However, it's hard not to call Kodai Senga an ace, given that his 1.47 ERA is the best in all of baseball right now. But in that case, it initially seemed like the Mets might be without their ace for some time after Senga suffered a hamstring strain while covering first base in the sixth inning of the Mets' June 12 game against the Washington Nationals.

The important step now for Senga and the Mets is to ace this recovery process, in a way they didn’t with either of Senga’s rehabilitations last year. In both instances, it appeared he and the Mets were not on the same page at times. Questions about Senga’s next steps or his ultimate timeline were met with shrugs more often than with other players.

Senga, in the third year of his five-year, $75 million contract, missed nearly the entirety of the 2024 season with a shoulder injury and a calf injury. He strained his left calf in the middle of his only regular season start, leading to yet another lengthy rehab and pitch-count limits once he was made available in the postseason.