NEW YORK — As Jed Hoyer remembers it, the Chicago Cubs first chatted with the New York Mets about the possibility of trading for starting pitcher David Peterson six weeks ago.Back then, sometime in mid-May, the Cubs were already dealing with significant injuries to their rotation. Cade Horton, Justin Steele and Matthew Boyd were all sidelined. Over the following weeks, as the Cubs lost starter Jameson Taillon to the injured list, they continued on-again, off-again conversations with the Mets about Peterson.By the time Edward Cabrera and Ben Brown joined a full rotation worth of Cubs pitchers on the injured list this week, talks intensified regarding Peterson to the point the teams struck a deal late Wednesday night.The kickoff to trade deadline season? Not quite, Hoyer, the Cubs’ president of baseball operations, said. In the final week of June, the wild-card standings in both leagues remain too bunched to create enough trade partners.“Teams aren’t really talking trades that much right now, honestly,” Hoyer said.Even the Mets are not yet ready to surrender. New York began Thursday 12 games below .500 and nine games behind the final wild card, which, coincidentally, the Cubs hold. After the trade, people familiar with the Mets’ plans who were granted anonymity so as to freely discuss the situation said trading Peterson is not indicative of New York going into sell mode.Instead, a special set of circumstances led to the Mets swapping Peterson for minor-league infielder Cole Mathis just before the season’s midpoint. While the proximity couldn’t hurt, Hoyer downplayed the significance of the teams playing each other. It was more about the Cubs’ dire need and the Mets’ willingness to part with a free-agent-to-be who hasn’t worked in their rotation for nearly a full year.Since the second half of last season, the Mets tried Peterson, an All-Star in 2025, as a starter, bulk pitcher and reliever. The lefty never found his groove. In 16 games, including eight starts, Peterson, 30, had a 6.09 ERA.