Tuesday night felt like déjà vu for what seemed like the 100th time already this year: The Mets dropped another game where they didn’t hit well, didn’t pitch well, and showed almost no signs of life.
The New York Mets dropped the second game of the series to the Cincinnati Reds by a score of 7-2 for the second night in a row. They have now lost five straight and seven of the last eight to drop to 11 games under .500.
The offense looked dreadful, amassing only two runs on five hits, with both runs being on a Juan Soto home run in the sixth inning. Unfortunately, David Peterson was not any better. Peterson allowed six earned runs over five innings, allowing a career high 11 hits, walking three, and striking out four.
Peterson’s free fall as a starter continues. Entering today, he had 6.99 ERA as a starter, allowing opposing batters to hit .302 in games he starts.
Tuesday night was all too similar for Peterson’s 2026 campaign. It was another start filled with walks, hard contact, and an inability to put batters away, especially with two outs. A common theme for Peterson this year has been lack of success with two outs, and this was on full display in his start against the Reds. Entering Tuesday, opponents were slashing .277/.356/.431 with two outs off of Peterson. The Reds went 4-for-8 with two doubles, a walk, and scored four runs off of Peterson with two outs.
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While Peterson has never had good stuff, this year has been an even bigger struggle. Entering Tuesday, Peterson’s whiff rate was at a career low. The struggles to generate swings and misses continued, only getting nine swings and misses on 45 swings. His Stuff+ is at an all-time low and does not have a single pitch that grades out above league average. The only pitch in his arsenal currently with a positive run value is his slider.
So, where do the Mets go from here?
When asked about the next turn through the rotation, Carlos Mendoza told reporters that he is “pretty sure there’s going to be a conversation” about a potential role switch between Sean Manaea and David Peterson. I’m sure many Mets fans will agree, but that feels like choosing between a rock and a hard place. You can insert your own two evils as you please.
David Peterson has given the Mets very little reason to keep him in the rotation. He has not gotten deep into games, limited damage, or shown that he can put the Mets in positions to win games.
The problem: There really is not any better option. Despite Peterson’s struggles, there just are not enough major league quality options to replace him. A one-for-one switch of Manaea and Peterson likely will not give the Mets much better results. Jonah Tong is presumably the next option to start games at the major league level after he impressed in his 2026 debut.
If it feels like you have read this exact story before, it is because you probably have. Not even a month ago, I wrote about the disastrous start to Peterson’s year and how his underlying metrics looked like a recipe for continued struggles. Sure enough, I am continuing to write about how all of those things are true, what alternative options can be taken, and how Peterson should not be an option moving forward.
It is getting late awfully early for the 2026 New York Mets. They cannot afford to drop many more games if they want to compete this year, which sounds like a complete pipe dream at this point.
There is one thing that is for certain: If they want to compete, David Peterson cannot and should not start any more games in 2026.
