Mets should give Christian Scott a chance to boost battered rotation

Kodai Senga threw live batting practice Monday afternoon, after which he said he’s on course to return very close to May 27, when he is eligible for removal from the 60-day injured list.

The Mets miss their most celebrated starting pitcher, but also have survived without him. Even so, it will be at least four weeks before Senga can throw a pitch for the team and there have been distress signals, in the form of short outings by starters — largely propagated by walks — that leave you to wonder if there’s enough here to get the Mets to Senga’s first start still in decent shape.

Jose Quintana and Luis Severino provided the Mets with gems the last two days, including Monday when the latter took a no-hitter into the eighth inning of the team’s 3-1 loss to the Cubs. But April overall has been a slog for the Mets’ starting pitchers, who owe a debt of gratitude to the bullpen.

We’re suggesting the rotation can use a burst of energy now, rather than waiting and hoping for the best. Christian Scott can potentially provide that energy.

Scott, the organization’s top pitching prospect, may have been ready to join this rotation when the season began. But team brass liked the established depth options and wanted to give the 24-year-old Scott at least a taste of what Triple-A had to offer before considering him for the major leagues.

Scott has started five games and struck out 36 batters in 25 ¹/₃ innings for Syracuse. He’s pitched to a 3.20 ERA, with his seven homers allowed accounting for most of it.