Cubs' desperation forces them into ill-advised trade with Mets before series vs Brewers

The Chicago Cubs are visiting American Family Field this weekend for the first time since their 2025 postseason run came to an end in Game 5 of the NLDS. However, in their first away matchup with the Milwaukee Brewers of the 2026 campaign, the Cubs are bringing with them a rotation that is much different from the starting staff they expected to roster at this point in the season.

With a comfortable seven-game cushion over their rivals on the North Side of Chicago, the Brewers have clearly been the better team in 2026, but some of the Cubs' underperformance can certainly be attributed to their myriad of injuries to their group of starting pitchers.

In early April, the Cubs lost 2025 NL Rookie of the Year runner-up Cade Horton to an elbow injury that required season-ending internal brace surgery. Meanwhile, the Cubs' best arm from last year, veteran southpaw Matthew Boyd, has been out since early May after tearing his meniscus and subsequently feeling shoulder soreness during his rehab process. Boyd is expected to return to Chicago's rotation next week, but his absence over the last two months has certainly been felt.

Since the calendar flipped to June, the Cubs have lost three more starting pitchers to injuries. Offseason trade acquisition Edward Cabrera and veteran starter Jameson Taillon are both currently on the shelf with hamstring strains, and promising third-year right-hander Ben Brown is out with a neck strain. Paired with the fact that rehabbing All-Star Justin Steele may not return before the end of the season, the Cubs' rotation picture looks rather bleak.

As Craig Counsell and the Cubs embark on their three-game series against the first-place Brewers this weekend, they simply need major-league arms who can fill in for their depleted rotation. With this in mind, late on Wednesday night, Jed Hoyer and Chicago's front office swung a deal to acquire left-handed starter David Peterson from the New York Mets, as first reported by Jeff Passan of ESPN.

David Peterson offers necessary stopgap for the Cubs' rotation issues, but doesn't change the narrative in the NL Central

The midseason trade deadline is still more than a month away, but the Cubs' desperation for starting pitching forced them to swing an early deal. In exchange for Peterson, Chicago sent 2024 second-round pick Cole Mathis to the Mets, who despite posting strong numbers in the Cubs' minor league system this year, wasn't a member of MLB Pipeline's list of the Top 30 prospects in the Cubs' system.

Meanwhile, Peterson is in the midst of the worst season in his seven-year MLB career. After a 2024 season in which Peterson posted a 2.90 ERA in 121 innings and a 2025 campaign in which the southpaw was named to the NL All-Star team as a result of a strong first half, 2026 has been rather disappointing for the newest member of the Cubs' rotation. Peterson never had great underlying metrics, and this year they've caught up to him; the 30-year-old lefty has a 6.09 ERA and 1.65 WHIP through his first 68 innings of the 2026 season.

Peterson has mostly worked as a starter throughout his professional career, but his struggles this year forced the Mets to relegate him to a bullpen role. However, given the Cubs' need for starting pitching, it's almost guaranteed that Peterson will join their rotation, likely during this weekend's series against the Brew Crew.

The Mets and Cubs' early-summer swap not only reveals the latter's desperation, but it also could be a sign that the former is ready to throw in the towel on a disappointing 2026 season. The Mets dropped both games of a doubleheader against, ironically, the Cubs yesterday and have fallen 12 games below .500 as the season approaches the halfway point. It would take a miraculous turnaround for New York to jump back into contention. What is far more likely is at this point next month, David Stearns and the Mets' front office will be shopping more impactful players than the struggling Peterson. Freddy Peralta, whom the Mets acquired from the Brewers this past offseason, could certainly be donning a new jersey after the August 3 trade deadline.

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