David Peterson is back in the Mets’ rotation and will start against the Nationals on Wednesday, a day after Kodai Senga went on the injured list with lumbar spine inflammation.
The move gives Peterson another chance to hold a job he lost after a string of rough outings. The 30-year-old had a 6.41 ERA in four starts before shifting into a bullpen and bulk role, where he threw 7.0 innings over two relief appearances after the Mets used Tobias Myers as an opener. In that stretch, Peterson had a 1.29 ERA, though his 4.99 FIP and 4.07 xERA suggested the results came with some warning signs.
New York had not officially named a starter for the second game of the series against Washington until this afternoon, when Peterson was tabbed to face the Nationals. Christian Scott was also called back up after a poor outing in his first major league start in two years, leaving the Mets with limited rotation options as they try to cover for Senga’s absence.
Peterson and Scott will presumably join Nolan McLean, Clay Holmes and Freddy Peralta in a five-man rotation, at least for now. For Peterson, the assignment is less a reward than a test: after getting knocked out of the rotation, he now has to prove the bullpen success was real enough to stick.
