NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� The Chicago Cubs have patched a hole in their depleted rotation by acquiring struggling left-hander David Peterson in a trade with the New York Mets.
The deal was announced before Thursday鈥檚 series finale between the teams at Citi Field.
鈥淲e鈥檙e hopeful that we can get a starting pitcher that can kind of solidify some kind of needs for us and hopefully give him a fresh start and get him back to some success that he鈥檚 had,鈥� Cubs manager Craig Counsell said.
Chicago president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said the teams were discussing a Peterson deal for about six weeks but that negotiations ramped up after the on Wednesday, adding to their injury woes in their rotation. Brown has a neck strain, and Cabrera is sidelined with a left hamstring strain.
Jameson Taillon, Cade Horton and Justin Steele also are on the IL. Matthew Boyd was activated from the injured list ahead of his start on Thursday in Brown鈥檚 spot.
New York received minor league infielder Cole Mathis in the trade. The 22-year-old Mathis, a second-round pick in the 2024 amateur draft, is batting .272 with 10 homers and 39 RBIs in 39 games over two stops this year.
The Cubs are hopeful their infield defense will allow Peterson 鈥� who has a 52.9% groundball rate 鈥� to benefit from the change of scenery. Chicago has one of baseball鈥檚 best defensive infields, and New York committed six errors 鈥� all in the infield 鈥� during Wednesday night鈥檚 in the second game of a doubleheader.
鈥淗e鈥檚 been a really good pitcher in the big leagues, throws strikes, keeps the ball on the ground, which is something we haven鈥檛 done particularly well,鈥� Hoyer said.
Peterson broke out in 2024, when he posted a 2.90 ERA in 21 starts following hip surgery before recording his first career save by getting the final three outs of the Mets鈥� wild card series-clinching win over the Milwaukee Brewers.
He was also terrific for much of last year, making the NL All-Star team and throwing his first career shutout while going 8-5 with a 3.18 ERA in his first 24 starts.
But Peterson had a 10.36 ERA over his last six starts, and the rough finish carried over into this year. The 30-year-old, who is eligible for free agency after the season, is 3-6 with a 6.09 ERA in eight starts and eight relief appearances.
He has a 10.97 ERA in three appearances this month. He allowed four earned runs and six hits in four innings in at Philadelphia on Sunday.
鈥淗e鈥檚 an All-Star last year and then kind of everything went the other way,鈥� Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. 鈥淐redit to the coaches that were here last year that put everything (into) continuing to help him (and) this year鈥檚 coaching staff. But it just didn鈥檛 work.鈥�
Peterson was selected by New York in the first round of the 2017 draft out of the University of Oregon. He made his major league debut in 2020, when he went 6-2 with a 3.44 ERA in nine starts and one relief appearance, and was the Mets鈥� longest-tenured player at the time of the trade.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a tough one because you understand this is a business, but especially from my end, I had a really good relationship with 鈥楶etey,鈥欌�� Mendoza said. 鈥淭his is a guy that will come in the office and have coffee and just talk about life.鈥�
Peterson hadn鈥檛 yet suited up for the Cubs by first pitch Thursday night. He is expected to join Chicago for this weekend鈥檚 three-game series at the Milwaukee Brewers.
Counsell said he talked to Peterson Thursday morning and sensed some excitement as well as some surprise regarding the trade.
鈥淚 think you could hear in his voice 鈥� very normal when a player鈥檚 been with an organization for 10 years and it鈥檚 their first organization and you鈥檙e traded,鈥� Counsell said.
In a pair of corresponding moves, the Cubs designated right-hander Yosver Zulueta for assignment and optioned right-hander Gavin Hollowell to Triple-A Iowa.
Semien on injured list
The Mets placed infielder Marcus Semien on the 10-day injured list with a left hip flexor strain and recalled right-hander Daniel Duarte and infielder Ronny Mauricio from Triple-A Syracuse.
Semien was batting just .214 with a .613 OPS, the latter of which was the ninth-lowest in the majors among qualified batters entering Thursday.
Mendoza said Semien has been battling the hip issue on and off all season but that it has gotten worse over the last 10 days. Semien committed two errors Wednesday night.
Juan Soto returned to the Mets鈥� lineup as designated hitter Thursday night and went 1 for 3 with two walks in a 4-3, 10-inning defeat. Soto sat out Wednesday’s doubleheader with a stiff back that appeared during Tuesday鈥檚 9-6 loss.
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AP Sports Writer Jay Cohen and AP freelancer Jerry Beach contributed to this report.
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