Kodai Senga (30, New York Mets), who has achieved his dream of advancing to the United States, will concentrate on his major league debut season without participating in the WBC (World Baseball Classic).
Japanese media ‘Tokyo Sports’ reported on the 28th that “Senga Kodai, who transferred from Softbank to the Mets after gaining qualification as an overseas FA, is known to be absent from the 5th WBC to be held in March.”
Senga showed a good pitching with an average ERA of 1.94 in 22 games in the 2022 season, 11 wins and 6 losses, and ranked second in the Central League in average ERA and third in wins and strikeouts (156). Afterwards, he obtained qualification as an overseas FA and submitted an application to exercise his FA rights to the Softbank club at the end of October, and in December of last year, he finally achieved his dream by signing a five-year contract with the New York Mets for 5 years (approximately 92.5 billion won).
Senga was excluded from the final 30-man roster of the Japanese baseball team announced on the 26th. However, Senga’s will to participate in the WBC was firm. He recently expressed his desire to participate, saying, “I feel very regretful because I became a losing pitcher in the 2017 WBC.” In response, Japanese baseball team coach Hideki Kuriyama considered replacing Senga with an existing player from the quarterfinals, but decided not to call him ahead of his debut season in the major leagues.
Tokyo Sports supported the choice of manager Kuriyamia. The media said, “Senga is about to enter his first year in the major leagues. In addition, his position is a starting pitcher. The ball and mound in the major leagues are all different from those in Japan,” he said. The risk of injury also increases. Joining the national team will never be a plus for him.” 먹튀검증
Senga directly thanked director Guriyama for his consideration. He said, “After exchanging contact with the director several times, it was decided that I would not attend. In the process, the coach gave me a lot of warm words,” he said.
Tokyo Sports said, “Senga joined the Mets aiming to win the World Series with a five-year, $75 million contract. The pressure to play for a popular club must be considerable,” he said, cheering for Senga’s debut season, saying, “I believe that while preparing for the season, I believe that my heart will be with Samurai Japan.”
Meanwhile, the Japanese national team has five major leaguers participating in the WBC despite Senga’s absence. Shohei Otani (LA Angels), who conquered the major leagues with his two-time batting job, Yu Darvish (San Diego), Seiya Suzuki (Chicago Cubs), Lars Nuthba (St. Louis), and Masataka Yoshida (Boston) were named on the roster.