Phillies add infield depth with Daniel Robertson trade
Over the weekend, the Philadelphia Phillies made an under-the-radar trade, acquiring utilityman Daniel Robertson from the Minnesota Twins in exchange for cash considerations.
Robertson, a former Oakland A’s first-round pick, has 299 career games at the big-league level over stints with the Tampa Bay Rays, San Francisco Giants, and Milwaukee Brewers between 2017-21. Offensively, his bat doesn’t move the needle too much; he’s hit .227/.338/.345 with a .683 OPS over his big-league career thus far, with 18 home runs and 34 doubles.
This is almost entirely a depth signing for the Phillies, as Robertson can do almost anything on the diamond. While he’s spent most of his big-league career at second and third base, he’s also got some shortstop experience and a smidge of first base and outfield. The only positions he’s yet to play in his career are catcher and centerfield. He even has three scoreless pitching appearances under his belt.
The Phillies came into the season with an overcrowded infield. Barely two months later, they have the opposite problem; Johan Camargo, Nick Maton, and Jean Segura are all on the Injured List. Segura will miss the most time; a broken finger puts him on the sidelines until September, at best. What remains of a previously packed left side of the infield are Bryson Stott, Didi Gregorius, and Alec Bohm. The Phillies also called up Yairo Muñoz, who made an immediate impact with a pair of home runs against the Washington Nationals over the weekend.
Nothing about the current infield situation is ideal for the Phillies. Gregorius is hitting better than last year, but that’s not saying much, and Stott has struggled to find his way at the big-league level, though he’s shown signs of improvement in June, hitting not only his first career home run, but four of them.
It’s unclear how much playing time – if any – Robertson will get. He’s headed to the Phillies’ Triple-A affiliate Lehigh Valley IronPigs for now.