Mets Sign Japanese Starting Pitcher Kodai Senga

Mets starting pitcher Kodai Senga (Photo Credits to MLB.com)

 The New York Mets signed Japanese starting pitcher RHP Kodai Senga tonight to a five-year deal worth $75 million.

Senga has played in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball for the past 10 years on the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks.

He was a three-time NPB (Nippon Professional Baseball) All-Star and five-time Japan Series champion with a record of 87-44, 2.59 ERA, 22 holds, one save and 1,252 in his 10 years with the Hawks.

Senga is coming off a career season with an 11-6 record in 22 games pitched with a 1.94 ERA as a starter and 1.56 ERA in 144 innings.

His pitching repertoire includes a fastball that averages at 95-96 mph topping out at 100 mph, as well as a forkball, cutter and slider.

His forkball has been called the "ghost fork" in Japan.

Now with the signing of Senga, this helps round out the Mets starting rotation with RHP Justin Verlander and RHP Max Scherzer at the top followed by Senga, LHP Jose Quintana, RHP Carlos Carrasco, LHP David Peterson and RHP Tylor Megill.

It's nice to have plenty of depth in the rotation in case of injuries.

It will be fun watching Senga to see what he can do in the big leagues after dominating in Japan for many years.