Reporter Kwon Hyeok-joon = Senga Kodai (29), a Japanese pitcher who officially joined the New York Mets, couldn’t hide his excitement about joining a team with championship-level power.
On the 20th (Korean time), Senga held a press conference with the Mets at Citi Field, New York, USA.
Senga played 11 seasons for the Nippon Professional Baseball Softbank Hawks, with a career record of 87 wins and 44 losses, and an average ERA of 2.59. At the Tokyo Olympics held in 2021, he was selected for the Japanese national team and contributed to the gold medal. 토토
This year, he achieved his dream of advancing to the major leagues by posting an excellent 1.94 earned run average with 11 wins, 6 losses, and 156 strikeouts in 22 games. He is a large contract worth 75 million dollars for 5 years and an annual average of 15 million dollars, and an option to exercise opt-out (acquisition of free agent qualification after breaking the existing contract) is included if he completes 400 innings within 3 seasons.
“I am very happy and excited to be here,” said Senga.
“I felt that the Mets really wanted me,” he said. “Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander, who have won the World Series, are legendary pitchers well known in Japan. It feels surreal to be in a rotation with great veteran pitchers.” said.
The Mets are aiming for a championship by pouring in huge amounts of money after 2021, when superrich Steve Cohen took over the club. Following the acquisition of Max Scherzer for three years and $130 million in the last offseason, they caught Justin Verlander for two years and $86 million this winter.
Scherzer ($43.3 million) and Verlander ($43 million) in the 2023 season alone receive an annual salary of $86.3 million, which is more than the total annual salary of Arizona Diamondbacks, Miami Marlins, Cleveland Guardians and Pittsburgh Pirates this year.
In addition, Senga, one of the best pitchers in Japanese professional baseball, was recruited, revealing a strong will to win the World Series.
Senga also knew what the team wanted. “I know the team is looking to win the World Series again since 1986,” he said. “I want to live up to their expectations.”