Mets go winless on road trip after getting swept by Orioles, how does David Peterson fit into the long-term puzzle?

The post-deadline continued on Sunday as the Mets fell to 0-6 since the trade deadline, and the Mets are considering sending a prospect back to Triple-A

Linda Surovich

Aug 07, 2023

What’s Up with the Mets? ⚾️

The Mets were shutout by the Orioles 2-0 to complete a winless road trip (Box)
José Quintana was great through six innings giving up just two runs while striking out six
Both Trevor Gott and Adam Ottavino pitched clean innings in relief of Quintana
Jeff McNeil went 0-for-2 with a walk and a strikeout out of the leadoff spot
Francisco Lindor went 1-for-3 at the plate with a stolen base
The team went 0-6 against the Royals and Orioles while being outscored 39-14, and went winless on a six-game road trip for the first time since 2017
They are now eleven games under .500 for the first time since 2019
The Mets are discussing sending Brett Baty back to Triple-A Syracuse for the rest of the season (New York Post)

“It’s been a really, really, really tough week. A very tough week.”

~ Pete Alonso, following the club’s’ 0-6 road trip through Kansas City and Baltimore

Today’s Game 🗓

Match-up: Mets (50-61) vs. Cubs (58-54)

Starting pitchers: RHP Kodai Senga (7-6, 3.25 ERA) vs. LHP Drew Smyly (8-7, 4.71 ERA)
Where: Citi Field – Flushing, NY

When: 7:10 PM EDT

Where to Watch: SNY

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Can David Peterson be a serviceable bullpen arm long-term?✍️

With spots opening up in the rotation post-deadline, Mets fans will be seeing many more David Peterson and Tylor Megill starts.

Many, many more.

While Megill still looks like he should not factor into the Mets plans next season, perhaps Peterson could salvage some success from this miserable season by working out of the bullpen.

It’s a limited sample but as a reliever this season, Peterson is 1-0 with a 2.25 ERA and eight strikeouts in eight innings pitched in that role. Since the beginning of July, his ERA is 2.66 with 19 strikeouts in 20.1 innings pitched and opponents are hitting .250/.365/.347 against him. He unfortunately also issued eleven walks which has always been his issue on the mound, along with overall strike quality which often leaves him very, very hittable.

Per Brooks Baseball, starting in July, there has been a jump in the whiffs and the groundballs Peterson is inducing on his slider. Opposing batters whiffed at his slider almost 26% of the time in July which is the highest it has been all season. During that same month they hit just .191 against it and when balls were put in play off that pitch almost 64% of the time it went for a ground ball.

The slider along with his change-up were the recipe to his successful 2022 campaign as the club’s rescue starter, but also been what has demolished his 2022 season, until now.

Perhaps Peterson has unlocked something with his slider again or perhaps it plays up coming out of the bullpen and he was being overexposed as a starting pitcher in the larger sample sizes.

Sure, this is also a limited sample size, but if Peterson could be a serviceable long man out of the bullpen in 2024, and the Mets could also unlock something with Josh Walker, who presents as a possible power arm out of the bullpen, that would become a tiny victory from a season when there are so few of them, as the Mets could actually go into 2024 with possible in-house solutions for a bullpen that was largely shattered from the jump in 2023.

Around the League 🚩

Carlos Rodón exited his start early with a hamstring injury in the Yankees’ 9-7 loss to the Astros
The Angels lost their sixth in a row after getting swept by the Mariners. They are seven games back of the final Wild Card spot and like the Mets, have gone winless since the trade deadline
Rangers All-Star rookie Josh Jung suffered a fractured thumb while turning a double play and will see a specialist
The Marlins were swept by the Rangers but they will recall young phenom Eury Pérez to pitch against the Reds