David Peterson, who last pitched on June 30th against the Braves before leaving the game with pain in his right side, has been diagnosed with a strained right oblique according to Anthony DiComo. The team puts the injury somewhere between a grade 1 and grade 2 strain. While Luis Rojas affirmed the injury usually requires up to eight weeks of recovery time, he expressed optimism that Peterson would require less time to recover.
As the unexpected rookie surprise of the 2020 season, Peterson has regressed tremendously in 2021, posting a 5.54 ERA in fifteen starts. Before his June 30th outing against the Braves, however, he had given up only two runs combined in his previous three starts, showing reliability in the back end of the rotation that he failed to demonstrate in April and May.
With Joey Lucchesi out for the season, Peterson on the injured list, and Noah Syndergaard and Carlos Carrasco out for a significant time, the Mets will continue to lean on their minor-league pitching depth and will possibly search for more healthy players in the trade market. Just yesterday, the team acquired left-handed pitcher Anthony Banda from the San Francisco Giants in exchange for infielder Will Toffey.