David Peterson was a vital part of a New York Mets team that won 101 games in 2022. He emerged as one of the best left-handed starting pitchers in the National League and helped the Mets capture a Wild Card berth.
Peterson was supposed to start the 2023 campaign in Triple-A, but injuries to Justin Verlander and José Quintana quickly catapulted a key depth piece into the starting rotation. And to say Peterson struggled would be an understatement.
However, after going back and forth between the Major League roster and Triple-A Syracuse, Peterson started to figure things out in the second half of the season. After Verlander and Max Scherzer were traded to the Houston Astros and Texas Rangers, respectively, Peterson started to find the touch that made him one of the more effective left-handed pitchers in the game.
The Mets, who enter the 2023 offseason with only Quintana and Kodai Senga locked into rotation spots, could have taken an extended look at Peterson for one of those spots. But as New York moves through their offseason and looks to get ready for spring training — it’ll be here sooner than you know — it’ll be without Peterson for a while.
The team announced on Wednesday that Peterson underwent surgery earlier this week to repair the labrum in his left hip. A typical return to play for this type of procedure is 6-7 months, meaning that Peterson will likely be out to mid-June, or as late as the All-Star break if the Mets choose to be conservative with his return timeline.
On Monday, David Peterson underwent surgery to repair the labrum in his left hip. The procedure was performed at HSS in New York. A typical return to play for this type of procedure is 6-7 months.
— New York Mets (@Mets) November 8, 2023
The news of Peterson getting shut down was met with a lot of angst.
Hoping for a speedy recovery but the plan shouldve always been get 3 SP.
Theres no one in the depth chart that I felt good about being in a starting five besides Senga and Quintana https://t.co/4uJzzqNm2q
— jack (@Jolly_Olive) November 8, 2023
The Mets might need to sign/acquire three SPs this offseason. https://t.co/UHDMatRpSq
— D.J. Short (@djshort) November 8, 2023
The Mets needed multiple starters and starting pitching depth before this. Now add another one needed and expect a June-type of return to action for Peterson https://t.co/DV3cpgruNS
— Joe DeMayo (@PSLToFlushing) November 8, 2023
And just like that, #Mets are down another starter to begin the 2024 season
Stearns will be adding plenty pitching to say the least https://t.co/I94VXM3mtS
— Tyler (@WardyNYM) November 8, 2023
The left-handed starter had a huge year for New York in 2022. Peterson threw 105.2 innings over 28 outings (19 starts), posting a 3.83 ERA, and 1.334 WHIP, allowing only 7.9 hits per nine innings while posting a K/9 rate of 10.7. Also, while left-handed hitters struggled mightly against Peterson, he was formidable against right-handers, as opposing hitters hit only .236/.327/.378 against him in 2022
Teams are going to be cautious with players in the offseason, especially when those players have a significant injury. If this is something that lingers and Peterson ends up having to miss the entire first half of the 2024 MLB season or his performance suffers, it’s a major blow to New York’s rotation depth.
