For ailing Cubs, Peterson's debut was 'everything we could’ve hoped for'

MILWAUKEE -- It has been a chaotic few days for David Peterson. From the moment his phone buzzed with a call from Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns late Wednesday night, things have been a whirlwind for the veteran left-hander.

Robertson used Thursday to sort through things at home in New York, figuring out what would be coming with him to Chicago after being traded to the Cubs. He had to get to the team’s plane that evening for the trip to Milwaukee. Peterson had to meet new teammates, coaches and staff, and do media. Oh, and there was a start to prepare for on Saturday against the rival Brewers.

“The game day has been the easiest one,” Peterson said. “Different jersey, but it’s the same thing.”

Peterson arrives at a time when the Cubs are desperate for innings following an absurd pileup of injuries to both the rotation and relief corps. At the same time, Chicago does see him as a bounceback candidate after a season of rough results in New York. It is a change of scenery with a dose of comeback potential, and it came together in Saturday’s 8-2 win over Milwaukee at American Family Field.

Well, it came together after the first pitch fit right in with the rest of the recent chaos.

Peterson’s introductory fastball for the Cubs veered middle-in to Jackson Chourio, who ambushed the offering in the first inning and sent it sailing out to center field. For a Chicago team searching for anything positive on the pitching front right now, it was a disconcerting moment.

“He didn’t back down,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said.

“Not how I wanted to start,” Peterson said. “But give me another ball and we’ll see how it goes. I just stuck to my approach and continued to fill the zone up.”

Peterson worked into the sixth inning with his only other setback being a two-batter sequence in the fifth -- Blake Perkins doubled and Sal Frelick singled -- to net the Brewers a second run. Beyond that, the 30-year-old lefty worked efficiently, leading with his fastballs (30% usage for both the sinker and four-seamer) and trusting Chicago’s defense (seven outs via grounders).

When Counsell headed out to the hill with two outs in the sixth, the manager patted Peterson on the back multiple times before the lefty walked off to cheers from the Cubs fans occupying American Family Field. Peterson struck out two, issued zero walks and threw just 69 pitches to get to that point.

“I’m happy for David. Not an easy thing to do,” Counsell said. “But I think it shows professionalism and some grit to come and do what he did today. He threw a lot of strikes. They were aggressive, but he threw a ton of strikes. … He gave us everything we could’ve hoped for tonight.”

The Cubs pulled off the trade for Peterson -- sending Minor Leaguer Cole Mathis to the Mets -- after six weeks of back-and-forth, but in a pressing moment of need. Starters Ben Brown (stress reaction in his neck) and Edward Cabrera (strained left hamstring and left adductor) landed on the IL earlier this week, joining starters Jameson Taillon (left hamstring strain), Justin Steele (left elbow flexor strain) and Cade Horton (damaged right UCL) on the shelf.

Taillon has a chance of returning before the All-Star break, while Steele has been ruled out by president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer as a starter, if the lefty returns this year. Horton is out for the season after elbow surgery. And this does not even get into the mess of injuries currently stressing the bullpen.

“We’ve just gone through this period of just pitcher loss,” Counsell said. “That’s really the focus of everything for me right now -- let’s get our team through this phase and come out the other side with some semblance of order in how we’re going to run it the rest of the year.”

Peterson joined the Cubs after 10 years in the Mets system, including parts of the past seven seasons in the Majors. He had a promising 2024 (2.90 ERA in 21 starts) and made an All-Star team behind a strong first half in ‘25, but he turned in a 6.09 ERA in 16 games (eight starts) before being shipped to Chicago.

The Cubs felt Peterson’s recent uptick in velocity (92 mph with his sinker on May 26, compared to 93.6 mph on June 21, per Statcast), combined with his ability to generate ground balls, made him an intriguing addition.

“Him just putting on a Cubs uniform, with our defense, should be good for him,” Cubs pitching coach Tommy Hottovy said. “Any way early we can support him as we get to know him, that’s our main goal.”

One start in, Peterson was able to calm the chaos surrounding him.

“It was a lot of fun. The guys have welcomed me with open arms,” he said. “Build off of this one, see what we did well, see what we need to work on and get ready for the next one.”