Phillies Sign Reliever David Robertson To 2-Year Deal

PHILADELPHIA, PA — The Phillies signed high end relief pitcher David Robertson to a two year deal worth at least $23 million, they announced Thursday. The move solidifies an already strong Phillies bullpen, adding an experienced, consistently elite arm to pair with the likes of Sernathony Dominguez, Hector Neris, and others in late inning situations.

The deal promises Robertson $21 million through 2020, with a club option of $12 million for a third year. The Phillies can also buy out Robertson's third year for $2 million, according to terms first announced by MLB.com's Mark Feinsand.

Robertson has been, by any measure, one of the best relievers in the game since he broke out in 2009. While he'll be 34 for most of the 2019 season, age has not slowed him down, as he's pitched about 70 innings each in the past two seasons of 1.84 and 3.23 ERA ball, respectively (with a 2.57 and 2.97 fielding independent pitching mark, which is an ERA predictor that takes a team's overall defense into account).

Robertson, who eschewed his agent and represented himself in free agency this year, was impressed by the Phillies.

"Philly really checked off all the boxes for me," Robertson told Feinsand in talk with MLB.com. "They are hungry to get back to the postseason and win. They have a great fan base, a beautiful ballpark and a special focus on charity. They've put together a great squad and I think I can bring a lot to the team in the back end of their bullpen."

Most of his 10 year career has been spent with the Yankees, though he also spent parts of three seasons with the White Sox. Chicago used him exclusively as a closer, while he served in a more malleable setup role in the Yankees ridiculously deep bullpen the past year and a half.

The deal the Phillies signed with Robertson is almost identical to the deal the Cardinals gave this free agent class' other elite reliever Andrew Miller. Late last month, Miller signed for a two year, $25 million deal with an $11 million option for a third year.

Because Robertson's a few years older and doesn't have quite the upside of other comparable, elite free agent relief options like Craig Kimbrel or Zach Britton, he comes to the Phillies notably cheaper. While Britton and (especially) Kimbrel are looking for five or six year deals in the $80 to $90 million range, the Phillies severely limited their risk and saved money by signing the slightly less exciting, but far more consistent and healthy Robertson.

To compare, since 2010, Robertson has never pitched less than 60 innings in a season (a very good mark for a late inning reliever). His worst ERA in that stretch was 3.82 in 2010 (worst FIP 3.58). He's averaged 12 strikeouts per nine innings pitched throughout his career, and even earned Cy Young votes for his Herculean 2011 performancs, where he pitched 66 innings of 1.08 ERA ball. Perhaps it's not fair to say he's not exciting:

It remains unclear how Robertson will be deployed in Gabe Kapler's non-traditional bullpen, but barring another addition he'll be the most experienced and talented of a slew of strong late inning options, ranging from Dominguez and Neris to Pat Neshek, Victor Arano, Edubray Ramos, Tommy Hunter, Juan Nicasio, and James Pazos.

The team will now likely turn the bulk of their offseason attention on superstars Bryce Harper and Manny Machado. While they'll likely only sign one (if either) of them, and while it remains unclear where the pair prefer to play, sources around baseball believe the Phillies will make the highest salary offer to both.

Photo by Elsa/Getty Images