Mets' David Peterson's reaction to surgery revelation: 'Confusion'
David Peterson: “I just really didn’t think (surgery)0 was coming. But I thought I needed to get it done sooner rather than later.” Credit: Newsday/Alejandra Villa Loarca
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — David Peterson’s journey through surgery began like so many others: with a just-in-case MRI.
After dealing with what he thought was routine soreness for most of 2023, Peterson figured he should get it checked out as he readied to leave New York for the offseason. Then the imaging showed a torn labrum in his left hip.
Peterson had surgery in November. He is slated to return “over the summer and maybe toward the earlier part of the summer,” president of baseball operations David Stearns said this week.
“I felt like my body was beat up,” Peterson said Wednesday, prior to the Mets’ first official practice for pitchers and catchers (in which he did not participate). “I decided to see what was going on, to take a look. That’s kind of when I found out everything that was going on.
“(His reaction was) confusion for sure. I just really didn’t think that was coming. But you weigh the options and it was something that I thought I needed to get done sooner rather than later. I feel better than I did before. I’m definitely glad we did it, but obviously a bump in the road.”
Pitching through what turned out to be a major injury, Peterson largely struggled last season, posting a 5.03 ERA and 1.57 WHIP in 27 games (21 starts). He characterized the hip problem as “a factor.”
Now, he is limited to working out and playing catch — which is better than needing crutches to get around, as was the case for his first couple weeks after the operation. He hasn’t returned to the mound yet and said he doesn’t know when that will happen.
The Mets are OK waiting. With their starting five full following the additions of Luis Severino, Sean Manaea and Adrian Houser, Peterson again fits into the next five alongside Tylor Megill, Joey Lucchesi and others. A lot can change by the time he is back, though.
“We anticipate him pitching for us this year, hopefully being an important guy for us down the stretch,” Stearns said.
Peterson said: “Like we’ve talked about before, depth pieces — especially at starter — never hurt. I think they had that in mind. I’m looking to get as healthy as possible as soon as I can to be able to go out there and help this team win.”
New buddy
The Mets made official Wednesday their one-year contract with righthanded reliever Shintaro Fujinami.
Although he is physically present at spring training, Fujinami is not working out with the team yet because of delays with his visa.
In the clubhouse, the Mets set him up with a locker next to Kodai Senga’s. They met as teammates on Japan’s World Baseball Classic team in 2017.
“Ever since then we've maintained contact and gone out to dinner sometimes,” Senga said through an interpreter. “But I've never really spoken to him about the details of baseball. And coming into the same team together, I hope to speak more with him and I'm excited to see what kind of conversations we have.”
To clear a spot on the 40-man roster, the Mets moved infielder Ronny Mauricio to the 60-day injured list. Mauricio will miss at least most of the season with a torn ACL.
Extra bases
A new addition to the Mets’ spring-training clubhouse: a basketball hoop attached to the entryway between the lockers of Francisco Lindor and Luis Severino . . . All pitchers and catchers have reported to camp, manager Carlos Mendoza said. The next checkpoints: the position-players report date Saturday, followed by the first full-squad workout Monday.
Tim Healey is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. Born on Long Island and raised in Connecticut, Tim has previously worked for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, the Boston Globe and MLB.com. He is also the author of “Hometown Hardball,” a book about minor league baseball in the northeast.
