The Chicago Cubs, desperate for help in the starting rotation following the injuries to Ben Brown and Edward Cabrera, have struck a deal with the New York Mets. After sweeping the Mets in Wednesday’s doubleheader, the Cubs traded for left-handed starting pitcher David Peterson.
According to Will Sammon of The Athletic, the Cubs are sending 2024 second-round pick Cole Mathis to the Mets in exchange for Peterson. Prior to Wednesday’s action, the Cubs placed Brown on the injured list because of a neck strain, while Cabrera is expected to be out for several weeks after MRI results revealed a moderate hamstring strain.
The Cubs have been marred with pitching injuries in 2026, and the latest batch of bad luck had the team in a horrible spot, having only four active starting pitchers on the 26-man roster. Peterson, who will be a free agent following this season, made eight starts with the Mets and 16 total appearances this year. The traditional numbers are bad, as Peterson has posted a 6.09 ERA in 68 innings of work, but you can certainly see the left-handed pitcher having much more success with the Cubs, who feature a great infield defense.
As the Mets showed in the nightcap against the Cubs, New York is one of the worst defensive teams in MLB. Peterson does a great job of keeping the ball in the yard, giving up less than a home run per nine innings since making his debut in the majors back in 2020. He avoids hard contact, and Peterson’s 51.1% ground ball rate so far in 2026 should translate to better results with the Cubs.
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In 2025, Peterson was an All-Star, and he finished the year with a 4.22 ERA in 168.2 innings over 30 starts. His best overall season was in 2024, when the left-handed pitcher recorded a 2.90 ERA in 21 starts with the Mets.
At this point, the Cubs simply needed anyone with MLB experience who could not only eat up innings in place of injured starters but also give the team a shot to win. Peterson was far from the sexy rental name in the trade market, but his profile always made sense for the Cubs.
The price for half a season of Peterson was right-handed hitting 1B/DH Cole Mathis. The 22-year-old put up good numbers in the lower levels of the Cubs’ minor league system this year to the tune of a .981 OPS with 10 home runs in 39 games so far in 2026. However, there’s been some mystery surrounding the slugger, as Mathis has not appeared in a game for two weeks and has only played in three games in the past month.
Mathis was placed on the injured list with the South Bend Cubs on June 21, but his injury has not been made public.
The Cubs will look to sweep their four-game series against the Mets on Thursday, when Matthew Boyd returns from the injured list. Peterson will likely make his Cubs debut on Friday, when the Cubs begin a weekend series against the Milwaukee Brewers. Peterson last pitched on Sunday against the Philadelphia Phillies in a losing effort, allowing four runs on six hits over four innings.
