NEW YORK — At this time of the season, with the trade deadline still weeks away, teams are typically checking in with each other to start gauging the market.
Chicago Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer had spent the last six weeks in discussions with the New York Mets about left-hander David Peterson. The back-and-forth conversation didn’t involve much seriousness — until the Cubs lost two more starters with right-handers Edward Cabrera and Ben Brown going on the injured list Wednesday.
Combined with Wednesday’s doubleheader that taxed the pitching staff and caused a ripple effect for their big weekend series in Milwaukee, talks intensified with the Cubs acquiring Peterson late Wednesday for infield prospect Cole Mathis. Mathis, their second-round pick in 2024, was rated the Cubs’ No. 8 prospect by Baseball America though the infielder has dealt with injuries during his professional career and is currently on the minor-league IL.
Chicago Cubs ‘piecing it together’ in the rotation after Ben Brown joins Edward Cabrera on the IL
More Top Picks Best Kids Bikes
Help is on the way for a Cubs rotation decimated by injuries.
“That wasn’t something that came about because we’re here (in New York), so just glad to get that deal across the finish line, but it’s been really hectic,” Hoyer said Thursday. “Obviously it’s nice to have the offense playing well. It’s carried us to some wins but certainly a week that’s been challenging, to say the least.”
The addition of Peterson gives them a much-needed starter for a rotation down to four healthy arms on the big-league roster and their organizational depth limited. Peterson is expected to start this weekend against the Brewers. Although he was just crossing sides to the other dugout at Citi Field, Peterson had not reported to the team yet as of pregame Thursday to allow him to get his life organized before joining his new team.
The Cubs weren’t sure if he would arrive to Citi Field before the end of Thursday night’s game to travel to Milwaukee on the team’s charter flight or would travel separately and meet them there at some point before he’s scheduled to pitch this weekend. Manager Craig Counsell texted Peterson on Wednesday night and had a phone conversation with him Thursday morning.
“He’s been a Met for 10 years, and he’s only known one team, so he’s got a lot to process,” Counsell said. “He’s excited for a new start, but … nobody tells you when you’re going to be traded; they just call you into the office or they call you on the phone and say you’ve been traded. That’s the warning you get. That’s shocking news for anybody. So I think he’s feeling the effects of that, and that takes a little while and once he gets around the guys, then you’re ready to go.”
Peterson, 30, made 115 starts for the Mets entering the season with a career 4.12 ERA and 99 ERA+ as a first-round pick in 2017. But early struggles this year caused the Mets to use openers in front of him at times, and Peterson certainly wasn’t helped by a poor defense (3.85 FIP) behind him. He should benefit from the Cubs’ elite defense, which should help his high ground-ball rate (51.1%) play up.
“He’s a pitcher that’s among the league leaders just the ball on the ground, and the ball is going to be in play, and it’s something that we’re good at, that’s the strength of our team is playing defense and converting balls into outs,” Counsell said. “So, he’s the type of pitcher that benefits most, I think, from defense.”
With Brown and Cabrera put on the IL, the Cubs were down to Shota Imanaga, Javier Assad, Colin Rea and Matthew Boyd, who came off the IL on Thursday to start the series finale against the Mets.
Adding in Wednesday’s doubleheader, in which Imanaga and Assad started, the Cubs were going to have to get creative for this weekend’s series in Milwaukee with only Rea lined up for the Brewers. Now they can at least solve one of the games by using Peterson.
More Top Picks Best Baitcasting Reels For The Money
“He’s been a really good pitcher in the big leagues,” Hoyer said. “He throws strikes, keeps the ball on the ground, which is something we haven’t done particularly well, and just felt like with our defense, he felt like a pitcher that there was upside there. We do field ground balls really well, and he’s really good at that. And hopefully we can help him that way.
“We have kind of a rotation on the IL right now, and so guys are going to have to step up. Obviously it was nice to get Peterson, but there’s going to be more challenges ahead, so we just have to be prepared with that and talking about small trades, waiver wires, released players, looking everywhere we can to find reinforcements.”