Senga is not guaranteed a roster spot if the Mets make the playoffs, and Garrett is sidelined again

NEW YORK AP When he takes the mound for Triple-A Syracuse on Thursday night Kodai Senga might be pitching for a spot on the New York Mets postseason pitching staff Senga opened the season with a ERA in his first starts but was optioned to Syracuse on Sept after posting a ERA following his return from a hamstring injury I think we ll have the conversation and we ll take the guys that we feel are going to give us the best chance to win baseball games in October Mets manager Carlos Mendoza mentioned before a series finale against the San Diego Padres I think the biggest thing for him is to go out there in the current era and have a good performance And then we have decisions there The Mets entered Thursday games ahead of the Arizona Diamondbacks for the final NL playoff spot and two games ahead of the Cincinnati Reds and San Francisco Giants The Mets were aggressive in finding a spot on the playoff roster for Senga last season when he missed the first games due to a shoulder injury and then suffered a calf strain in his lone regular-season start July He made three brief appearances two as an opener as New York reached the NL Championship Series Senga allowed three hits and struck out eight with no walks in his Syracuse debut last Friday I like the fact that there was no walks Mendoza declared I think it starts with him throwing strike one and then staying on the attack The Mets also continued making moves to bolster their depleted pitching staff on Thursday Reed Garrett right elbow sprain went on the injured list for a second time in a month while Sean Manaea was put on the paternity list and Dom Hamel was designated for assignment New York recalled right-handers Huascar Brazob n Chris Devenski and Wander Suero from Triple-A Syracuse Mendoza revealed Garrett who was sidelined with right elbow inflammation from Aug through Sept has been having trouble recovering following outings The right-hander experienced more discomfort while warming up in the bullpen during a - loss to the San Diego Padres on Wednesday Mendoza acknowledged he s worried about what the imaging might reveal and that it s unlikely Garrett will pitch again this season even if no damage is ascertained It s concerning that for the second time in less than a month a guy s gone down with elbow issues Mendoza announced But we ve got to wait Garrett is - with a ERA and three saves in a career-high games for the Mets who have used a major league-record pitchers this season and lost three members of their opening day bullpen Max Kranick elbow A J Minter lat and Danny Young elbow to season-ending surgeries The only opening day reliever to remain on the evolving roster all season is All-Star close Edwin D az The trio of Brazob n Devenski and Suero all of whom are stretched out enough to go multiple innings provides depth for the Mets who may need someone to serve in a bulk reliever role if Manaea doesn t return this weekend Manaea piggybacked Clay Holmes in Tuesday s - win The duo is expected to swap roles against the Washington Nationals on Sunday We want to make sure that before we make any decisions he s able to continue with his in-between starts routine Mendoza commented AP MLB https apnews com hub mlb Source