KANSAS CITY, Mo. — If David Peterson intends to become part of the Mets’ future, now would be the time to show he’s worthy.

Rotation spots have opened up following the departures of Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer in trades this week, so Peterson has shed the fill-in label for the final two months of the season and can plan on getting the ball every fifth or sixth day.

The left-hander’s chance will begin Friday when he is scheduled to face the Orioles at Camden Yards.

“Kind of what I have done the last couple of years is bounce back and forth, so this is another opportunity to show I belong in the rotation,” Peterson said before the Mets’ 9-2 loss to the Royals on Thursday. “I want to start for this team and see where that is at the end of the year.”

Peterson was pitching respectably for the club upon his recall from Triple-A Syracuse in June, but he was squeezed out of the rotation following Jose Quintana’s return from the injured list.

Peterson moved to the bullpen and became a dependable middle-relief option. Overall he has pitched to a 2.31 ERA in nine appearances since his recall.

But Peterson also endured a rough stretch to start the season — he went 1-6 with an 8.08 ERA filling in for Quintana, which prompted the Mets to demote him.

“A lot of [the turnaround] really was going away from some of the small changes that we made early on in the year, but worked for a little bit, but didn’t end up sticking and being consistent for me,” Peterson said. “Partly it was getting back to what I was feeling last year mechanically as well as sharpening some things up pitch-wise and being able to slow the game down, whether it’s going good or going bad, and just focus on executing the next pitch and go from there.”

The Mets will have to build up Peterson, but that process actually began Sunday when he received three up-and-downs in a relief appearance against the Nationals.

In that game, Peterson got the final two outs in the fifth inning and pitched the sixth before recording one out in the seventh.

“Obviously I would love to say I can give them as much as they need,” Peterson said. “But I think we have to be smart, and we’ll talk about it and get a game plan for the next couple of starts.”

Peterson developed a bond with Scherzer over two seasons and said he appreciated getting to learn from Verlander, but he also knows their departures have provided him with this latest chance.

“It’s never fun to see guys with that experience and what they bring go,” Peterson said. “But at the same time it’s part of the game, and we have got to move on and those decisions have been made.”