Mets Intend to Return David Peterson to Starting Rotation

The New York Mets have an important decision to make with their starting rotation after optioning Christian Scott back to Triple-A following his start on Thursday.

Scott struggled mightily in his first big league appearance since 2024, issuing five walks, hitting a batter, and allowing one run over just 1.1 innings of work before being pulled from the game. Needing the bullpen to keep them afloat, the Mets went to Tobias Myers and then David Peterson, who combined for a strong 5.2 innings. Peterson, who was making just his second relief appearance of the season since being shifted to the pen, earned a hold while allowing four hits and one earned run.

Early inconsistencies from their veteran starters have forced the Mets to shake things up, with Peterson moving into a new role alongside Sean Manaea to help the club try to piece together wins following a very difficult stretch. After Thursday night's win, manager Carlos Mendoza spoke about the current bullpen configuration, saying that their starters' willingness to provide relief appearances has been "saving" them.

"Honestly... they've been saving us," Mendoza said. "If it wasn't because of them, it's a different story. Not only saving our bullpen, but they are getting the job done. And today was a perfect example from Peterson... doing his job and giving us a chance to win a baseball game."

Carlos Mendoza says the starters in the Mets bullpen have been "saving" the team

"If it wasn't because of them, it's a different story. Not only they're saving our bullpen, but they're getting the job done" pic.twitter.com/njciGnS7iH
— SNY (@SNYtv) April 24, 2026

Carlos Mendoza Reveals Plan for David Peterson

Now with the decision to move Scott back down to the minors and recall additional bullpen depth in Carl Edwards Jr., the Mets will have to decide how they proceed with the rotation beyond the scheduled starters and into the tail end of their homestand. On Friday afternoon Mendoza spoke about their current plan, explaining that Peterson is likely to return to the rotation in some form next week.

"We're gonna stay with Freddy today, Kodai, Nolan, Clay after the off-day," he said. "Then, we'll see. Whether it's Peterson starting that day... we told Petey to be ready to pitch that day. So, whether it's an opener in front of him or he's gonna start, we still don't know."

Carlos Mendoza says that David Peterson will likely return to the Mets' rotation after they optioned Christian Scott down: pic.twitter.com/aB5VtmAC9x
— SNY (@SNYtv) April 24, 2026

As Mendoza indicates, the Mets are sticking with their expected starters through the Colorado series and into the Washington series, with Clay Holmes opening it up after the off day against the Nationals. That leaves the final two games TBD, though it appears exceedingly likely that Peterson will have the ball on Wednesday with Peralta going on normal rest to close out the series.

Peterson has had a difficult start to the season, going 0-3 with a 5.40 ERA in his first four starts before shifting to the bullpen. He has looked better since the move, offering two quality relief outings where he has allowed just one earned run over 6.3 innings of work.

While Peterson can be valuable in this role, the Mets would ideally prefer him to carry this momentum back into the starting rotation. Last season showed how important his success is to the team, as he carried the Mets during a strong first half (3.06 ERA) that earned him his first career All-Star appearance while his challenges in the second half (6.34 ERA) were a large reason for their dramatic slide.

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