2 free agents the Phillies should avoid
David Robertson, RP
Wouldn’t it be great if the Phillies brought back an old friend to address their need in the bullpen? After all, the last time veteran David Robertson was in town in 2022, he helped the Phillies reach the postseason and all the way to the World Series as their dependable shutdown reliever down the stretch.
Following the acquisition of Robertson from the Chicago Cubs at the 2022 trade deadline, he registered six saves and pitched to a solid 2.70 ERA with 30 strikeouts in 23 1/3 innings of work in 22 appearances. He followed that up with a strong playoff showing in which he gave up only one earned run with 11 strikeouts over eight appearances.
However, following his trade to the Miami Marlins for the playoff push, Robertson regressed mightily in his final two months of the season by going 2-4 with a 5.06 ERA and 1.59 WHIP while going only 4-for-7 in save opportunities. He even ended up losing his closer role for the final month of the season, as he could no longer be trusted to finish off games with consistency.
With Robertson turning 39 at the start of the 2024 MLB season, Father Time may finally be catching up to him. Added to the fact that the Phillies had already experienced the same wildness and inconsistency with Kimbrel this past season, they certainly don’t want to go down that path again with Robertson in a year where they aim to capture the World Series title that eluded them the past two seasons.