1 unsung Mets player who has been and will remain essential to this team's sustainability

He’s not even on the 26-man roster and yet he carries with him a very valuable role this year. Any guesses? Is it some young prospect who will join the New York Mets mid-year and help them push to the playoffs?

It’s not. It’s David Peterson. Through three starts and a relief appearance, everyone’s favorite rookie starter from 2020 is 1-0 with a 1.89 ERA. It’s only 19 innings but it’s a promising stat line for a guy who last year and even this spring got shoved aside in favor of Tylor Megill and a bunch of newcomers.

Peterson will not be the deciding factor in whether or not the Mets win it all. He is, however, a great line of defense when a starter goes down and potentially even a bullpen piece to consider later on.

How David Peterson can continue to help the 2022 Mets team

Peterson is the obvious player to promote in case of an emergency start. Timing this with his rest times from starts made in Triple-A could get difficult at times. When it works out, the Mets need to make sure they have a good relationship with plenty of Uber drivers in the Triple-A cities Peterson may be traveling to with the Syracuse Mets.

Taking Trevor Williams’ inconsistency into consideration, Peterson could always have some added responsibilities. He is a clear option to become the ball club’s long man out of the bullpen. Alternatively, he could always be a left-handed reliever for the team in a more inning-by-inning role.

While the Mets do have the most massive reinforcement expected to come back sometime in the next few months called Jacob deGrom, we need to consider some other factors. What if another starter gets injured? Expectations also suggest Megill will get shut down at some point. Those September doubleheaders rescheduled from rainouts earlier in the season will cause the Mets to call in the cavalry. Peterson could be leading the brigade.

Peterson’s exact role with the Mets for however long he stays with the organization remains undetermined. The front office seems to prefer veteran starters over less experienced ones. Megill only got his chance because of the deGrom injury.

This year, in a more minor yet important role, Peterson will be asked to make the occasional start and maybe a few in a row if someone else goes down. It’s not an ideal role for him. It’s a perfect weapon for the team.