Fresh off their sixth straight loss and third straight to the Cubs, the Mets traded lefty David Peterson to Chicago in exchange for corner infield prospect Cole Mathis. Peterson, who will turn 31 later this year, has a 6.09 ERA on the season in 60 innings split between the bullpen and the rotation in his final season before hitting free agency.
While this move could (and arguably should) signal the start of a broader sell off, moving Peterson out makes sense even if the Mets aren’t ready to throw in the towel just yet. The Mets’ longest tenured player found himself without a real role this season and was unable to replicate the solid-if-unremarkable numbers he posted over the past two seasons. This move allows the Mets both to extract value for a pending free agent in a lost year and reshuffle their pitching staff a bit more optimally.
As for the return, Cole Mathis is a shockingly good get for a player of Peterson’s quality. He was taken in the 2nd round of the 2024 draft out of the College of Charleston when he was a popular sleeper pick given his age (20 at draft time) and underlying college data. A lingering elbow injury that ended his college career and seemed to persist into 2025 and dampened his professional debut season, but he went nuclear in the AFL and again early this season in A-ball before being promoted to high-A. He’s now batting .260/.371/.490 over 116 PA and continuing to display a very promising blend of swing decisions and exit velocities. It’s a corner infielder profile (and likely a first baseman) through-and-through, but the bat is legitimately very interesting.
Frankly, it is very surprising the Cubs gave up a prospect of this caliber. But they’re desperate for arms and the Mets are early sellers, two factors that result in a price premium. Hopefully the Mets can do as well in other deals as they work to recover what they can out of this lost season.
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