Kodai Senga, Mets reportedly a...

The 29-year-old right-hander has spent the last 11 years pitching for the Nippon Professional Baseball team Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks (NPB). He signed with the Hawks after being selected in the fourth round of the 2010 draft. He has spent the most of his career as a reliever, posting a 2.59 ERA in 224 games and 1,089 innings pitched, with 1,252 strikeouts and 414 walks. He is a three-time NPB All-Star, owns two Mitsui Golden Glove Awards, and will compete for a gold medal in the 2020 Summer Olympics as part of Team Japan, which defeated Team USA 2-0.

Senga's arsenal is exceptional, which is why he has been on MLB radars for several years. His fastball averages in the mid 90s, his four-seamer is effective, and his splitter — dubbed the "ghost fork" — is lethal. Jerry Dipoto, president of baseball operations for the Seattle Mariners, recently described it as a "unique pitch" and suggested it may be the finest splitter in the world.

Senga sought to convince the Hawks to sign him every year from 2017 until 2021, even bringing team president Yoshimitsu Goto out to dinner to persuade him, but they refused. Instead, he earned international free agency for the first time following the 2022 season, his 11th in professional baseball, and is now on his way to Major League Baseball.

Mets on track to pay $421 million in payroll and penalties

For most clubs, signing Senga would be the most thrilling offseason moment.

It's just how the Mets are building out their rotation. New York has already spent $162 million to re-sign outfielder Brandon Nimmo, $102 million to re-sign closer Edwin Diaz, and $86.7 million to entice reigning AL Cy Young champion Justin Verlander to replace the departing Jacob deGrom.

With further deals for pitchers Jose Quintana and David Robertson, the Mets have lost $462 since the World Series ended. That comes a year after they spent almost as much to sign Max Scherzer, Starling Marte, Mark Canha, and Eduardo Escobar.

Cohen's ownership came with the promise of spending an amount of money that would make George Steinbrenner blush, and the fact that Senga — whom the Mets legitimately did need — is only their fourth-biggest signing in a little over a month is showing how that looks.

Now we wait and see if it translates to a better result than last year, in which the Mets blew a double-digit lead in the NL East to the Atlanta Braves. Unless Cohen has any other players he wants to grab.