MILWAUKEE — David Peterson was on his way home from Citi Field after Wednesday’s doubleheader between the Chicago Cubs and the New York Mets when he saw he had an incoming phone call from Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns.
In a matter of minutes, everything changed for Peterson.
The left-handed starting pitcher had been traded to the Cubs in a deal that sent infield prospect Cole Mathis to the Mets.
After 10 years with the Mets organization, the news came as a shock to Peterson, 30. He did not, however, make the short walk to the visitors dugout ahead of Thursday’s series finale at Citi Field. Cubs manager Craig Counsell gave Peterson the day off to get things in order ahead of his move to Chicago. Peterson then flew to Milwaukee with the team Thursday night.
“A lot of packing,” Peterson said of his Thursday. “A lot of: This is going to Chicago, this is going home. But yeah, I think it was just getting some of the off-field stuff at home with my family taken care of and situated before we left.”
Peterson will make his first start with the Cubs on Saturday against the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field in Milwaukee. The teams opened the three-game series Friday night.
“New team, new uniform,” Peterson said. “I’ll have a little bit (of nerves). But at the same time I’ve pitched plenty in this ballpark and I’m ready to get going.”
For a Cubs rotation that is reeling from several injuries, Peterson’s addition comes just in time for a crucial series against the NL Central-leading Brewers. Starters Edward Cabrera and Ben Brown went on the injured list Wednesday. And Wednesday’s doubleheader — thanks to a Monday rainout that perplexed Counsell — certainly didn’t help the pitching staff.
After a somewhat wild week, Counsell is taking it day by day with his depleted rotation. He announced that Peterson will start Saturday, but the Cubs won’t determine Sunday’s starter until after Saturday night’s game.
Peterson struggled this season with the Mets, but he was an All-Star a year ago. The Cubs believe the ground-ball pitcher will benefit greatly from a Cubs infield that is a major upgrade.
On top of that, Counsell believes a change of scenery will be good for the lefty.
“Not many guys spend 10 years with an organization,” Counsell said. “That’s kind of a nod to how successful David has been. When things aren’t going well, sometimes just a fresh start is something that can reenergize you, refocus you, hopefully get you to a good place, and hopefully we can provide that.”
Peterson, the 20th pick in the 2017 draft, made 123 starts since making his MLB debut in 2020. His ERA ballooned to a career-worst 6.09 in 16 appearances this year with the last-place Mets — who on Friday fired manager Carlos Mendoza.
But that’s where Dansby Swanson, Nico Hoerner and the rest of the Cubs infield come into play. Peterson said he’s familiar with the Cubs after facing them seven times this season. That infield plays to his strengths.
“I think it’s huge,” Peterson said. “You look at the guys around the infield and the defense as a whole, it’s hard not to be excited about that group. You see them statistically at the top of every list. So I’m excited to have those guys behind me on the field and to play with them.”
Before this season, Peterson had a career 4.12 ERA and logged more than 100 innings in each of the last four seasons. He believes his 2026 struggles are an outlier.
“I went through some things early in the year that we needed to clean up and felt a lot better about where we’re at now,” Peterson said. “(I) feel like myself back in ’24, ’25. I’m excited for the opportunity to start (Saturday) and get the routine back to some consistency. I feel good with where I’m at.”
Injury update
The Cubs placed right-handed reliever Phil Maton on the injured list with right knee tendinitis. Maton has been managing knee pain for much of the season and spent time on the IL in April.
“After the first time we gave him some time off, I think we made some progress,” Counsell said.
“But we’re kind of getting back into the same territory again and we really need Phil to get going here. I think we’re getting closer, but we’re also taking some steps back with the health. So if we can maybe use this time and possibly the All-Star break to get his health as good as we can get it for the second half, I think that’s important, because we need a good version of Phil Maton.”
Maton has a 6.08 ERA in 30 appearances this season. He gave up a game-tying home run in 1 1/3 innings in Thursday’s 10-inning win over the Mets.
