PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Mets starter Kodai Senga is already ahead of where he was last spring.

On Saturday, Senga through a live bullpen, leaving manager Carlos Mendoza and pitching coach Jeremy Hefner impressed. The 31-year-old right-hander threw 16 pitches and touched 96 mph on the radar gun, walking off the mound with a happy smile.

“The fact that he’s facing hitters this early in camp, that’s a good sign,” Mendoza told reporters. “It was just effortless. I was asking for the velo and with the way the ball was coming out, using all of his pitches already, the delivery — everything. It looked good.”

By this point last spring, Senga had already suffered a right posterior capsule strain. It was the beginning of a long season for the Japanese native, who managed to throw just 5 1/3 regular season innings before injuring his calf.

If healthy, Senga figures to be the team’s No. 1 starter this season. This isn’t important, Mendoza says, as long as he’s healthy.

“He doesn’t have to be the hero or feel like he’s the ace of the staff,” Mendoza said. “We got some options, and we like those guys at the front end of the rotation. I think it just comes down to, get ready for the year, get ready for the season (and) help us win baseball games. And we’re going to do that if you’re able to take the baseball every time we ask you to take the baseball.”

In Senga’s first big league season in 2023, he posed a 12-7 record with a 2.98 ERA in 29 starts, earning an All-Star nod and NL Cy Young Award votes.

If he can replicate that type of season, the Mets rotation will have a true No. 1 ace, something the team failed to obtain this offseason. It would be a load of pressure off starters like left-handers Sean Manaea and David Peterson, Clay Holmes, who is converting into a starter, and right-hander Frankie Montas.