Senga won't pitch for Japan in the World Baseball Classic in order to continue his adjustment to MLB, Abbey Mastracco of The New York Daily News reports.
Both the ball and the mound in MLB are different than the ones used in NPB, and the 30-year-old right-hander preferred to stay in Florida and get ready for his Mets debut rather than fly back to Japan to participate in the tournament's opening round. After signing a five-year, $75 million contract in the offseason, Senga is expected to fill a mid-rotation role for the Mets behind Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer.