ESPN gave us a reason to love the NY Mets-Cubs trade for David Peterson even more

Convincing the Chicago Cubs to take David Peterson and his 6.09 ERA felt like a win for the New York Mets. He became unusable as a struggling starter whose best moments came as a bulk guy. In other circumstances, the Mets could have accepted this. In a year where we went through this experience with Sean Manaea and so much uncertainty with Kodai Senga, we can’t blame them for feeling the need to dump Peterson for anything at all.

We graded the trade favorably the next morning. Less than a month later, it’s looking even better.

ESPN updated every team’s top prospect rankings. If you had any doubts about this trade, check out who landed at number 10, Cole Mathis.

The Mets might have pulled the wool over the Cubs’ eyes in the David Peterson trade

It’s not yet Pete Crow-Armstrong payback, but it’s hard to not feel a sense of satisfaction to see the player the team acquired listed as a top tenner. The Cubs made Mathis available likely due to his injury history, not much different than PCA who was hurt when the Mets dealt him to the Cubs.

Mathis’ placement as a top 10 Mets prospect is, in part, due to the regressions from so many other members of the farm system. However, as a second round pick from 2024 with an .879 OPS to begin his professional career, there are signs of him being more than a forgettable name.

The Cubs have already experienced the absolute best (and worst) of what Peterson has to offer. One start an out short of a quality start with 2 earned runs and another 5 inning performance of 2-hit ball and 4 walks bookend the trio of appearances he has made. In between was a 3.2 inning outing of 10 earned runs.

Chicago needed the arm and at the cost of a mid-level top 30 prospect, they were willing to do business with the Mets.

Of note, first-round pick Carson Wiggins and third-rounder Aidan Robbins (possibly the better ranked prospect) finished just outside the top 10 list produced by ESPN. According to them, the Mets got a better prospect in the Peterson trade than they did in the draft.

Creativity has never been a David Stearns weakness, sometimes to a fault. Mathis has yet to play a game in the minors for the Mets. For him to stick as a top 10 prospect, he’s going to need to come back before the season is through. Otherwise, expect someone to pass him.

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