Mets Notebook: David Peterson to bullpen with Jose Quintana activated

Five months after a major health scare, Jose Quintana is finally ready to join the Mets rotation.

The left-hander completed his rehab Thursday at Citi Field with a simulated game and was activated Friday. The Mets designated reliever T.J. McFarland for assignment to make room on the roster.

Quintana has been eager to get started since he underwent bone graft surgery to remove a lesion on his left rib in March, but now that the sim game is over and the second half of the season underway, the veteran starter is extra excited to get back on the mound.

“The process is done,” Quintana said Friday at Citi Field. “I’ve been working a lot to be in this position and to be back next series, contributing to the team and to be able to win games.”

The 34-year-old threw 84 pitches to hitters from High-A Brooklyn. It was more than he had thrown in any previous rehab starts and the extended outing helped him get used to the pitch clock. His limited work in spring training didn’t allow for much time to get used to the new timing and he struggled with some mechanics early in the outing as a result.

However, he was happy with the overall results.

“The first innings, I was a little off with command, but after that everything was clean,” he said. “I got ahead of hitters, I got some quick outs and a couple soft-contact [outs].”

Left-hander David Peterson will move to the bullpen when Quintana takes his first turn through the rotation next week against the Chicago White Sox. Peterson showed improved command after a Triple-A stint, going 2-1 with a 2.35 ERA over 15 1/3 innings in three starts.

“It’s good to see him pitch better,” said manager Buck Showalter. “Simple as that.”

However, he still wasn’t efficient enough to go past the sixth inning and threw six only once. Using Peterson as the long man gives the Mets some insurance in case Quintana isn’t able to work deep in his first few starts.

“We probably need to need to kind of get a little runway for him,” general manager Billy Eppler said. “And that can also be part of the reason that Peterson is here, he can kind of help in that. But we’re thankful that they’re active.”

The Mets are still determining how long they will use Peterson out of the bullpen. They intend to keep him around for at least a week and possibly through the series in Boston next weekend because of the possibility of weather delays this week in the New York area. Peterson has pitched out of the bullpen 10 times in his career, nine of which came last season. He went 2-0 with a 3.68 ERA over 14 2/3 innings in relief last season, learning how to rely more on his out pitches than using his full arsenal.

The Mets don’t think they need to use a six-man rotation because of off days July 17, July 24 and July 31. However, Max Scherzer dealt with a sore neck during the All-Star break. The Mets expect him to pitch Sunday against the Dodgers, and they do not believe it’s related to the spasms he experienced earlier this season, but they felt that keeping Peterson around for a little longer would be a smart move.

“He had a little bowl stiffness in his neck,” Eppler said. “That, apparently, was more of a product of sleep than anything else.”

The rotation the Mets envisioned in December will finally take a turn, but there are still questions that linger about the health and effectiveness of it as the second half begins.

BRIGHT LIGHTS, BIG CITY

The Mets have come to terms with some of their new draftees on their first professional contracts this week. The club has signed shortstop Colin Houck (round one, 32nd overall), right-hander Brandon Sproat (round two, 56th overall) and shortstop Boston Baro (round eight, 246th overall), as well as five other players from the 2023 draft.

Houck, Sproat and Baro visited New York City for the first time this week. The trio visited Times Square after getting into town Thursday night and toured Citi Field on Friday. They’ve also been eating as much pizza as they can.

“There are so many good places, you can’t go wrong,” Houck said.

However, Baro has already found his favorite slice shop: Joe’s.

“I’ve been to Joe’s Pizza three times already,” Baro said. “It’s pretty good.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Outfielder Tommy Pham was back in the lineup after leaving the game Sunday in San Diego with groin tightness. He’s considered day-to-day and the Mets chose to use him as a DH instead of having him play in the outfield as a precaution.