Mets' Kodai Senga hopeful for final weekend; Lindor still iffy

NEW YORK -- Kodai Senga's regular season might not be over quite yet.

The right-hander could rejoin the New York Mets soon for the final weekend of the regular season if he emerges healthy from an abbreviated Triple-A start Saturday, manager Carlos Mendoza said Friday before the Mets' game against the Philadelphia Phillies.

Senga is scheduled to throw no more than two innings and 35 pitches for Syracuse, according to Mendoza. The earliest Senga would then return to pitch for the Mets is Friday against the Milwaukee Brewers to give him at least the standard four days' rest between outings.

Senga would either return as a starter limited to 35-40 pitches or as a reliever. Mendoza said his potential role is undecided.

"Hopefully, we're having those conversations," said Mendoza, whose team began Friday with a two-game lead for the final National League wild-card playoff spot. "I got to talk to him. We just got to wait and see how he comes out of [Saturday]. And this is a guy that's got a pretty special routine and he's very meticulous about everything that he does. So he's going to have a lot of say in this decision."

A return next week would be ahead of schedule for Senga, who the Mets initially feared would sit out the rest of the regular season after he suffered a calf strain in his season debut on July 26. Senga suffered the injury running off the mound during an infield popup in the sixth inning of his first start of the season. He had held the Atlanta Braves to two runs and two hits with nine strikeouts in 5 innings. That remains his only appearance for the Mets this season.

Senga was shut down because of a shoulder injury less than a week into spring training. An injury setback and his displeasure with mechanics extended his absence into the season's second half, leaving the Mets without their projected No. 1 starter for four months.

Senga, 31, was runner-up for NL Rookie of the Year last season after posting a 2.98 ERA with 202 strikeouts in 166 innings across 29 starts. He has never pitched out of the bullpen in the majors but has experience in the role from his time in Japan.

The Mets' rotation, a flaw before the All-Star break, has become a strength over the course of the season without Senga. Entering Friday, Mets starters have posted a 3.36 ERA in the second half, fifth best in baseball. The group's 4.23 ERA before the All-Star break was 22nd in the majors.

"I think before we put him in any major league competition, we're going to make sure that we have confidence that he's ready to go," said David Stearns, Mets president of baseball operations. "And, frankly, most importantly, that he has confidence that he's ready to go."

Though Senga has a straightforward timeline for his return, Francisco Lindor's status is hazier. A lower back injury kept the shortstop out of the lineup for the fifth straight game Friday, though he took batting practice on the field for the first time since leaving Sunday's game after one inning.

Mendoza said Lindor could theoretically return the day after resuming baseball activities, which opens the door for him to play Saturday against the first-place Phillies. That, however, seems unlikely for Lindor, who was Shohei Ohtani's strongest competition for NL MVP before being sidelined.

"I think if we were in May maybe we'd give him an extra day, just a couple of days of him running the bases and him going through [workouts]," Mendoza said. "But the thing with him is he knows himself better than anybody. And when he can go, he's going to let us know."

The Mets had won four consecutive games without Lindor entering Friday. Would they play it safer with Lindor if they kept winning and created more room in this tight playoff race without him?

"He's Francisco Lindor," Mendoza said. "We're talking about a potential MVP. When he says he's ready to go, it doesn't matter where we're at, he's in the lineup."