The Chicago Cubs made a slew of trades before the 2026 MLB trade deadline, with the focus being on the team's pitching staff and especially the starting rotation.

Kevin Gausman and Clay Holmes headlined the Cubs' trade deadline pickups to bolster the rotation, which didn't help much in the playoffs, as the offense couldn't keep pace with the San Diego Padres.

Now in the offseason, the Cubs have some work to do. MLB insider Robert Murray of Fansided.com is urging the Cubs to re-sign a former Mets pitcher they traded for this past season. But it's not Holmes. Instead, he believes David Peterson should be re-signed.

Cubs urged to strongly consider re-signing David Peterson

"The Cubs should strongly consider bringing him back, and there are folks across the league who believe that Peterson's best days are still ahead of him," Murray writes.

While Murray doesn't go as far as to say the Cubs should re-sign Peterson and let Holmes walk, assuming he does opt out of his contract as most expect, he does believe Peterson is someone the Cubs should consider bringing back.

Looking at his 2026 statistics as a whole, it would be fair to question why the Cubs should want to bring back a pitcher who had a 4.79 ERA last season.

But with the Cubs in 80.1 innings of work, Peterson posted a very respectable 3.70 ERA, far better than the 6.09 ERA he had with the Mets before the trade this season.

MORE: How Mets could have advantage over Dodgers in free-agent pursuit of Tarik Skubal

After the 2026 All-Star break, Peterson was a completely different pitcher. In 13 games, he went 66 total innings with a 5-1 record, 67 strikeouts, and a 2.73 ERA with a 3.57 FIP.

Thanks to the Cubs' elite defense, Peterson had a great second half of 2026. While the Cubs shouldn't rely on someone like Peterson to be a staff ace, he'd make for a fantastic fifth or sixth starter or long reliever.

He might not cost too much to bring back either, as his struggles with the Mets might've been enough to tank his free agency.

With the Cubs in need of multiple pitching options for the 2027 season, Peterson would make a lot of sense as a player to bring back. Murray is urging the Cubs to, at the very least, strongly consider signing him to a new deal.

More MLB news: