it up to 100 mph). But both those guys come cheap and can be shuffled to and from Syracuse. If the occasion calls for it, let them give it a go, but the biggest return on investment is letting Senga get his shot.

There are two reasons for this:

1. It’s clear Senga has struggled with his confidence. Often over the course of two-plus seasons, he’s said he’s a different pitcher since sustaining the injuries that derailed his 2024 — a shoulder capsule strain and a calf strain that messed with his mechanics. Things didn’t get better in 2025, and by this year, he acknowledged there might be a mental component to his struggles.

But in his previous two relief outings, Senga has had some swagger. It was only two innings of work, but the one on Aug. 4 came in the ninth inning of a 6-2 game where his fastball topped out at 98.8 mph. On Aug. 6, he came in during the seventh to face the heart of the Guardians order and retired the side. This time, he threw a 100.4-mph fastball and only one pitch that wasn’t either a fastball or forkball — his two best offerings. Even if he does return to a starter role, the knowledge that he can dominate can only help.

2. His stuff plays well in relief. Starters need more expansive repertoires, but Senga, who began his career in Japan as a reliever, can sometimes get in his own head, and get beat with his lesser pitches. Focusing on the heater and the ghost fork eliminates that issue. Shorter, high-leverage outings also mean he can dial up the heat: He might be able to hit 100 mph, but this year, his fastball velocity averaged out at 96.2 mph. When he was starting regularly, that number dipped closer to 95 mph.

For what it’s worth, Green has been tipping his hand for a few days — even if he won't commit to having Senga be the ninth-inning guy. He said earlier this week that the intent was to let Senga throw single innings, and in higher leverage situations. And while this will likely be closer by committee for a while, Green isn't married to the strategy.

“If guys latch onto roles and show dominance in a particular capacity, you want to give them some level of certainty,” he said. “Guys thrive when they know what their expectations are. We’re not there right now. Guys also thrive when they earn something and they’re not just given something.”

So Senga will have to earn it. That's fair, and so, so intriguing.

And if he manages it? Well then maybe these games won’t be meaningless after all.

By Laura Albanese

laura.albanese@newsday.com@AlbaneseLaura

Laura Albanese is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. She's been covering MLB since 2014 after starting at Newsday as an intern seven years earlier.