A chaotic run of pitcher injuries didn’t stop David Peterson’s Cubs debut from looking like exactly what Chicago needed. After a late-night trade and a quick reset in New York, the veteran left-hander settled in against the Brewers for an 8-2 win at American F
MILWAUKEE — For David Peterson, the first sign that life was moving fast came late Wednesday night. His phone buzzed with a call from Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns.
By Thursday. Peterson was sorting through what he’d need at home in New York—figuring out what would come with him to Chicago after being traded to the Cubs. That evening, he had to get to the team’s plane for the trip to Milwaukee. There was no slow landing. Peterson had to meet new teammates. coaches. and staff. do media. and get ready for a start on Saturday against the rival Brewers.
“The game day has been the easiest one,” Peterson said. “Different jersey, but it’s the same thing.”
Chicago didn’t bring him in just to fill a spot. The Cubs are desperate for innings after an absurd pileup of injuries to both the rotation and relief corps. The team also sees Peterson as a bounceback candidate following rough results in New York. and the trade comes with a dose of comeback potential.
On Saturday, at American Family Field, it came together—after the first pitch tried to turn the day into another reminder of how chaotic this season has been.
Peterson’s introductory fastball for the Cubs veered middle-in to Jackson Chourio. Chourio ambushed the offering in the first inning and sent it sailing out to center field. For a Chicago team searching for anything positive on the pitching front right now, it was a disconcerting moment.
“He didn’t back down,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said.
Peterson didn’t either.
“Not how I wanted to start,” Peterson said. “But give me another ball and we’ll see how it goes. I just stuck to my approach and continued to fill the zone up.”
He worked into the sixth inning. His only other setback came in the fifth, when a two-batter sequence did just enough to push Milwaukee forward: Blake Perkins doubled and Sal Frelick singled, netting the Brewers a second run.
Beyond that, the 30-year-old lefty kept things efficient. He led with his fastballs—30% usage for both the sinker and four-seamer—and leaned on Chicago’s defense, which recorded seven outs via grounders.
When Counsell headed out to the hill with two outs in the sixth, the manager patted Peterson on the back multiple times. Then Peterson walked off to cheers from Cubs fans in the stands at American Family Field.
He struck out two, issued zero walks, and threw 69 pitches to get to that point.
Counsell wasn’t trying to dress it up.
“I’m happy for David. Not an easy thing to do,” Counsell said. “But I think it shows professionalism and some grit to come and do what he did today. He threw a lot of strikes. They were aggressive, but he threw a ton of strikes. … He gave us everything we could’ve hoped for tonight.”
That “everything” mattered because the Cubs aren’t just managing one player’s absence—they’ve been fighting through pitcher loss across the roster. Taillon has a chance of returning before the All-Star break. while Steele has been ruled out by president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer as a starter. if the lefty returns this year. Horton is out for the season after elbow surgery. and the situation doesn’t even include the strain currently stressing the bullpen.
“We’ve just gone through this period of just pitcher loss,” Counsell said. “That’s really the focus of everything for me right now — let’s get our team through this phase and come out the other side with some semblance of order in how we’re going to run it the rest of the year.”
Peterson’s path to Chicago is its own kind of reset. He joined the Cubs after 10 years in the Mets system, including parts of the past seven seasons in the Majors. In 2024, he posted a 2.90 ERA in 21 starts. He also made an All-Star team behind a strong first half in ‘25. before a turnaround that didn’t hold—he finished with a 6.09 ERA in 16 games (eight starts) and was then shipped to Chicago.
Chicago believed they saw a way back. The Cubs felt Peterson’s recent uptick in velocity—92 mph with his sinker on May 26, compared to 93.6 mph on June 21, per Statcast—along with his ability to generate ground balls, made him an intriguing addition.
“Him just putting on a Cubs uniform, with our defense, should be good for him,” Cubs pitching coach Tommy Hottovy said. “Any way early we can support him as we get to know him, that’s our main goal.”
One start in, Peterson sounded like someone who had already found the rhythm—if not the easy life—around him.
“It was a lot of fun. The guys have welcomed me with open arms,” he said. “Build off of this one, see what we did well, see what we need to work on and get ready for the next one.”
For a Cubs team living through injury-driven uncertainty, the timing couldn’t have been tighter. Peterson didn’t erase the season’s chaos. But he absorbed it—then walked off the mound after six innings. giving Chicago the kind of stability they’ve been trying to manufacture. pitch by pitch. just to get through.
David Peterson Chicago Cubs Milwaukee Brewers American Family Field Craig Counsell David Stearns Jed Hoyer Blake Perkins Sal Frelick Jackson Chourio pitching injuries Cubs bullpen
8-2 sounds nice but I’m still stuck on that first pitch being a mess.
So he got traded like yesterday and then pitched same weekend?? That’s wild. Cubs needed innings and Mets just said “here you go” lol.
Peterson was calm but the article said the first pitch went to some guy Chourio and it went out… so was it really calm or just fake calm? Also how do you reset in New York and then suddenly it’s an easy day?
I don’t get how Cubs can be ‘desperate for innings’ but then win 8-2. Like injuries or not, somebody in Chicago finally did their job. And the Mets president call thing sounds like gossip, why are we acting like that’s the key? Next week it’ll probably fall apart again anyway.