Mets to Deploy Opener to Aid Struggling Starting Rotation

The New York Mets have ironed out their starting pitching plan for Monday's series opener on the road against the Colorado Rockies.

Huascar Brazobán will start the game as an opener with David Peterson slated to handle the bulk duties behind him. Brazobán, who is likely to pitch just the first inning, has been fantastic in his relief role this season, maintaining a 1.15 ERA with a 2-0 record across 14 appearances (15.2 innings).

Huascar Brazobán will be the opener for today's game in Denver, the Mets announced.
— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) May 4, 2026

Peterson, on the other hand, has struggled in his usual role as a starter. The 30-year-old posted four straight bad starts to begin the year, going 0-3 with a 5.40 ERA, and was moved to the bullpen. After providing two quality relief appearances where he allowed just one earned run over a combined 6.3 innings, Peterson had a disastrous return to the rotation, allowing seven earned runs in just 3.2 innings before he was pulled in New York's 14-2 loss against the Nationals.

This performance has forced the Mets to be creative with the veteran starter and figure out how to get the best out of him. Brazobán, who holds a stellar 4.33 strikeout-to-walk ratio this year, will be a strong option to open the game. The question will be whether Peterson and the rest of the bullpen can hold up behind him.

The final line for David Peterson tonight.

Peterson has an 8.10 ERA in his five starts this season. pic.twitter.com/odt9uUKtHj
— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) April 30, 2026

There has been a steep drop off in quality from the front-end to the back-end of the Mets rotation this year. While they have been able to count on Clay Holmes, Freddy Peralta, and Nolan McLean for good outings, the remaining starting options have each had their share of troubling results.

Coming into the season, New York was looking for healthy, bounce-back campaigns from Peterson, Kodai Senga, and Sean Manaea. Instead, they have seen the opposite. Senga is on the injured list after a brutal stretch that saw his ERA balloon up to 9.00, and Manaea has taken on full-time bullpen duties after a dip in fastball velocity following his injury-riddled 2025.

Carlos Mendoza has been complimentary of both Manaea and Peterson for their efforts out of the pen, saying that "they've been saving us... not only saving our bullpen, but they are getting the job done."

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

While Peterson has been solid in his limited relief efforts, Manaea has seen less success. The 34-year-old lefty has a 6.55 ERA in seven games as the club's inning-eating reliever, a figure that was inflated by his last outing where he allowed seven hits and six earned runs across 2.2 innings in relief of Peterson on April 29th against Washington. Having not pitched since, there is a good chance that Manaea will factor into Monday's affair in Colorado.

Following Brazobán as starters in the Rockies series will be Freddy Peralta on Tuesday and Christian Scott on Wednesday. While Scott's first start in nearly two years didn't go well, the 26-year-old seemingly settled back into the pace of the big leagues in his last outing, striking out eight in a strong five-inning effort in last Friday's win against the Angels.

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