Mets: Three reasons David Peterson will help the Mets this offseason

Peterson saves the Mets some money they can use elsewhere

The capitalist in me loves the idea of having a talented player earn as little as possible yet producing at a much higher rate. Peterson will get paid in the future if he keeps this up. For now, the Mets need to take advantage of having a solid arm in their rotation not earning arbitration money or better.

I know there’s a part of us all that believes Steve Cohen will spend wildly this offseason. It may be true, but we also have to be realistic. Major League Baseball and the other owners are going to do something if the competitive balance shifts to such an extreme.

Cohen also didn’t get wealthy by paying taxes which baseball requires teams do when going to a certain threshold. Let’s wait and see how much stupid money he is willing to spend.

The money factor isn’t nearly as big under Cohen as it would be under the Wilpons. Still, it exists. Every team needs a budget. Peterson’s low salary should help keep it in check.

Having Peterson around will allow the Mets to overspend on other positions of need through free agency or some overdue extensions. It’s a cause and effect the franchise hasn’t been able to do for a few years because of how poorly many of their rookie starters have performed.

The Mets won’t need to shell out $10 million to land a pitcher like Rick Porcello this winter. There will be little need to pay a couple million to a player like Michael Wacha to complete their rotation.

Instead, with Peterson around and hopefully pitching well, the club can pay for one really good starter. I hear Trevor Bauer is available.

The Mets need fewer new pitchers this winter

By my count, the Mets starting rotation in 2021 should include Jacob deGrom, Seth Lugo, Noah Syndergaard, David Peterson, and one other currently open spot. Imagine if Peterson hadn’t made the jump to the big leagues this year. We’d be looking at an image of the club’s future rotation with deGrom standing there all alone while Syndergaard hopes his arm is fully healed and Lugo prays he doesn’t go back to the bullpen.

Things would have been much worse with Peterson around. Fortunately, he looks like he’s here to stay.

Because of Peterson, the Mets may only need to add one starter this winter. I think they’d be wiser to add one big-name pitcher and secure a second quality arm even if it means moving Lugo back into a relief role.

The Mets’ approach toward free agent pitchers has not been good in recent years. Rick Porcello, Michael Wacha, and Jason Vargas all give me nightmares. I don’t care who the general manager or owner is. It’s tough to build a rotation in one offseason.

While Peterson hasn’t securely fastened himself in as a starter for the Mets, I think it’s pretty safe that the team will look at him as one of their most important players heading into next year. They can safely move on from Steven Matz working as a starter—whether he’s with the team or not.

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Poor starting pitching was one of the biggest downfalls of the year for the 2020 Mets. Peterson was one of the bright spots. Having him around should help the club make some wiser choices this winter in planning how to correct this weakness.