Phillies Bolster Bullpen By Bringing Back David Robertson
David Robertson is (finally) a free agent no more.
The 40-year-old reliever had remained on the open market this entire season since becoming a free agent at the end of last year. But on Sunday, he agreed to join the Philadelphia Phillies – one of his many former teams – on a one-year deal, as first reported by The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal.
Robertson’s deal, which will be prorated at $16 million for the remainder of the season and pay him $6 million in 2025, was officially announced by the Phillies on Monday morning.
After remaining unsigned all summer, Robertson threw in front of interested suitors at a showcase in Rhode Island on Saturday, with several evaluators reportedly coming away impressed by his performance. Just 24 hours later, the 16-year MLB veteran was no longer unemployed after agreeing to return to the Phillies.
According to the New York Post’s Jon Heyman, many other clubs expressed considerable interest in the 2011 All-Star following his showcase, including the Detroit Tigers and Boston Red Sox. In the end, though, he chose Philadelphia.
This will be Robertson’s third stint with the Phillies organization following his tenures in 2019 and ‘22, with the second featuring a run to the World Series – the second of his career after winning his first as a member of the New York Yankees in ‘09.
The 5-foot-11 righty signed as a free agent with Philadelphia prior to the ‘19 campaign, but only made seven appearances before undergoing season-ending elbow surgery. Over 6.2 innings, he allowed four runs on eight hits and six walks while striking out six.
Three years later, the Chicago Cubs traded Robertson to the Phillies ahead of the ‘22 trade deadline, and he became a key figure at the back end of their bullpen, pitching to a 2.70 ERA with 30 strikeouts across 22 relief appearances. He also excelled in the post-season, recording a 1.17 ERA while punching out 11 over eight appearances.
Since Robertson hasn’t pitched in a game since Sep. 29, 2024, he’ll continue building up his stamina in the minors after being optioned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Monday.
The hope is that Robertson can closely resemble the pitcher he was last season with the Texas Rangers, which consisted of a 3.00 ERA and 2.65 FIP with a 24.3-percent strikeout-to-walk rate difference (K-BB%) in 68 relief appearances – the most of his career since 2018.
Philadelphia’s bullpen has been the club’s weakest link this season, given its 22nd-ranked FIP (4.19), 23rd-ranked ERA (4.33) and 25th-ranked HR/9 (1.23). And that’s despite being used the least of any relief group in the majors, as they’ve logged the fewest innings pitched (322.1) in baseball.
The Phillies signed Jordan Romano (one year, $8.5 million) over the off-season to help solidify the back end of the ‘pen. Instead, the longtime Toronto Blue Jays closer currently owns a miserable 6.88 ERA and 4.65 FIP over 39 games this season, relegating him to low-leverage situations.
Not having José Alvarado also hasn’t helped as a result of his 80-game PED suspension, though he is eligible to return on Aug. 19. However, he won’t be eligible to participate in the post-season if Philadelphia qualifies.
Once fully built up, Robertson will likely offer support in high-leverage situations at the back end of the Phillies’ bullpen alongside Matt Strahm (six saves) and Orion Kerkering (two saves) the rest of the way.
-Thomas Hall
Twitter: @Hall_Thomas_
Photo: Ken Lund. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.