CHICAGO – At the mention of the Cubs’ trip to New York to play the Mets in late June – when the team added starters Ben Brown and Edward Cabrera to the already-lengthy list of injured pitchers – second baseman Nico Hoerner’s eyes widened and he gave a quick shake of the head Saturday night.
“That was a wild, wild stretch for us,” Hoerner said.
It was a stretch that led the scrambling Cubs on a search for immediate help, but that point in the calendar is not exactly ripe for big-ticket trades. Chicago’s front office found an available arm and potential bounceback candidate right there in Queens, pulling off a trade to bring lefty David Peterson into the fold.
Peterson took the mound Saturday night against the Yankees and was solid once again, pitching into the seventh inning to help the Cubs pull off a 5-2 win at Wrigley Field. As the Cubs continue to look for rotation help ahead of Monday’s 5 p.m. CT Trade Deadline, Peterson offers at least one template for what Chicago’s pitching group can accomplish.
“Our guys did a really good job,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “Hopefully David’s confident and believes in what he’s doing right now. And I think he’s performing like he does.”
Cubs fans would have loved to see ace lefty Tarik Skubal dealt by Detroit to the North Side, but MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand reported late Saturday that the Dodgers reeled in the two-time Cy Young Award winner in a blockbuster deal. So, Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer is left looking at other options, and there are plenty of intriguing pieces out there.
The Angels have a pair of starters of interest to the Cubs in Reid Detmers and José Soriano. Kevin Gausman of the Blue Jays is another option, along with Casey Mize of the Tigers. The list goes on, including two arms with the Mets who fit the Cubs’ rotation needs in Clay Holmes and Freddy Peralta.
The Mets scratched Peralta from his scheduled start Friday, and interim manager Andy Green told reporters it was “the prudent path” with the Deadline looming. Peralta has a 4.99 ERA on the year and a 7.34 ERA in his last nine turns, but his long history with Counsell during their years with the Brewers should be noted.
And if the Cubs’ pitching team can do wonders with a comeback candidate like Peterson, then a pitcher like Peralta – a top-of-the-rotation talent who was fifth in National League Cy Young voting just last year – certainly has the ingredients for a similar bounceback under the right circumstances.
Every case is different, but there is no denying the early returns with Peterson.
“Sometimes, guys need a change. And I think David was in that position a little bit,” Counsell said. “And I think our guys did a good job of just like, ‘Let’s see what we’ve got here,’ which I think is the best way to approach players. And then we just kind of slowly chipped away at the things that we believe to be important.”
Peterson arrived to the Cubs with a 6.09 ERA in 16 appearances for the Mets, who began using him more as a multi-inning reliever. With Chicago, the lefty was allowed runway to return to a starting routine, and then the group began focusing on his lower-half mechanics after his first few outings.
Against the Yankees, Peterson worked 6 1/3 innings and allowed two runs (one earned), while tying a season-high in strikeouts (eight) and generating nine outs via grounders. He has pitched at least into the sixth inning in four of his six starts with Chicago. And besides one forgettable start (10 earned runs in 3 2/3 innings against the Cardinals on July 3), he has a 1.84 ERA in his five other turns.
“It just seems like each outing,” Hoerner said, “it’s more and more purpose and intent, and on the same page with the staff and the catchers and everyone that’s game-planning for him. It seems like his stuff is ticking up also, and his mix fits our team really well.”
One of the reasons the Cubs felt Peterson was a comeback candidate was the pairing of his high ground-ball rate with Chicago’s elite defense. Entering Saturday, the Cubs led baseball with a 53 Fielding Run Value. For perspective, the Blue Jays led baseball at the end of last season with a 45 FRV. This year, the D-backs rank second at 28.
“It gives you a bunch of confidence,” Peterson said. “You can fill up the strike zone, challenge hitters and let those guys do what they do best.”
It is the kind of recipe that could help any new pitchers added to the rotation by Monday. And with Peterson getting a head start on a transition to the Cubs, he can offer insight about how to hit the ground running.
“Whatever moves we make,” he said, “if I can be a resource for someone if they’ve never been here, help them get acclimated as a newer guy as well, I’ll do everything I can to help.”