It seems that the Kings of the Queens have to fight a new battle every day. The New York Mets’ 2024 was bound to be about Pete Alonso and his impending free agency. That was the cloud that was to cover their entire season. But it looks like fate found it too simple of a situation, so it has given another issue to the Mets. The “indefinite” loss of their ace Kodai Senga.

Kodai Senga was one of the few bright spots of the Mets last season. In a roster that was marred with injuries and underperformance, Senga almost won the Rookie of the Year award. So naturally, more of the same was expected this year, but now he’s injured. That might spell doom for the Mets’ 2024 season even before its commencement.

The New York Mets get a major blow 

The Mets entered into the Spring Training on the back of a less-than-blockbuster offseason. In stark contrast to the past few years, they didn’t spend much on big names. Instead, the franchise chose to give out small-term deals. So while pitching improved, they were still highly dependent on the brilliance of Kodai Senga. But now USA Today has reported that the Mets may have “lost their ace indefinitely to injury.”

Kodai Senga is reported to have suffered a capsule strain in his throwing shoulder. As a result, the ace has returned to New York and is to receive a platelet-rich plasma injection. All of this will prevent him from throwing for at least three weeks. The expected timeline calls for a May return, but there are fears that the injury might extend beyond that point.

This is a massive blow for a team that was excessively dependent on their ace. Last season, Senga had a dream debut with 2.98 ERA and 202 strikeouts. His injury plus Pete Alonso’s impending free agency has cast a dark shadow over the Mets’ 2024. The franchise was already considering 2024 as a transition but was still hoping to be competitive. But it was not to be.

Read more: Mets Owner Steve Cohen Makes His Pete Alonso Stance Clear, Opens Up on Star Slugger’s Impending Free Agency

The effect of this could also be faced in their pursuit of Alonso. One wonders how two consecutive below-average seasons might affect the stance of this potential $300 million superstar.

Pete Alonso’s pursuit is off to a shaky start

In a unique situation, the Mets haven’t pursued an extension with Alonso. The fact that he’s a Scott Boras client has made his free agency obvious. But because it’s his walk year, it becomes imperative for the Queens to show him a viable project. While Alonso has shared that he has envisioned himself as “being a lifelong Met”, undoubtedly he’ll command a lot of interest from other teams.

If at that point, the Mets are a team on a downward spiral – it would make it a tough sell for Steve Cohen. While the romantic side in most fans would hope that Alonso will choose the Mets despite subpar performances – can one risk everything on that hypothesis?

Read more: Breaking Down $75 Million Mets Ace Kodai Senga’s Timeline to Recovery