Hayden Senger

Hayden Craig Senger

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 1", Weight 210 lb.
• School Miami University of Ohio
• High School Lakota East High School
• Debut March 27, 2025

• Born April 3, 1997 in Hamilton, OH USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Catcher Hayden Senger made the Opening Day roster of the New York Mets in 2025, in large part due to an injury to expected starter Francisco Álvarez. He was never considered a top prospect, having been drafted in the 24th round of the 2018 amateur draft out of Miami University in Ohio. In fact, to make ends meet during his long minor league apprenticeship he worked for grocery chain Whole Foods, stocking shelves in a supermarket in the Nashville, TN area during the off-season. This sort of thing used to be fairly common, but has largely disappeared for players selected in the top three or four rounds of the amateur draft, who can largely live off their hefty signing bonuses for a few years even if minor league salaries remain low. But others like him find it necessary to take up a second job, and usually one that is not linked to an actual career given the demands of spending more than half the year as a professional athlete.

In spite of his low draft rank, he was considered an excellent defender in the minor leagues, while having an up and down career with the bat. The ups include batting .301 in 32 games between two teams in his first professional season in 2018, and .263 in 61 games in 2021, after sitting out the 2020 season when the minor leagues were shut down by the COVID-19 pandemic. That was one of the lows, as was hitting .188 in 81 games for the Binghamton Rumble Ponies of the AA Eastern League in 2023. That could have gotten him released, but good defensive catchers are hard to find and essential for the development of pitching prospects - and Senger won a Platinum Glove as the best defensive player in the Mets system that year -, so he got a chance to return in 2024. Due to injuries, he played a couple of games on a rehabilitation outing in the Florida State League, but was mainly with the AAA Syracuse Mets, where he hit .252/.323/.401 with 3 homers and 27 RBIs in 48 games. He was a non-roster invitee in spring training in 2025, and following Alvarez's injury was in competition with Jakson Reetz and Chris Williams for the back-up backstop job, with Luis Torrens being by necessity promoted to the starting job. Reetz had the inside track as the only one of the trio with big league experience, and good power numbers in the minors (in contrast, Hayden had never hit more than 5 homers in any minor league season), but the Mets settled on the best defender of the three. Hayden made his debut on Opening Day on March 27th, coming in in the 8th inning as a defensive replacement after Torrens had been replaced by a pinch-hitter. He came to bat in the 9th and struck out against Houston Astros closer Josh Hader.

Further Reading

• Anthony DiComo: "If this catcher makes Mets ... will he give up job at Whole Foods?", mlb.com, March 15, 2025. [1]
• Anthony DiComo: "From Whole Foods to The Show: Senger makes Mets Opening Day roster", mlb.com, March 26, 2025. [2]

Related Sites

• Hayden Senger on mlb.com
• BR Minors page
• Miami University bio