With the national anthem finished and about 10 minutes until the first pitch of the Mets’ Thursday afternoon game, David Stearns was on a call discussing a potential rotation issue. Paul Blackburn had already moved to the bullpen, while Frankie Montas and Sean Manaea were making strides in their injury recoveries.

The president of baseball operations emphasized in various ways that the Mets would make decisions when necessary and not prematurely, as often circumstances dictate the decisions for you.

“Two weeks in baseball,” Stearns said, “is a long time.”

Less than two hours later, those words gained more significance. Kodai Senga injured his right hamstring while covering first base in the sixth inning of a game that ended in a 4-3 victory over the Nationals. He is scheduled for an MRI on Friday, and Carlos Mendoza confirmed that a stint on the injured list is inevitable. This served as yet another reminder that there really is no such thing as having too much starting pitching.