Craig Counsell says Cubs' defense can benefit David Peterson as southpaw looks to turn season around
· Yahoo Sports
The Cubs needed to make a move for a starting pitcher after losing two in the last week, and when Mets southpaw David Peterson became available, the deal was done.
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Cubs president Jed Hoyer said Peterson's name was someone they've been talking about as a potential trade target for "quite a while," and his manager echoed those sentiments when talking about the team's newest acquisition.
"This is something we’ve been talking about for a while. And from a timing perspective, we have some needs," Craig Counsell said ahead of Thursday's series finale. "But we’re hopeful we can get a starting pitcher that can solidify some things in a time of need for us and hopefully give him a fresh start and get back to some of the success he’s had."
A fresh start is something Peterson and the Mets needed. After struggling earlier this season, Peterson found himself yo-yoing between the rotation and bullpen as the Mets tried to cobble together viable starters. Through 16 games (8 starts), Peterson is 3-6 with a 6.09 ERA after being an All-Star a season ago. With Peterson set to take the mound for Chicago this weekend in Milwaukee, Counsell and the Cubs are hopeful they can unlock that All-Star caliber pitcher.
When asked how the Cubs' infield defense can help, Counsell boasted his team's skill in that department.
"This is a pitcher among the league leaders of getting the ball on the ground. The ball is going to be in play and that’s something we’re good at," Counsell said. "This is the strength of our team, is playing defense and converting balls into outs. He’s the type of pitcher who benefits most from defense."
This season, Peterson has a 53 percent groundball percentage, which is in the 89th percentile in MLB according to Baseball Savant. The Cubs are an MLB-best 37 OAA -- the Mets are 20th with -8. The Cubs have committed 31 assists, tied for the fifth-fewest in MLB, while the Mets have committed 51, tied for the fourth-most in baseball.
Those numbers were inflated after the Mets' six-error game in the second of their doubleheader on Wednesday night.
"There’s always going to be some tweaks that you try to make," Counsell said when asked how the Cubs can help Peterson. "Baseball is a team game. One of the ways that we think we can help him is to provide something that is important to him that we do pretty well."
The Cubs entered Thursday with a 0.5 game lead over the Padres for the third and final Wild Card spot.