The Mets are trading LHP David Peterson to the Chicago Cubs, according to SNY's Chelsea Janes.

New York will receive minor leaguer Cole Mathis in the deal, per The Athletic's Will Sammon.

Peterson, the longest-tenured Met, had lost his spot in the starting rotation after a subpar start to the 2026 season. He was 3-6 with a 6.09 ERA across 16 games (8 starts). He had allowed 13 earned runs over his last three appearances (10.2 innings pitched).

Since being drafted in the first round (20th overall) of the 2017 draft, Peterson has shown promise but has not been able to consistently put it all together. After bouncing between the bullpen and rotation during his first few seasons in the big leagues, the southpaw broke out in 2025, pitching to a 9-6 record and a 4.22 ERA, and making his first All-Star team.

However, that was on the back of his superb first half of the season. Pre All-Star break, Peterson pitched to a 6-4 record and a 3.06 ERA. He won just three more games after the All-Star break and had an ERA of 6.34 in the final months of the season.

Mathis, 22, is an infielder drafted in the second round of the 2024 draft by the Cubs. He was the organization's No. 9 prospect by Baseball America and No. 13 according to MLB Pipeline.

Mathis is currently playing in High-A, where he's slashing .260/.371/.490 with an OPS of .8611 to go along with three home runs and 22 RBI. Between Low-A and High-A this season, Mathis has 10 home runs and 39 RBI to go with his .272 average and .981 OPS.

He's played mostly at first base (34 games) in his minor league career, but has some third base experience (five games).

The move makes sense for the Cubs, who are trying to keep their playoff hopes alive after losing a number of starting pitchers. They just placed Edward Cabrera on the IL once he left Tuesday's series opener against the Mets with a hamstring strain, and placed Ben Brown on the IL on the same day with a strained neck.

Following Wednesday's games, the Cubs hold a 0.5 game lead over the Padres for the third Wild Card spot in the National League.

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