Peterson added to NL staff, earns 'huge honor' of 1st All-Star selection

BALTIMORE -- Until David Peterson underwent hip surgery two offseasons ago, he was a useful but unremarkable Major League piece. Peterson’s league-adjusted 90 ERA+ through that point of his career suggested he was a below-average pitcher.

Then Peterson fixed his hip and leveled up his game. Now, he’s a National League All-Star.

Major League Baseball on Thursday named Peterson to the NL team as a replacement for Robbie Ray, who is scheduled to start Sunday for the Giants and therefore unable to participate. Peterson becomes the Mets’ fourth All-Star, joining shortstop Francisco Lindor, first baseman Pete Alonso and closer Edwin Díaz.

“It’s a huge honor,” Peterson said. “It’s something that you strive for as a kid and as a baseball player. So yeah, I’m extremely excited and just very humbled.”

Earlier Thursday, Peterson completed his first half with seven-plus strong innings in the Mets’ 3-1 loss to the Orioles -- the first part of a doubleheader sweep that saw them also drop the nightcap, 7-3. He holds a 3.06 ERA, the lowest first-half mark of his career.

“I’m proud of him,” said Mets manager Carlos Mendoza, who delivered the news to Peterson between games of the doubleheader. “Especially last year what he went through with the injury and how far he’s come -- he’s a huge part of this team, of that rotation. For him to get rewarded, it’s pretty special.”

Although Peterson said he was “a little shocked” at the news, this has been more than just one good half-season for the left-hander. After undergoing surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left hip in November 2023, Peterson sat out Spring Training and the first two months of the 2024 regular season, returning in late May.

Since that time, he ranks 12th in the Majors with a 2.97 ERA. Among qualified pitchers who have worked exclusively in the NL, only Paul Skenes, Michael King, Zack Wheeler and Chris Sale have been better. Peterson is also 14th in the Majors with 230 innings during that span. He’s the only Mets starter to appear in the eighth inning of a game this season, and he’s done so four times, including his first career shutout on June 11 against the Nationals.

On his own staff, Peterson leads qualified Mets in innings, strikeouts, ERA and WHIP.

“For me after the surgery, it was just getting back to being healthy, getting used to the new range of motion and all that came with the surgery,” Peterson said recently. “It was nice to have a full, regular offseason to work on my strength and get that back. It’s been good. It’s kind of what I’ve always thought was in there.”

Last postseason, in a hybrid role as a part-time leverage reliever, Peterson produced a 2.92 ERA. Along the way, he recorded some of the Mets’ most significant October outs, including a series-clinching save in NL Wild Card Series Game 3 and a series-clinching win in NL Division Series Game 4. He returned this season in equally effective fashion, allowing three or fewer earned runs in 14 consecutive starts to open the campaign.

In many ways, Peterson is an outlier, a throwback to an earlier era. He does not throw particularly hard, nor does he strike out a surfeit of batters. He does allow plenty of contact. As such, Peterson’s expected statistics suggest he’s benefitted from an unusual run of good fortune.

Mets officials don’t see it that way. Neither does Peterson, who is adept at coaxing the weak contact he needs to escape jams.

Since his return last season, Peterson’s ground ball rate ranks seventh in the Majors. He’s sixth in MLB in ground-ball double plays induced.

“I think earlier on, there were probably three pitches that I threw a lot,” Peterson said, referring to his sinker, slider and changeup. “As the four-seam and the curveball have come along, being able to have five pitches that I trust in any count, any situation, I think it only helps.”

In Atlanta, Peterson will join a star-studded NL staff that includes Skenes, Wheeler, Logan Webb and Clayton Kershaw. The Mets’ first All-Star left-hander since Johan Santana in 2009, Peterson said he’s most excited to witness the festivities, and perhaps to have his son on the field with him to watch the T-Mobile Home Run Derby.

“I’m just going to try to take it all in and enjoy it,” Peterson said.

The last time the Mets had four All-Stars was 2022, and they still have an outside chance to send five players to the game for the first time since 2006. Outfielder Juan Soto, who was a notable omission from the initial NL roster, would be on the short list of potential replacements should any NL outfielder drop out.