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1-on-1 with Cubs pitcher Ben Brown | Toyota Talks
On Toyota Talks this week, Tina Nguyen goes 1-on-1 with Cubs pitcher Ben Brown, who has been one of the lone bright spots for the Cubs over the past month. Brown talks about taking advantage of his opportunity as a starter, staying mentally strong after a tough 2025 season and some of the pitches he's been able to add to his arsenal.
The Chicago Cubs have patched a hole in their depleted rotation by acquiring struggling left-hander David Peterson in a trade with the New York Mets.
The deal was announced before Thursday's series finale between the teams at Citi Field.
Big picture view:
The Cubs placed Ben Brown and Edward Cabrera on the 15-day injured list on Wednesday, adding to their injury woes in their rotation. Brown has a neck strain, and Cabrera is sidelined with a left hamstring strain.
Jameson Taillon, Cade Horton and Justin Steele also are on the IL. Matthew Boyd is set to come off the injured list and start in Brown’s spot on Thursday.
New York received minor league slugger infielder Cole Mathis in the trade. The 22-year-old Mathis, a second-round pick in the 2024 amateur draft, is batting .272 with 10 homers and 39 RBIs in 39 games over two stops this year.
The last-place Mets had dropped five in a row going into Thursday's game.
By the numbers:
The 30-year-old Peterson is 3-6 with a 6.09 ERA in eight starts and eight relief appearances this year. He is eligible for free agency after this season.
In a corresponding move, the Cubs designated right-hander Yosver Zulueta for assignment.
Peterson was selected by New York in the first round of the 2017 draft out of the University of Oregon. He made his major league debut in 2020, when he went 6-2 with a 3.44 ERA in nine starts and one relief appearance.
He was terrific for much of last year, making the NL All-Star team and throwing his first career shutout while going 8-5 with a 3.18 ERA in his first 24 starts. But he had a 10.36 ERA over his last six starts, and the rough finish carried over into this year.
He has a 10.97 ERA in three appearances this month. He allowed four earned runs and six hits in four innings in a 6-2 loss at Philadelphia on Sunday.
Peterson, who has a 52.9% groundball rate, could benefit from the change of scenery. Chicago has one of baseball's best defensive infields, and New York committed six errors — all in the infield — during Wednesday night's 10-5 loss to the Cubs in the second game of a doubleheader.