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

David Peterson has helped the New York Mets in the 2020 regular season and will offer up some assistance in the offseason as well.

David Peterson was pushed onto the New York Mets roster a little ahead of schedule this year. Injuries, opt-outs, and some confidence in the kid helped him crack the roster early on in the shortened 60-game season of 2020.

Peterson wasted little time in showing the front office and fans that he might be better than expected. A highly-regarded prospect in their farm system, Peterson isn’t one of those “can’t miss prospect” around the entire league. We expected him to be good, but maybe not this productive so quickly.

It looks like the stars are aligning for Peterson to have a big role with the Mets yet again in 2021. Their need for starting pitching should make him an easy choice for the rotation from Opening Day. He’s vital for the team’s future and between the end of 2020 and the start of 2021, there are three reasons why his existence is valuable to the Mets.

Peterson is better than most free agents

Call me crazy, but after a handful of starts as a rookie, I think Peterson is already better than most of the free agent starting pitchers available this winter. Okay, maybe it’s not such a crazy claim. Free agency often gets filled up with has-beens, a dozen never-was, and the occasional guy who suddenly lost all of his talent over the winter.

The best pitchers in baseball don’t always make it to free agency so it’s not insane to say Peterson can outpitch many of them.

Major League Baseball has become a younger player’s game in recent years. We have seen how owners value their young players more than ever with early extensions and a little shade thrown at free agents. MLB nomads are no longer guaranteed to get paid big bucks. These days, many often settle for minor league deals.

We have only sipped from what Peterson can offer the Mets. Already, he should be able to give the team more than many of the other arms available on the open market.

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.