New York Mets ace Kodai Senga, rehabbing from a shoulder injury, was spotted Sunday at the team’s Clover Park spring training complex throwing — but not with his usual arm.
Newsday’s Tim Healey posted a photo of Senga throwing left-handed on the concrete area near the mounds, and it prompted Ted Berg, a former sports reporter, to wonder if there was a good reason for it … and it turns out, there is.
“Is this a standard practice for Japanese players?” Berg asked. “I know Yu Darvish throws long-toss lefty and Ichiro used to take right-handed BP, but obviously three is a small sample. Feels like it makes sense to build up both sides of the body.”
Former Mets minor league pitcher Tom Hackimer responded with the possible reasoning.
“Speaking as a guy who has thrown lefty a lot through two arm surgeries, it’s to keep you from going insane, at least when injured,” Hackimer wrote. “It’s almost impossible to throw remotely as hard with your other hand so I don’t think it’s meaningfully moving the needle on the ‘balance’ aspect.”
Senga has been shut down for close to two weeks because of a moderate right posterior capsule strain in his right shoulder. He underwent a PRP injection and would not throw for about three weeks, according to manager Carlos Mendoza.
But nobody told him he couldn’t try out life as a southpaw.
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