The Mets acted swiftly and decisively Tuesday by optioning left-hander David Peterson to Triple-A Syracuse.
Peterson, who was so valuable for the Mets last season as a starter and later in the season as a reliever, has gotten off to an awful start this season, going 1-6 with an 8.08 ERA. With Carlos Carrasco set to return, the Mets have opted to go back to a five-man rotation and let Peterson go to Triple-A to figure out the root cause of his struggles.
Having seen what he’s capable of when he’s at his best, the Mets are confident the 27-year-old can return to his 2022 form.
“I told him today that it’s good that I’ve seen him really good,” manager Buck Showalter said on Tuesday at Citi Field before the Mets opened a three-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays.
Peterson didn’t allow an earned run in spring training and beat out Tylor Megill for the final rotation spot. Walks were an issue but he effectively limited those this season, but he made some tweaks to his slider and it flattened. He found it difficult to sequence from there and his mistakes were often left out over the middle of the plate.
Peterson was briefly demoted to Triple-A on April 29, but the Mets had to bring him back up to take Max Scherzer’s start in Cincinnati last week. He clearly wasn’t ready, as was evidenced by the four earned runs over 3 and 1/3 innings. With Carrasco still injured, the Mets kept him for one more start against the Washington Nationals on Monday and it was more of the same, with Peterson getting tagged for six earned.
“There were some things that were better yesterday, believe it or not,” Showalter said. “We looked at the things he hadn’t been doing but every time he made a mistake he got whacked.”
His pitch count was low enough that the Mets were able to use for him five innings, but an overworked bullpen and a low-wattage offense couldn’t get the team back in the game. Josh Walker was called up to take Peterson’s place and give the Mets another left-handed option in the bullpen.
Peterson will make his next start Sunday against Louisville.
“I’m hoping Sunday is the start of him presenting as a better option because we’re going to need him,” Showalter said. “And if he doesn’t get it going down there, we’ll have to go another direction. You try to be frank with him but he knows it’s not good enough, especially with what he’s capable of.”
The Mets want to see that Peterson can dominate Triple-A before bringing him back to the big leagues. Carrasco will make his first start Friday, and the club is hoping left-hander Jose Quintana will be cleared to start building up toward competitive action again after his next CT scan, which is also scheduled for Friday.
“We would like to see him get it going and have it show up down there,” Showalter said. “He should show that he’s capable of pitching better than the Triple-A level.”
TRAINER’S ROOM
Catcher Omar Narvaez (left calf strain) is working toward a rehab assignment. The Mets are hoping he can play rehab games at the end of next week.
Quintana (bone graft surgery) is ahead of schedule and has been playing catch from more than 100 feet. He could return sooner than July, but the Mets are being cautious given the nature of the injury and the surgery.
“If [the CT scan] shows what we’re hoping it shows then he’s off and running,” Showalter said.
MOTHER’S DAY MOMENTS
The Mets, along with Northwell Health, the Susan G. Komen Foundation and MLB teamed up over the weekend to raise awareness for breast cancer with their annual Mother’s Day initiatives. Since the Mets were on the road, the club chose to have this year’s honoree at Citi Field on Tuesday. Showalter presented Jovy Martins with a custom jersey. Martins, along with her husband and two sons, met with several players and staff members and attended batting practice. A nurse at the RJ Zuckerberg Infusion Center in Lake Success, Martins is a survivor of both breast cancer and melanoma.