Left-hander David Peterson has won the final spot in the Mets’ rotation over righty Tylor Megill, as first reported Jon Heyman of the New York Post. Megill has been optioned to Triple-A, the team announced this afternoon. He’ll work out of the rotation there (as Abbey Mastracco of the New York Daily News reported earlier in the day).
The 27-year-old Peterson fired a dozen scoreless frames this season and remarkably allowed just one hit, although he also issued a troubling eight free passes. He overcame that shaky command both with the lack of hits and by punching out 13 of the 45 hitters he faced (28.9%). Megill, meanwhile, allowed 10 runs (seven earned) on 14 hits and 13 walks with a dozen strikeouts in 17 innings during Grapefruit League play.
A former first-round pick, Peterson has seen action in parts of three seasons with the Mets and generally fared well, logging a 4.26 ERA while fanning nearly a quarter of his opponents through 222 MLB frames. His career 10.7% walk rate is too high, but Peterson’s slider is a true bat-missing offering (47.9% whiff rate in 2022, per Statcast) and his changeup has been good enough to help keep right-handed opponents off balance. On many teams, he’d be locked into a rotation spot in the first place, but the deep-pocketed Mets spent extensively this offseason to fill out a rotation that saw Jacob deGrom, Chris Bassitt and Taijuan Walker depart as free agents.
Unfortunately, one of the arms signed to replace that outgoing trio was lefty Jose Quintana, who’ll miss upwards of half the season while recovering from a bone graft procedure to address a benign lesion on his ribcage. Peterson is a much better sixth starter option than many teams can afford, and given that he posted a 3.83 ERA in 105 2/3 frames last year, he could well parlay this opportunity into a more permanent rotation spot. Carlos Carrasco is a free agent at season’s end, and Max Scherzer has an opt-out in his contract.
Like Peterson, Megill is 27 years old and is a better depth option than many teams boast. The right-hander made 18 starts in 2021 and posted a 4.52 ERA with more impressive strikeout and walk rates (26.1% and 7.1%, respectively). He made six starts early in the 2022 season as well, logging a pristine 2.43 ERA with a huge 36-to-8 K/BB ratio in 33 1/3 innings of work while flashing an upper-90s heater that had added significant velocity since the 2021 season.
Unfortunately for both Megill and the Mets, a biceps injury shelved him into June, and he quickly returned to the injured list due to a shoulder strain. He wound up finishing the season with an ugly 5.13 ERA, though his early work is a reminder of the raw quality of his arsenal. Megill has stymied right-handed opponents to the tune of a .202/.247/.331 batting line in his career, but lefties have torched him for a .307/.368/.368 clip. He’ll continue working to find some answers against lefties while working out of the rotation in Syracuse. He’s likely the next man up if the Mets need another starter early in the season.
It’s not a given that Megill is the next man up except for double-header days. Bundy could come up when he’s ready, but he’d be up to stay.
The right call. In fact always should have been the plan. NYM didn’t really need Quintana.
They’ll need him in June/July when he comes back and someone is either struggling or hurt and the media will write “upgrade with a trade” article.
Yipeeee! (who gives a crap)
steve cohen surrendered his soul for the pursuit of money and he won’t even have a World Series trophy to show for it. The Mets will not win a World Series under steve cohen’s ownership.
Marlins fan says it all
Marlins_Fan_1 4 hours ago
I’m out of here, done being attacked on this site. No more contributions, done with it
Another new name, same old game.
THE TROLL WHO CRIED WOLF.
But he’s right: that wasn’t a contribution…
Instead of Marlins_fan_1, he’s now Marlins_fan. How cunningly clever
Peterson is solid if he can get the walks down he’s a solid #3
Good call. Megill probably makes the roster if he was on 15 other teams.
Poop can be solid, what’s your point? I can walk a mile but it won’t be solid when i get back.
If he can get the walks down, he’s a solid #5.
I think he has #2 potential. Not in the current Mets rotation of course, but if he continues to progress.
Good for him, as a baseball fan I love to see the increase in K Rate last year over 10 per 9! As a braves fan, I know he will give us fits.
Peterson I feel is underrated. He has a pretty good K rate and just needs a chance to succeed.
Wow maybe they should have just, I dont know, gave Peterson the starter job in the first place and never of signed Quintana. Typical horrible Silly Eppler move. Waste 20-30 million on Quintana (Luxury Tax) when they had a reliable young lefty in Peterson this whole time. Quintana had one good season in the past 5 years, so you overpay for him. What an awful front office. I’ve been saying how bad Epplers been since day 1. A lot of fans are finally starting to realize how much of a joke this guy is. Worst GM in the game. Quintana had a 8 ERA with the Angels, Eppler was the GM of the Angels at that time, and Eppler still signed him to the Mets. What a freakin joke
Why do you feel that way?
Because he’s angry that he couldn’t sit in Eppler’s seat for the 100 win season. Maybe he got fired by the Mets . Maybe he got bullied by Eppler in grade school. Maybe he’s Brodie Van Wagonen. Maybe he’s just a bad gambler who bets on baseball and loses. He is never positive, nor does he offer insight or research or well-thought out alternatives or suggestions. He only complains about Billy Eppler. Wherever he lives, it’s never sunny.
Because Eppler sucks!? Long time Mets fan who lives in Angel Honk Land
He sucked with the Angels and sucks with the Mets
Angels signed Anderson for 36 and 3 years; great move for the same yearly money Silly signed Quintana for 2 years and 26 million and the Mets will get nothing from him. By the time he ramps up it will be September and he will pitch true to his career; bad.
If he makes it back at all; way to go Silly Billy InEppler!
Traded 4 players for Darin Duff; how did that work out
I know Giants fans are happy and on their websites calling it GM’s greatest move.
Is the Ruf trade Eppler’s worst trade?
@LFG recap for those scoring at home : )
Eppler is bad
Peterson is good
Quintana is bad
I know it hurts, but sometimes we just have to scout the stat line.
—“If only he didn’t walk 4 per 9…”
But he always, always walks 4 per 9, and now he’s 27.
—“He’ll really save the bullpen…”
Not when he can’t average 5 innings per start, he won’t.
—“He just needs a chance…”
He’s had a chance. 222 MLB innings, had a FIP under 4.50 only once, has an ERA+ of 94, had an ERA over 4.50 in the upper minors, barely a full season above A ball before his premature promotion to the majors.
If Petey gets lucky on fly balls he’ll probably be… acceptable. If he doesn’t, it’ll be ugly. Is he suddenly a new man because of a handful of ST games? Maybe, but I wouldn’t count on it.