The offseason departures of Brandon Nimmo, Pete Alonso, Edwin Díaz and Jeff McNeil left David Peterson as the Mets’ longest-tenured player. Now, Peterson is gone, too.
The Mets are trading the veteran left-hander to the Cubs for first baseman/DH Cole Mathis (the Cubs' No. 13 prospect), a source told MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian on Wednesday night. Neither club has confirmed the trade.
The news came after an ugly doubleheader sweep at the hands of those same Cubs dropped the Mets to a season-high 12 games under .500.
According to a report from The Athletic's Will Sammon, people familiar with the Mets’ plans insisted Wednesday that the decision to trade Peterson -- a pending free agent with a 6.09 ERA this season -- wasn’t necessarily an indication that a sell-off is coming.
But that could be where this is ultimately headed if New York doesn't start building some positive momentum. The Mets followed up a 10-21 start to the season with a 16-12 record in May, but they've lost five straight and are now 8-13 in June.
In exchange for Peterson, the Mets are getting a promising young bat in the 22-year-old Mathis, albeit one who has played only 68 games in the Minors since the Cubs took him in the second round of the 2024 MLB Draft out of the College of Charleston.
One of college baseball’s best two-way performers as a sophomore in 2023, Mathis focused solely on hitting as a junior due to an elbow injury and underwent Tommy John surgery shortly after being drafted. He made his professional debut for Single-A Myrtle Beach in 2025, hitting .215 with three homers and a .738 OPS over 29 games, and also posted an .839 OPS in the Arizona Fall League.
The right-handed slugger began 2026 with Myrtle Beach, but after he produced seven homers with a 1.204 OPS over his first 14 games, the Cubs promoted him to High-A South Bend. He’s gone deep three more times with an .860 OPS over 25 games at that level.
The Cubs announced Mathis as a third baseman when he was drafted, but most scouts think he profiles more as a first baseman due to a lack of quickness and athleticism. So far, he’s made only five appearances at the hot corner in the Minors.