The Mets have placed right-hander Tommy Hunter on the 15-day injured list with lower back tightness, per Tim Healey of Newsday Sports. In his place, David Peterson has been added to the active roster. Peterson will start the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader, while reliever Yoan Lopez was added to serve as the 27th man for the twin bill.
The veteran Hunter has appeared in the bigs in every season since making his debut with the Rangers in the 2008 season. Hunter, now 36, has gone on to suit up for the Orioles, Cubs, Guardians, Rays, Phillies and Mets. He made four appearances last year for New York, all scoreless. This year, he has made 11 appearances with a 2.51 ERA/4.02 FIP across 14 1/3 innings of work.
With the Mets rotation now intact, it’s likely this is a spot start for Peterson, though that could certainly change. The towering southpaw has been a solid rotation option for manager Buck Showalter this season, making 13 starts and another four appearances out of the bullpen. In total, Peterson has a 3.54 ERA/4.04 FIP across 73 2/3 innings with a strong 27.5 percent strikeout rate, 11.2 percent walk rate and career-best 53.2 percent groundball percentage.
Lopez’s previous time in the majors with the Mets was marked by a suspension he picked up for his perceived targeting of Kyle Schwarber on May 1. He made just seven appearances with the team, giving up four earned runs across 10 2/3 innings on 10 hits and five walks while striking out 10 batters.
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