Kodai Senga’s 2026 season was a total roller coaster, starting with an ERA that soared to a brutal 10.08 before he ever even *sniffed* the bullpen. Seriously, a 7.34 ERA to finish the year tells only part of the story, especially when you consider where he started and how things ended up. It was supposed to be a monster season for Senga, with predictions of a sub-2.50 ERA, his velocity back up, and that ghost fork diving like crazy. Welp, that clearly didn’t happen, and his actual ERA was nearly three times that hopeful ceiling.
From Promising Start to Utter Meltdown
Things started fine enough, with Senga putting up two decent starts where he allowed two earned runs apiece over six and five and two-thirds innings. After that second outing, his ERA sat at a respectable 3.09. Then it all went sideways, and fast. His third start of the season cratered his ERA to 7.07, and it never dipped below that number again all year. By his last start before a demotion, his ERA had hit a season-high 10.08. To make matters worse, Senga spent about six weeks on the Injured List with both spine inflammation and ulnar nerve irritation. When he came back, the struggles continued big time. In three more starts, he gave up thirteen earned runs, five home runs, and ten walks in just twelve and two-third innings. Ouch.
The Bullpen Twist Nobody Expected
So what in the heck happened? His stuff kind of vanished, and his walk rate absolutely ballooned. He was still getting strikeouts at a similar pace, but the weak contact that made him so effective as a starter was just gone. When Senga got hit this season, he got hit *hard*. He was literally bottom 5% in all of baseball in both wOBA against and walk rate. That’s not where you want your ace, or any starter for that matter, to be. But here’s the wild part: once he moved into the bullpen, especially after he was made the de facto closer with Devin Williams sidelined, Senga didn’t just level out, he showed some serious skill in that role. He had only two truly bad outings as a closer while piling up eight saves. The dude was good in short bursts. It’s tough to drop your ERA significantly out of the bullpen with those innings limits, but Senga managed to drop his ERA by nearly three runs in his three months out of the pen. After the switch, he gave up just nine runs in thirty and a third innings pitched, bringing that season-high 10.08 ERA back down.
It’s crazy to think about, right? A guy who was bottom 5% in the league as a starter found a new life and racked up eight saves as a closer. It just goes to show you how wild baseball can be.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Amazin’ Avenue.
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