Injuries. That's essentially the whole story for the Cubs pitching staff about halfway through the season. When Cade Horton and Matthew Boyd went down, guys stepped up. Ben Brown has been nothing short of elite for Chicago so far, and even he's finally caught the injury bug. Prior to Chicago's Wednesday doubleheader against the New York Mets, Ben Brown and Edward Cabrera both headed to the injured list.
Chicago simply cannot sustain Colin Rea and Javier Assad starting 2 games a week if they want to make a push for the playoffs, so making the move to acquire David Peterson from the Mets was necessary, even if he doesn't pan out the way they think he can. Peterson has a 6.09 ERA on the season, so while the average fan may not understand the move, there are underlying reasons as to why Peterson could shine with the Cubs.
The defense behind Peterson has upgraded more than he could have imagined
By no means has Peterson been a good pitcher this season, but the Mets defense certainly hasn't done him any favors. Peterson's strong suit is being a ground ball pitcher, having a grounder rate of over 50% on the season. This does not mesh well with the Mets incredibly lackluster infield defense., as Peterson has given up a total of 33 hits on ground balls as a Met this season.
Overnight, Peterson's status as a ground ball pitcher has changed from a weakness to something that both he and his new team desperately need. This could be a huge win-win for both the Cubs and Peterson. He gets a gold glove infield behind him with the likes of Dansby Swanson and Nico Hoerner, while the Cubs finally get another arm that should hopefully limit the long ball. Ben Brown has been the only Cubs starting pitcher who has really managed to limit home runs so far, so adding in a pitcher who's strong suit is keeping the ball on the ground should be a pleasant surprise for Cubs fans.
Chicago isn't expecting Peterson to be a star pitcher, but if he can give them some solid outings amidst all of their injuries, then his acquisition should be considered a huge win as part of keeping the Cubs season afloat.
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