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Tim Peterson’s season was an unfortunate tale of two months: a great June and an awful July that ultimately defined his year with the Mets. Peterson, a 20th round draft pick by the Mets in 2012 from the University of Kentucky, was recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas on May 30 after posting a 3.58 ERA with 40 strikeouts over 27.2 innings.
Peterson made his major league debut on May 30 in a 4-1 win against the Atlanta Braves, pitching two innings and giving up just one run on one hit: a Johan Camargo solo home run. Peterson would initially provide the Mets with much-needed bullpen help and quickly made an impact three days later on June 2, tossing two scoreless innings during a 14-inning 7-1 loss to the Chicago Cubs.
Peterson was sent back down to Las Vegas but was back with the Mets just a few weeks later after Jay Bruce was placed on the disabled list with a right hip injury on June 19. Peterson continued to get outs for the Mets and had an impressive month of June, possessing a 0.96 ERA, 12 strikeouts, .156 AVG, .432 OPS and one home run in 9.1 innings.
Once the calendar flipped to July, things took a turn for the worse for Peterson. Appearing in ten games, Peterson allowed runs in eight of them and surrendered 13 total. Throwing 9.1 innings again, Peterson’s numbers were the opposite of those he had in June: 12.54 ERA, eight strikeouts, .386 AVG, 1.176 OPS and five home runs.
After a horrible blowout loss against the Nationals on July 31 where Peterson allowed three runs in 1.1 innings, he was optioned back to Triple-A Las Vegas and only pitched in four more games for the Mets in August and September. Peterson would finish the season with a less than ideal stat line: 6.18 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, 25 strikeouts, and a -0.4 fWAR in 27.2 innings. Peterson’s one saving grace was that he barely walked anyone, giving up just five free passes.
If the Mets choose to re-sign him, it would be likely that Peterson starts the 2019 season in Triple-A Syracuse to provide some bullpen depth in the minors. Despite showing some flashes of reliability, Peterson was just one of many relievers who were not able to get the job done for the Mets in 2018.