David Peterson is a perfect Reds rotation solution and they have the Cubs to thank

The Cincinnati Reds need to add to their starting rotation this offseason. The only locks should be Chase Burns, Andrew Abbott, and Nick Lodolo. Hunter Greene's torn UCL takes the 2027 season off the table for him and could put his future with the Reds in doubt. As for Brady Singer, even if Cincinnati wanted him back, the cost to retain him may prove to be too high.

The rotation isn't the Reds' only need, so while pressing, the team can't blow the budget there. One of the open spots surely will come down to a competition between Rhett Lowder, Brandon Williamson, and the rest of the young but undistinguished arms in the system. The other, though, requires someone with some veteran savvy.

Cincinnati might not have to look too far for a solution. A prime option resided on the Chicago Cubs' staff down the stretch in the form of David Peterson, and now the crafty lefty is hitting free agency and could be a great buy-low option for the Reds.

Coming off a year in which he put up a 4.79 ERA over 32 appearances (23 starts) and 148⅓ innings, the veteran lefty might not appear like much of a fit. In fact, he might seem like more of the same after Abbott and Lodolo struggled with consistency in 2026.

That's a simplistic view, though. Peterson's was a tale of two seasons, with the line of demarcation coming on June 25, when the New York Mets dealt the 31-year-old to Chicago, and the Cubs subsequently fixed whatever was ailing the southpaw.

The Cubs fixed David Peterson, who now looks like a great option for the Reds and Great American Ball Park

Peterson's first few months of the season with New York were absolutely miserable. Then again, so was everything in Queens at that time. He was eventually pulled from the rotation, making just eight starts and 16 overall appearances, posting a 6.09 ERA over 68 frames.

Things turned a corner almost immediately for him almost immediately after donning a Cubs jersey, throwing 5⅔ innings of two-run ball and earning the win in his first start for Chicago against the Milwaukee Brewers on June 27.

The seeds of doubt began to creep in during his next start, though. On July 3, Peterson got tagged for 10 runs, all earned, over 3⅔ innings against the St. Louis Cardinals. However, from that point forward, he'd prove that disastrous performance was simply a momentary hiccup. He'd go on to make 13 more starts for the Cubs, allowing two runs or less in 11 of them.

All told, Peterson posted a 3.70 ERA over 80⅓ innings with the Cubs. During that time, he allowed a superb hard-hit rate of just 31.6%, while striking out 21.5% of batters, which is essentially a league-average mark.

Peterson's calling card is a high ground ball rate. He generated grounders at a 50.1% clip overall in 2026 and owns a career ground ball rate of 51.5%.

Avoiding hard contact, keeping the ball on the ground, and getting just enough strikeouts to be effective is a recipe for success anywhere, but especially in the home-run-friendly confines of Great American Ball Park. GABP was the fourth-most homer-friendly park in 2026 per Statcast's park factor, so bringing in a guy who only gave up 0.90 HR/9 this year and 0.91 HR/9 for his career is ideal.

Peterson made $8.1 million last season, and his uneven year combined with a relatively deep class of free-agent starters should keep his price tag down. Spotrac projects him for a one-year, $10.1 million contract, which would be a decent value, though there's a chance that the Reds could get him for even less.

He might not be an ace, but Peterson is a solid mid-rotation starter with the traits necessary to succeed in Cincinnati. For the Reds, fit is just as important as talent, and there might be no hurler on the market who presents a better combination of ability and compatibility, all at a price that the Reds can afford. Whatever ailed him in the early going, Chicago fixed him, so thanks, Cubs, for giving us a perfect option to boost the rotation.

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