7:00pm: Robertson’s deal does contain a range of incentives, per Jon Heyman of Fancred. The 33-year-old will be awarded $50K each for an All-Star appearance, Gold Glove award, or League Championship Series MVP award, and $100K if he’s awarded MVP of the World Series or wins the Cy Young (plus $50K for finishing second, and $25K for a third-place finish). He’ll also donate 1% of his salary to the team’s charity fund.
1:00pm: The Phillies have announced the signing. Because they had two open spots on the 40-man roster, a corresponding move was not necessary.
12:29pm: The Phillies have agreed to a two-year, $23MM contract with free-agent reliever David Robertson, reports Mark Feinsand of MLB.com (via Twitter). The contract contains a $12MM club option for a third season, and Robertson has already passed his physical. He’ll earn $10MM in 2019, $11MM in 2020 and is guaranteed at least a $2MM buyout on the 2021 option. If the option is picked up, the self-represented Robertson would take home a total of $33MM over three years.
Robertson, 33, has been among the game’s most consistent relievers since emerging as a regular more than a decade ago. He’s totaled at least 60 innings and 60 appearances per season dating back to 2010 and hasn’t been on the disabled list since 2014, when he missed the minimum amount of time due to a mild groin strain.
Robertson is fresh off a quality 3.23 ERA with 11.8 K/9, 3.4 BB/9, 0.9 HR/9 and a 45.3 percent ground-ball rate in 69 2/3 innings with the Yankees. He kept his ERA south of 3.50 and averaged at least 10.8 punchouts per nine innings in all four seasons of his the four-year $46MM pact he signed with the White Sox. His 2017 season — 1.84 ERA, 12.9 K/9, 3.0 BB/9, 2.57 FIP, 2.76 xFIP through 68 1/3 innings between Chicago and New York — was particularly brilliant.
After spending his entire career to date in the American League, Robertson will head to the National League for the first time, where he’ll pair with breakout 2018 rookie Seranthony Dominguez at the back of a Philadelphia bullpen that also features veterans Tommy Hunter, Pat Neshek and Juan Nicasio, in addition to lefties James Pazos and Jose Alvarez. Hector Neris, Edubray Ramos, Yacksel Rios and Victor Arano are among the other bullpen options for the Phillies, but it presently stands to reason that Dominguez and Robertson will team to handle the majority of the high-leverage innings in Philadelphia.
To that end, Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets that the Phillies’ intention with Robertson is to use him “whenever the game is on the line, regardless of inning.” That should put Robertson firmly in the mix for some saves in Philadelphia, but he’ll also likely be called upon to help escape jams earlier in the game. In those instances, Dominguez could then be in line for more conventional save opportunities.
Robertson is the latest addition in an offseason that has been rife with turnover for the Phillies after GM Matt Klentak promised changes were coming on the heels of a historic late collapse. Since their season ended in catastrophic fashion, the Phillies have shipped out Carlos Santana, signed Andrew McCutchen and acquired each of Nicasio, Pazos and Jean Segura on the trade market. The heaviest lifting for the Phillies may very well be yet to come, though, as the Phillies have been linked to top free agents Bryce Harper and Manny Machado more strongly than virtually any team in baseball.
The Robertson contract falls rather closely in line with the two-year, $25MM contract that Andrew Miller landed with the Cardinals, perhaps further serving to establish the market for the tier of veteran relievers just below top available arm Craig Kimbrel. The Phillies and Yankees were both rumored to be in the mix for Robertson, Zach Britton and Adam Ottavino, so with Robertson now off the board, both Britton and Ottavino could see their markets accelerate.
Fancred’s Jon Heyman first suggested that a deal between the two sides appeared to be getting close (via Twitter), and The Athletic’s Jayson Stark had reported shortly beforehand that there was “lots” of talk surrounding the Phillies and Robertson (Twitter links).
something something Yankees something something
Where were the Red Sox and Yankees! Not to mention, the Mets traded 5 guys, took on Cano for Diaz and gave Familia 3 years when they could’ve had Robertson at this price. SMH
The Mets are losers for a reason. Historically a bad organization who hasn’t made good moves for decades so you actually expect them to do something smart now? They traded away Jered Kelenic who will be a star. This is why they continue to lose and they drafted good over the years it’s their stupid trades & lack of good FA signings.
-Cano is 2nd in baseball in bWAR since 2012
-Familia is just as good as Robertson is at present and is 5 years younger
-Overvaluing prospects is dumb and bad
-Isn’t it exhausting to hate on the Mets for no reason?
Nice hot take on Kelenic being a star. No one batted an eye about him all year and the second he gets traded, “he’s going to be a star”.
Its not over valuing prospects, it was just an unnecessary trade. DiPoto had no leverage trying to get a team to take on Cano until he is 41. All it took was attaching Diaz and the Mets said “shut up and take my 2 best propsepcts”
They kept the prospect they needed the most for 2019 and that’s Alonso. “All it took was Diaz” I hate to tell you but he’s arguably the best closer in the game right now. Cano has yet to decline. I bet it happens before the deals up but if they squeeze 3 productive years out of him a la Nelson Cruz I don’t think anyone is going to be sad.
I agree that Cano rarely misses a game and puts up good numbers (at least for the foreseeable future), but Familia is no Robertson, not even close…
well kelenic and dunn weren’t the mets’ 2 best prospects, they were 3 and 6. not to mention the mets also dumped bruce and swarzak, and oh yeah diaz is at worst a top 3 closer in baseball if not the best
“The Mets are losers for a reason. Historically a bad organization who hasn’t made good moves for decades so you actually expect them to do something smart now”
Not a Mets fan but you do realize the Mets were in the World Series in 2015, right? That is more recent than the Yankees, Rays, Nationals, Phillies, Brewers, Rockies, every team in the AL Central not named Indians.
I don’t get the bashing of the Mets when they have won the NL Championship more recent than every team but the Dodgers and Cubs.
Cano had negative trade value. Yes Diaz is great but worth taking on Cano, not so much. There was a really good closer available as a free agent you could have signed without taking on Cano and giving up Dunn or Kelenic
What is your basis for comparing Robertson and Familia, out of curiosity? Their ERA, ERA+, FIP, etc., are fairly similar. Contracts are similar. Familia is younger.
I think that the argument is that Diaz was worth more than the three prospects the Mets sent over, and Cano’s negative trade value was made up for by the money that Seattle sent and Seattle’s willingness to take on two bad contracts from the Mets.
In terms of the good closers available as FA- there is the argument that Kimbrel is declining and asking for too much money- so they got the best guy available by paying (possibly overpaying, but not by a lot) using prospects as currency.
You can trade Diaz in a year if it doesn’t work out and likely get two top prospects back. The Mets can be all in and quickly all out if they were truly interested in rebuilding.
Nah.. Familia is a wife beater.. I’ll take Robertson over him and especially at 2/23m with his track record and he hasn’t lost any velocity with his age. familia has problems not many teams are willing to take on. if the mets want them? have at it.
Cano was busted for PEDs. No one knows how that will affect him.
Diaz is absolutely the real deal.
@davidkaner
Oh stop with the hate and exaggerations. A vested interest in hating the Mets enough to post as you do, is just weird.
@johnsilver
Please stop with the holier-than-though proclamations. The Phillies are not immune to players with domestic violence incidences. For instance, Phillies prospect Jesmuel Valentin made his big league debut last season despite his prior domestic violence arrest and league suspension.
Familia’s incident resulted in 15 game suspension and whatever else was required of him by MLB to work on becoming a better man.
There would have been many teams willing to sign Familia had he not wanted to return home to be near his family and American home.
@costergaard2 Just misses 80 games at a time. Lol
LOL comparing Familia to Robertson. Past, present or future. One has a history of trust, the other has to date not been consistent under pressure. I’m also surprised he went to Philly. Suggests to me the Yanks get Britton (who I love for 19) and Boston gets back Kimbrel. That said, the Phillies could also still be in on Britton if they don’t get Harper or Machado.
Show me the money.
Dewey. Robertson is glad to be out of the AL East. I’m glad he is as well. . lol
Just a fine point ack. One team from the al central besides the Indians made the WS 15′ on, was the royals who beat the Mets for the championship. Pitch one more inning Harvey. One more inning.
I agree with everything you said but the Royals beat the Mets in ‘15 so they have been there and done better more recently
This is true
LTDH20,
Robertson would have looked good in Boston but you can’t get everyone. Depending on the commitment, Kimbrel could also go elsewhere. While the team will try to win in 19, management has to look beyond it. Tough for all clubs as even big market teams have to make financial decisions.
The only difference in my mind is Familia had that domestic violence incident. Familia wrongly gets blamed for the 2015 WS collapse when he got the Mets out of serious jams in in the Dodgers and Cubs series’. Not to mention 2 Buckner moments by Murph and Duda the Clippard collapse that brought Familia in with bases juiced or 2 on none out (can’t remember). Risk-wise Familia was the lowest risk FA on the market besides the domestic violence.
that’s a great pick up by Phil’s I really wanted him back in NY he just goes out and gets the job done whatever that job is. only one team can sign a guy so the Phil’s are winners here well done.
So, you jave proof he would have signed with them?
Yankees didn’t need Robertson. They still have a very good Bullpen. They don’t need to spend big for another big RP, 1-2 lower level ones will be fine. And if they’re gonna spend the money, Britton would be the choice because he’s a lefty.
That couldn’t be farther from the truth. Robertson was an extremely important part of the Yankees bullpen the last couple of seasons, and could be counted on in multiple rolls. Name one of those “1-2 lower level ones” that could even come close to Robertson’s flexibility?
He was especially good in lobster rolls, California rolls, and Little Debbie Swiss cake rolls.
You don’t need 10 superstars to cover every RP position.
Also you forget you have Green, betances and Chapman. And they could still sign Britton. They also have Holder and Kahnle can rebound and be what he was in 2017. That’s still a very strong bullpen.
But nope it’s trash because they don’t have 10 Superstars to cover every spot
Hahahaha. Maybe the best comment ever.
6 people don’t know why you wrote this hahahaha
6 people obviously realized it was trivial!! hahahahaha..1more ha!!
I wish my team had Green, Betances and Chapment. Heck, I’d be happy with any one of them.
Yankee fans are a tough crowd. They want start at ever position and in the Bull Pen, they want four or five.
Agree with u (again) cereal. Both Boston and NY it looks like missed out on a good deal for probably the best available late inning guy for the price in robertson. Was really hoping Boston would sign him if his price was moderate and looks like it was. Am thinking britton is going to cost more and am willing to bet robertson puts up better numbers.
If some jerk said that Phillies fans throw pies filled with razor blades at players, would you have also repeated that nonsense?
😀
Cereal. He isn’t irreplaceable but it won’t be easy to do. He was the guy who came into an important point in the game. Way more often than not, he did his job.
If it was true, yes.
chad green,,thank you and have a nice night.
The Yankees bullpen isn’t that deep anymore. It’s Green, Betances, Chapman. Holder is a nice middle reliever too. Then You can hope Kahnle bounces back. There top lefty is Tarpley at this point. They’ll need to at minimum get a Britton or Will Smith to make that a formidable group. Let’s remember you are the NYY. You don’t need to be cutting corners everywhere and settling for guys. There’s a lot of payroll capacity being unused
lmao,,plenty of good reliever arms left,,pump the breaks amigo. your also forgetting they have domingo german as well Jonathan Loáisiga and jordan montgomery who will be back. britton and ottavino would also fit nicely as FA pickups. please be knowledgeable before commenting.
Having those guys doesn’t mean they’re good. Do they have depth? Yes. Is that depth good? That’s debatable.
Please type better. Also I mentioned Britton. Loaisiaga has no ML track record and German has very little.’I didn’t forget any of them they’re just minor league starters who may make the pen. They’re question marks at this point. The yanks aren’t going to roll into the season w Tarpley as their top lefty option. I agree Ottavino would be a nice pickup. Britton or Will Smith or another lefty is necessary. If you read the original post I was referring to it says the Yankees only need “1 or 2 lower tier relief arms.” I said they need more. It seems like you agree with me more than you think?
Cashman stated he wanted 2 bullpen arms. I think Robo and Britton should be the choice. I’m a little perplexed as to why they didn’t sign Robo considering the deal was pretty reasonable.
Maybe he’s holding out for Preller to give up the entire Padre bullpen in return for Andujar
Well, the Phillies said they were going to “spend stupid” if needed or whatever. Maybe this is part of that?
This looks like spending smart to me.
I agree Yanks. Hal should save his money. I like the NY bp the was it is.
Something something he didn’t pick the Yankees because he doesn’t want to win something something he’s afraid to pitch in New York something something
He didn’t pick the Yanks because the Yanks didn’t offer him as much, or anything.
He’s a very good, dependable reliever who doesn’t rely on Velo. It’s a very safe, very good sign by the Phils.
What did he win WITH the Yankees? NOTHING.
The 2009 World Series…
ouch..that burn is gonna leave a serious mark!!
Robertson will really be missed by the Yankees but 3 pitchers had more saves then him in 2009 including a nobody named Mariano Rivera and he only threw 43 innings so his contribution to that team was limited
and that means what? what a dope you are.
Something something dark side….something
MEG MEG MEG MEG MEG. meegggg
Decent signing. Really helps sure up the back end, especially after Neris is coming off of a down season and Neshek was hurt for part of the season.
Great, another wrong free agent contest pick.
Ha! Same here
This hurts, but I understand the Yanks not wanting to give him $11.5 million/per. Let’s get Britton signed, Cashman!!
Robertson I would have liked back, don’t get me wrong, but I’m not hurt he’s not coming back. He started showing signs of decline and had a shoulder thing midway through the year.
At 33, for a guy that relies on a curveball ultimately, I’m fine if we go another way.
I want Britton, and they can go with Loaisiga or someone internally for the other spot.
I agree. He’s got a lot of miles on that arm. My guess is he wanted to come back to NY, but he signed for the most $. C’est la vie.
I’m guessing Britton wants to close and he won’t close with the Yankees.
Britton wants closer $. I don’t think he really cares about closing.
I have yet to read or hear anything about his preferences, where did you get this?
Just my opinion. If the Yanks offer him $45 million for 3 years to be a set-up man, and the Red Sox offer him say $36 million for 3 years to be their closer, which offer do you think he accepts? Those are just speculative #s to prove my thought process.
I like Britton, but if the Yanks wouldn’t pay D-Rob 11 .5 mil for 2 plus option, I can’t see them paying that for Britton, even though he’s younger and arguably better now that he’s likely fully healed.
They already pay Chapman $17 mil, don’t think they want to pay another reliever close to that.
They probably try to get Ottavino for less than D-Rob, hope he’s as good as D-Rob was, and maybe trade for an additional reliever. Relief arms are always available at the deadline and the Yanks have a bunch of hard throwers in the minors.
Not the way I would go, but Hal counts every penny.
I think they would pay that for Britton and for Ottavino if they wanted to. That’s relatively cheap for very good bullpen arms. I think the Yankees passed because of the playoff share thing.
They leaked the playoff share thing to the tabloid because they didn’t like him for some reason.
He didn’t unilaterally decide the shares, others in that room had a say and they reached a consensus.
This reminds me of the story about Cano being a deadbeat dad right after he signed with the Mariners.
Stories like this are disgusting. The players had every right to do what they did in awarding or not awarding shares.
It really was a smear campaign against D-Rob, and again, he was leading the meeting, not the sole arbiter of who got what.
For a guy like Kimbrel closing might be important because he’s probably thinking HOF isn’t completely out of the question. Very real chance Kimbrel winds up #3 on the all times Saves list. For a guy like Britton, he shouldn’t really have those kinds of concerns. I think most guys see it this way now. If the moneys right it just doesn’t matter
One thing stands out for me In terms of the Yankee bullpen, they really need to extend betances.
I was all for dealing him, but they at least in to see if hes willing to resign, if not They have to trade him.
The Yankees don’t have to trade him. The goal is to win a WS. If you lose a guy to FA so be it.
Contending teams don’t trade players at the deadline just because they are going to become free agents.
Thinking the Yankees value Britton the same as Robertson is just dumb. So, to say that if the Yankees couldn’t give Robertson more than what he got, means we won’t give Britton that or more is absurd and poor use of logic.
Cashman, I am sure, values a 30 year old left handed pitcher who keeps the ball on the ground with his best pitch more than a 33 year old right handed pitcher who throws a curve that I personally saw deposited in the seats several times in key spots last year.
Robertson was great down the stretch in ’17 and in the playoffs, constantly wiggling out of tight jams. After watching MUCH of the 2018 season, Robertson was used as THAT guy multiple times by Boone, hoping he could get them out of jams, and I feel he failed more than he succeeded.
Britton is one year removed from being one of the premier closers in baseball, and his injury was not baseball related and also was not his arm.
Robertson had an “arm thing” last year and he never fully looked like he did in 2017.
Britton is worth more, end of story. Seeing Betances (FA) and Chapman (can opt out) could leave next year, who would you rather have long term, Robertson or Britton?
If you say Robertson, just go away!
Britton is more than one year removed from being an elite closer. He’s a full 2 years and you can say the injury wasn’t related to his arm but he sure hasn’t been the same ever since. This is very poor argument if you’re going to say Robertson didn’t look the same. No, that would be Britton. His command has not been the same since his injury and he’s shown nothing to me that would suggest he’ll ever return to that elite form. He’s useful as what he is now but you made absolutely no argument in your post.
Hasn’t been the same since? He just had the injury last offseason. Having a sub 3 ERA with the Yankees down the stretch after coming off an achilles injury, and after not pitching all year, I’d say that he had did well. Sorry, he didn’t maintain his .54 ERA from 2016, he has been just terrible since.
2.89 ERA with over a strikeout an inning in 2017 gosh, he sucks.
Robertson, outside of his stellar 2017, surrounded that with ERA’s over 3 in 2015, 2016, and again in 2018.
Try looking to see when Robertson last posted a sub 1 ERA……you won’t find it. Britton has been and is better than Robertson, and it’s really not that close.
Lmao buddy you can’t read a BBref page then. That was 2016 when he averaged a strikeout per. He’s been a tick over 7 ever since. What year are we in? It’s 2019 now. We’ve completed 2017 and 2018. Don’t let bias come into this I was an orioles fan I’m well aware of Britton’s progression. Britton has not been the same since suffering an oblique then Achilles injury. His command has not been there and he’s not even close to a K per inning since then. He’s walking over 4 per 9. He won’t post an era under 3 with those kind of peripherals. Again, you didn’t read the BBref page correctly or you have no idea what your arguing about because he has Not looked the same after injury at all. D-Rob on the other hand has been a consistent performer with the peripherals to back it up.
“was an Orioles fan” explains everything, and still I don’t see one shred of evidence as to why Britton isn’t better than Robertson outside of your lame opinion.
Consistently….. over 3 ERA, 33, and right handed.
Zach Britton 2018 4.22 FIP 3.49 FIP 2017. 4+ Bb/9 both years ~7K/9 both years
D-Rob 2018 2.97 FIP 2.10 FIP 2017. 13K/9 and 11 K/9 respectively ~3BB/9 and a lower ERA in the aggregate to boot.
Do you not understand statistics or what quantifies a guy as a “better” pitcher because he literally has him in every category. Britton already looks like a declining pitcher. You’re using D-Rob’s age to suggest that’s where he’s heading but there’s actual statistical proof of Britton going in that direction. But hey all that stuff is Lame!
Let’s see who gets more money and more years. Think what you want, but WHEN he gets more money and more years the argument will be over.
You obviously are the one with issues understanding, and clearly have bias against Britton seeing you “were” an Orioles fan. That’s the “LAME” part of this.
You’re using stats on Britton in two years where injury impacted his seasons and have no clue obviously how injuries and lack of preparation can effect a relievers numbers. Even with that Britton pitched well, and I WATCHED IT.
Again, hate all you want on Britton, he obviously lost you money at some point, because the butt hurt is obvious.
Butthurt and lame. Sorry I continued an attempt at a logical argument with someone who talks like an absolute idiot. D-Rob has been the better pitcher for 2 consecutive seasons but yeah arguing that he is better than Britton makes no sense at all. Got it. Have a good one bud.
The more downvotes you receive and the more you’re attacked should be taken as a badge of pride.
Being on this site for a while now, most of the commenters know zero about evaluating players with the eyes because most of them never played an inning of competitive baseball but are Strat-O-Matic weekend warriors, parroting sabr stats that they’ve read about for the past few years.
I agree with you completely on Robertson vs. Britton. Not saying I didn’t want Robinson back, but he was definitely hit harder last year than in the past and has carried a heavy workload the past 10 seasons. I, too, would rather have Britton the next 3 years than Robertson.
It’s obvious to any one who isn’t clueless that the Yankees aren’t just going to spend blindly like they did during George’s reign. They valued Robertson at a certain level and felt he wasn’t worth what Philly felt he was worth, so they let him walk. Same with Corbin earlier this winter.
And the argument absolutely would not be over if Britton gets more money and more years. If Robertson outpitches him again? Then what? By your logic the Yankees should’ve signed Yu Darvish last year instead of CC Sabathia….
You don’t need to be a statomatic warrior to see Britton isn’t the same guy. I was concerned the Orioles weren’t going to get much of anything for him at the deadline because he hasn’t found his command in 2 years. His sinker is a potentially lethal pitch when he can consistently locate it. Since coming back from his two injuries he’s been Inconsistent with it. Will that change going forward? It could or it could stay where it’s been the last 2 years. I’m willing to bet I’ve seen Britton throw a baseball far more than you have but that’s not all that relevant because I’m not a scout and neither are you. The numbers are what they are. You can not like them but that doesn’t make for any actual argument w any factual basis.
JBigz, you can insult me all you want, at least I’m not a former fan of a team… kind of pathetic actually. The fact that teams value Britton over Robertson ABSOLUTELY shows that he’s a better pitcher in their eyes. Darvish WAS a better pitcher than CC, so going into that off-season he absolutely should have gotten more money.
Nobody can predict future production perfectly, but the fact that it took you how many comments to actually list a stat, then claim you’re trying to have an honest argument, is absurd.
You’re a troll who can’t even stay loyal to the Orioles. I watched over 130 games last year and watched Robertson spit the bit in big spots constantly. Britton looked better in the time he pitched for the Yankees despite the bad WHIP.
I see no reason why, with a healthy and full off-season, why he wouldn’t be close to his 2016 status. I don’t expect .54 ERA, but a sub 2 ERA and solid production is fully expected.
Robertson could be fine, but what I saw last year was not fine. I would not have minded him back on the same deal he got from Philly, but I’ll take Britton over him every time if I only can choose one.
What is pathetic about saying anything about Britton? How is that me being pathetic as an orioles fan? That argument holds no weight again but it’s pretty clear you’ve established that that’s how you argue. The orioles traded Britton to the Yankees. I’m glad they did. I’d rather take an equivalent package of prospects from the Yankees than the dodgers because we will have to directly compete with the yanks. No sweat. I hoped Britton performed well for you guys as well. The orioles aren’t competing and Britton did a lot of good things for us. I’m not the one who is glad a player is gone off my team. That would be you Talking about how Drob looked bad AFTER he signed with another team. I’m just telling you what I saw with my eyes and the numbers that support my claim. There’s no anti Britton bias from me being an orioles fan. Maybe that’s how it works in your world but if my team isn’t any good I don’t go and hate on all past Orioles. I have no reason to do that. I’ve seen plenty of peak Britton and this guy isn’t that. Teams are obviously hoping that comes back but it hasn’t came back yet.
Oooooh now you’re an Oriole’s fan again? And when your team stinks, you just abandon ship as you’ve pointed out in a prior comment.
BTW, if you have read prior comments on other threads regarding relievers, and what I’ve said both during the season and after the postseason, I have been and was lukewarm on bringing Robertson back and thought Britton was better all along.
Saying Britton is better and having doubts on DRobs future is not bashing him, and I never said I was glad to boot. It just doesn’t bother me seeing I had a lot of question marks regarding his future performance given his age and what I saw during the year.
I know as a former/current/former Orioles fan it’s difficult to decipher saying one player is better than another seeing none of your players are/were/are good and Chris Davis will be imposing his garbage play on the team for years to come.
I’m not sure where you think I said I wasn’t an orioles fan. I said “was an orioles” fan when talking about Britton in the past tense because he was an oriole. Maybe I could’ve used is for you and that would’ve helped you out. That seems pretty crazy to harp on that point. Bringing the Orioles success into this discussion is completely irrelevant but when you have no numbers to back your claim deflecting is an easy path to take. As for what matters, we can come back to this by the AS break or the end of the year.
Britton will be getting more than D-Rob. He may be looking for a guaranteed closer’s role, as well.
As a Braves fan, yall can have him for that much.
Agreed, but the Braves signed a guy returning from injury and the ghost of a good catcher and that has been it. Something needs to happen soon.
Braves are waiting for their usual leftover relievers and just hope they’re serviceable. If they indeed spent all their $$ on Donaldson, I sure hope he produces!
The Braves need Mitch Haniger, who will transform their team into a dynasty contender for years to come with his excellent and rare blend of power, bat control, speed, defense, arm, team control, and low cost. He should return at least three top 100 prospects, four if they get mostly top 50-100 ranked prospects.
Sincerely, an unbiased Mariners fan.
Mariners aren’t trading Haniger. We need to look elsewhere for RF. I’m starting to worry that AA is just planning on waiting and waiting until he thinks certain players markets come crashing down before making a move. Or he’s happy to take what’s left. I just don’t understand it with all the prospects we have…
Thanks!
Who cares about how much? How long is the more important part of this deal, and 2 years with a club option for a third is a big win for Philly.
The two year deal for him with a club option? This a great move. I wish my team would have signed him.
Damn. Reasonable contract.
Yanks shoulda got him.
Dammit, 3-24 now on predictions. Thought the Mets would land him.
Actually got that one right, hooray haha.
Sorry to see him go. The Phillies got a dependable, consistent reliever.
me too. the whole half share thing rubbed me the wrong way though.
Nooooooooo !!!! 🙁
From an article I recently read on the Athletic, it really seemed that he wanted a chance to close again. May have something to do with his signing with the Phils, seems to have the strongest chance to close there out of the contenders that would pay
I knew he was not going back to the Yanks after short changing the everyday workers for the Yanks,
Good move by Philadelphia only giving him 2-years!!
exactly.
NY4Ever, Phils got off cheap. He went #halcare with the playoff shares. Why go back and take questions from the NY pundits?
This is a great signing. One of my favorite relief pitcher. I would still like to see Kimbrel with the Phillies or Cardinals.
Still waiting on stupid money signings.
That was last year with Santana and Arrieta
Wow that is starter and closer money for a set up man. can’t blame the Yanks for not wanting to over pay a set up man. He will need to have a great year to live up to a $11 million deal. A ERA in the low 2 runs and enough saves to make it worth that money.
He’ll probably close for the Phillies, probably part of the reason why he chose them.
He doesn’t need a single save to be worth the money. It’s just as important to hold teams scoreless in the 8th as it is in the 9th. Takes more than 1 guy to build the bridge on most nights.
When signing free agents, it’s seldom the money (AAV), it’s almost always the years.
You can’t go wrong with a one year contract. You seldom go wrong with a two year contract. And you don’t often go right with a five year contract.
This is a great signing. The AAV is a little high…. but it’s two years!!!!!
Robertson is a closer. If the Phillies want to have two closers, that’s their prerogative, but it doesn’t change the fact that D-Rob has been successful as a closer for years, and can step into that role at any time if needed.
Way too much money! Salaries are way out of control.
You’re right, so unfair to the owners to have to pay so much to the people who do the work that makes them hundreds of millions of dollars a year.
It’s so unfair that to get a good seat at the park; I have to pay north of $75 for a ticket. When I was a kid, we paid $4.25 a ticket. That’s the issue I have. No way am I willing to pay those prices. Food and parking is another issue….
Eaybto miss his point.
By the wY, owners have money before they own and those players won’t make a thing without owners
How come the Rays always have a good bullpen and they spend a total of $11 million. Seems like you can find guys who can come in for an inning and get three outs without giving up a run. Maybe don’t strike three guys out but get the job done. I’d rather spend money on guys who reliably pitch 6 or 7 innings at a time. Baseball gm’s could use a new stat for pitchers. Contract cost per innings pitched.
Guys who can reliably pitch 6-7 innings every time out don’t go for 11 million a year.
Thanks D-Rob! Wouldn’t be shocked to see the Yankees make a push for Britton or Ottavino in the coming days, or even hours.
This is unnecessary spending in an area of strength
“This is unnecessary spending in an area of strength.”
I disagree. It gives the team a true and proven closer at a reasonable cost. He can now slot into the 9th inning and Dominguez is freed up to be used in high leverage situations without short changing the team in the 9th.
Agreed. Phillies2017 doesn’t like anything the team does.
Thats not true at all. Ive loved every other move they’ve made this offseason. This is just superfluous in my opinion. Especially taking inti account that it limits our flexibility in terms of call ups. Like if we go 19 innings one game Id rather have a few guys with options who can be sent to the minors without losing them.
Also, Im not a fan of paying out the nose for relief help with a few exceptions like Chapman. The success rate isn’t great for big contract relievers
Phillies have more arms then bullpen slots.But Robertson is proven on the back end,while any arm they might end up losing would likely be more of a middle guy.Definitely worth the trade off.
Phillies, once you think you have enough pitching, go get some more. Robertson is small money for a closer on a big market team.
you can never never never have enough arms..
now, if the Phillies can get that left handed starter, they can move Vince Velasquez to the pen and that pen would be awesome..That’s where Vince belongs..he can get as crazy as he wants to be there and be lights out..
Agreed, plus the Phillies are a club that can afford some superfluous spending here and there as long as it’s healthy. However, the signing does make you consider what the club views FA relievers as and vice versa.
The Phillies have a need for a proven left handed reliever but apparently the contract Miller signed was better than what the Phillies offered. By ~$2m total I find it hard the Phillies wouldn’t try to match. I know Robertson is less of a health concern compared to Miller.
Also, with Ken Rosenthal’s article about free agent relievers, it does make you wonder if some guys, like Britton for example who have had roles other than closer, if they’ll be receptive to Kapler’s lack of defined roles in the bullpen? Robertson has spent as much time if not more as a 7th/8th inning man than a closer. Makes you wonder if some guys who can potentially hit the market one more time in the future (Britton, Kimbrel, etc.) may be scared off at least in some regard to having a limited role which could impact future earnings, such as their save number.
It’s a great add for the Phillies and considering how much of a question mark their rotation is after Nola, I wonder if they’ll pump resources into that bullpen if they don’t find the price tag for trade targets like Robbie Ray palatable? Nicasio, Neshek, and Hunter are making good money for relievers but all come off the books in November (I know a lot of that near $30m will get gobbled up by arbitration numbers for other guys) but outside of them, everyone either has modest arbitration figures or are pre-arb guys. Robertson is the only one making that larger salary next year.
Instead of gifting Patrick Corbin with $20+m/year over 6 seasons, the Phils can look to spend the same yearly number in the short term by signing 2 or possibly 3 proven late inning relievers and shortening the games to make up for their lack of rotation depth.
“I disagree. It gives the team a true and proven closer at a reasonable cost. He can now slot into the 9th inning and Dominguez is freed up to be used in high leverage situations without short changing the team in the 9th.”
@ bucketbrew35
lol
That’s exactly the opposite of what Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer was quoted as tweeting in the article.
Well, one of you two might be right. Maybe. With that manager…..
lol
That’s exactly the opposite of what Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer was quoted as tweeting in the article.
I see absolutely no reason that the two can’t be used interchangeably. It actually makes a lot of sense.
The bullpen was not an area of strength. Neshek is about 40 and Hunter is not an ideal 8th inning man. I think you look at the pen now and can say it’s a position of strength. Leaves guys like Neris and Ramos available in non high leverage situations. That’s ideal.
The pen was actually pretty underrated last year. Arano and Dominguez hit walls towards the end because it was their first full seasons. Both Hunter and Neshak were on the shelf for a while. There was a period of time during the summer where they were one of (if not the) best bullpen for well over a month. That’s nothing to sneeze at. Health willing, this is a deep pen going into the year.
I asked Santa to bring Seranthony a killer change, cutter or splitter for Christmas. He would be almost un-hittable with one, especially a good change. His slider control needs work.
Don’t forget about Pazos, Nicasio and Alvarez who were all brought in this offseason as well.
The contract is very reasonable, and no question the Yankees could’ve matched. Sucks to see DRob go. Wishing him the best in Philly!
Kimbrel is going back to Boston for sure. There is no way they let him go. They will be screwed
Should be a guarantee of $33MM if I’m doing my math right…
yep, 10+11+12=33
10+11+2 = 23. Club options are not guaranteed.
Text above says max value would be $34MM and that’s what wasn’t adding up for me.
It was a typo…refresh…..it’s been fixed
Matt Klentak continues to surprise..starting to change my thinking on the guy…so far, his grade in this off season would be a B+…That’s without either Bryce or Manny..nice job
Now if only Adonis will follow suit and bat Hoskins 4th and stop using Neris with anything less than a 6 run lead in the 8th, things will get better.
From what I’ve seen, he is doing very well this offseason. From what I’ve seen/heard about the superstar chasing, the FO seems to be playing the cards perfectly. If they don’t sign either one, I don’t believe it will be because of any errors by klentak.
Going off the top of my head, I believe that’s brings the payroll additions to around 46mil in AAV for 2019. Then you need to subtract Santana salary at 20mil, brings the additions to 26mil
Not bad, keep’em coming!
I think so as well. Klentak didn’t come in with the pedigree guys like Gillick had or grew up within the organization like RAJ, so I think he was an easy target for people in Philly who didn’t see him as nothing more than an analytics guy wearing silly collared shirts.
What surprised me (and maybe others) is how he’s been able to admit mistakes and try to correct them quickly. He’s addressed major areas of need (still need rotation help but doesn’t every team though?) throughout the organization and did it while gaining back valuable resources. I do wonder how creative he can be. Haven’t really seen that creative move/signing yet, but you can’t always turn JP Crawford into Jean segura with every trade. A lot of GM’s out there aren’t willing to fall on their sword like Klentak was but his proactiveness during this part of the year is a nice bright spot.
Jett, Excellently written….I soured on him at the start because of his choice of manager..that may yet turn out to be a good get..so far, I have absolutely no complaints…well done Matt…you are on a roll…keep it going…
He took on salary in trade as he dumped one of his mistakes on the Mariners, who in turn dumped one of their mistakes on him. Then he overpaid in a back-loaded contract for a deteriorating OF that can no longer play CF – ala AJ Preller.
Today was a decent signing where they got a quality relief pitcher – not to be confused with a lockdown closer – and only overpaid a little.
As for his dealings with the big name free agents and their reps……let’s see how that plays out.
Well, first Klentak recognized his mistake in signing Carlos Santana and didn’t compound it by either doubling down or not recognizing it. I’m unsure of what mistake your speaking of in regards to the Mariners?
Jean Segura is a 4+ WAR shortstop who recorded 8 DRS last year, and only has one season where he struck out 100+ times whose signed at $60m/4y with an option for a fifth season. He’s signed well be low market value for this contract for his position and production. If you’re talking about Juan Nicasio, then yes, at $9 million, you can get better than a reliever with a mid-4 ERA. However, the Phillies are a large market/budget club, they can use their resources to eat money. The Phillies acquired a 4+ WAR SS in his prime for someone whose ceiling might be no higher than Segura (Crawford). I get that Klentak didn’t draft JP Crawford, so it may have been easier for him to palate trading him but he was still able to recognize the possibility of the deal while getting a low-risk, high reward LH reliever in James Pazos as a throw-in.
Yes, McCutchen is probably past his prime, but he still posted a near 3 WAR and 2 DRS while playing nearly 70 games in the San Francisco outfield. He’ll be a fine defensive corner outfielder in the smaller outfield in Philly. If he just kept the same production, it’s a +27 DRS for the Phillies if you replace Rhys Hoskins’ numbers with his. Between Odubel Herrera and Roman Quinn on the big league roster and Adam Haseley and Mickey Moniak in the minors, the Phillies have both short and long term options in center field (before you even start thinking about Mike Trout in 2 years). Klentak isn’t afraid to set the market, which may lead to slight overpays but he has a position at a club that he can afford to have those slight overpays here and there.
This post has been long enough already, so I’m not going to throw the numbers at you but David Robertson has thrown 60+ innings every year since 2010 and has great splits against left handed hitters. He fits with the Phillies rotating bullpen roles being able to pitch high leverage innings anywhere between the 6th-9th. A 2 year deal with an affordable option when you see or hear what some relievers like Britton and Kimbrel are looking for, at least right now it looks good for the Phillies.
By creative, I mean that we haven’t seen a move yet that might come off as out of the box. Like the Shelby Miller/Jason Heyward deal from a few years back, maybe you can see the Ken Giles trade in that vein but maybe not. In regards to his ability to negotiate, I imagine you’re targeting that at Machado/Harper. Well, I think Klentak would be the last one to blame there. While he’s the GM, big time free agent deals are always approved by ownership and some agents (like Scott boras) usually bypass the GM and negotiate directly with ownership. I think some of these FA deals in the past winter and a half where teams are being stingy if anything may have gotten Klentak some respect from agents & players because he seems to be the type of GM who will pay for free agents if you fit what they’re looking for. But that’s just what I think.
Nice! Love it.
Great signing, will be a good mentor for Seranthony. Phils did great things with the BP this offseason
For anyone concerned about the bullpen depth of the Yankees, my guess is they will deploy the 24 year old AAA arms stuck in the minors (Loaisiga, Acevedo, Adams) to replace arms lost during free agency. I’m not saying they will succeed, but at some point the Yankees need to either deal them or use them, and now is the time to find out if they can perform at the top level.
As for the Robertson signing…2-years seems right. Consistent, solid bullpen arm. $23-mil might be a tad rich for Robertson but this comes as no surprise. If any team will overpay it’s Philly. They are making a habit of doing that. That said, Robertson should find success in the NL East.
Can’t believe there’s not a single comment about how he represented himself. I thought that was super interesting. I wonder how much money he saved by doing that.
My guess is agents get around 10%./.Not real sure though
Agents get between 2% and 5%. In the case of a veteran like D-Rob, it would’ve been closer to 2%.
He probably chose to represent himself because he likes the business side of baseball, and wants to get into it when he retires. So this was good experience for the ol’ resume.
Can’t imagine it was to save money.
Read an article a few months back. MLBPA doesn’t cap agent % like in the NFL or NBA. That said the MLB average was around 4.5% for a “full service” agent…meaning one who does everything from contracts to arranging taxes to booking off-season travel plans.
There are one or two “budget” agencies who do only contracts for 1.2-1.4%
Big changes in store for the MLPA.
YoungNasty….. 5% or about 1.15 million.
Good signing for the Phils. I wonder if he’ll get to close. That has to be the reason he took a two year deal, right?
He took a two year deal because no one offered more.
Stansfield. not according to Lauber
To that end, Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets that the Phillies’ intention with Robertson is to use him “whenever the game is on the line, regardless of inning.”
Wow, that was fast..the contract has already been signed…not playing around in Philly
But….but…..no one wants to sign with Philly….no one. Wasn’t that “trending” (god how I hate that mindset….but had to use it) yesterday in the MM/BH comments?
He probably hates traffic … and or riding in dirty subway tunnels. I like NYC, but it’s not for everybody, despite what people think. It can get old pretty quick.
I’m not a fan of any big city. I lived in SD for 4 years and Vegas for 9. I think it took 14 years off my life….lol.
I’ve also lived 80 miles from the nearest big super market. That can be stressful as well. You learn to make a very concise grocery list.
SD? That’s a nice city. Clean AND they have 4 lane one way streets with parking!!! From
What I recall. Crazy. I get annoyed sitting in NYC/Philly traffic thinking about how SD benefited from all our complaining 🙂
That’s funny… To the people of LA, we are an “irrelevant little town.”
Parking? We have Parking? Where?
Philadelphia is the 8th largest city in the US.You really think it’s the traffic.Robertson sure didn’t seem to mind NY for the many years he pitched there.I’m sure as has been said before he probably wanted to close.
I marvel at some of the comments…earlier, someone said that Bryce and Manny wanted to go to a big market team and that Chicago and Philly weren’t big market teams…makes me shake my head…
That’s true but I think a lot of that is just bluster and under-reporting. It’s not like Harper or Machado went on a tirade like John Rocker did about NY and Mets fans. Its easier to just say someone doesn’t want to go somewhere, it requires little examination on how that person may have gotten to that mindframe (assuming it’s true).
As a Phillies fan, I believe 100% that the Phillies aren’t the #1 pick of Harper or Machado in their world. And that’s okay, others have liked it and Philly has a way of worming itself into the hearts of a lot of players.
Machado grew up a Yankee fan and spent the first 5 1/2 years of his big league career taking 3 trips to the Bronx every year and playing the Yankees. They do have a mistique and if he really want to be a yankee that bad, then so be it.
With Harper, I get wanting to be in DC or LA. One is the only organization he’s known and beloved in that market with a rich owner who has no problem paying players well. The other is the biggest west coast franchise close to his home. You can’t fault that taken in a vacuum that Harper would take Philly over one of them.
The issue is, these negotiations are not happening within a vacuum. There’s a lot of unknown and moving parts in the process. There’s a lot of guys trying to be the one to break it first and usurp the power of breaking the news first. In a way I agree at least with the White Sox. The White Sox are the second team in Chicago and its not really close when the Cubs are who they’ve been the past few seasons. Philly is the largest sports market in the USA to only have 1 sports team in each major sport. It’s a falsely if Philly isn’t considered a “major market”, while they’re team has been all layers of bad for 5+ years, it doesn’t mean that it can’t change quickly.
And the Phillies control whether they want Machado or Harper. It all depends on how much they offer and when it’s ruled that it’s too much to offer. It’s a matter of whether the Phillies want to spend now when some teams like LA & the cubs are hamstrung in some way or whether they want to attack the Arenado/Sale/Goldschmidt class of next year or the Trout/Betts class of 2020.
I really wanted the Yankees to sign him! Crap! What the heck Cash?
Let’s go Phillies let’s go!!!!
Cashman continuing to screw up this offseason.
I don’t know Top…I may be in the minority, but I feel Tulo was a good signing..no way do the Yanks lose on that contract
The Yankees signed Happ. They resigned Sabathia for a song. They found a replacement for a huge hole at short without any financial commitment. They have kept all their young talent and you have a problem?
Wow, tough crowd.
Yeah because the Happ signing is truly impressive I am blown away
In the long rung, “blown away” signings seldom make your team better. They are almost always bad baseball moves.
Neither does being completely averse to taking on risk. How many teams in baseball are kicking themselves for not giving JDM 100 million dollars? You can’t take huge gambles all the time but you are the New York Yankees. Shouldn’t exactly be fearful of spending dollars. They’re pulling in tons of them. If the Nats win the WS with Corbin who is upset? Yankees fans should be.
Yes, when the Yankees signed CC and Tex in 08-09 offseason we were blown away by bad baseball moves for sure. Dont get me started on A-Rod! MVP seasons and a great 09 postseason?!?! Bad baseball move for sure
Anyway, when I said “blown away” i wasnt even referring to how expensive the contract was. The Happ and CC signings were preemptive signings in case they couldnt land one of the better players. Little did we know Cash wasnt actually going to get any of the better players. Paxton is good, but he alone isnt enough. They need one more good SP.
You think A-Rod was a good deal. And yes, the cheater had a great 2009 post season and you stole a World Series. Be proud.
Let me just add. He was very good the first three years. And the last 8, his ERA+ was 103 and you paid around 25 million a year for those 7 years. Smart move.
And Tiexieria… THANK YOU FOR THAT!!!!! The Angels used that compensation pick to sign Mike Trout and you paid Tiexieira around 22.5 million dollars a year for a very ordinary player. That worked great.
But you do have the World Series, which was won because a Cheater stole it. Be Proud. Be Happy. All was money well spent.
How come people are so quick to talk about Arod as a steroid cheat helping the Yankees to win a WS but I never hear anyone question Bosox where Manny and Big Papi were both steroid cheats
Oh I have….. Many many times. They have robbed countless fans and players and have made no restitution.
They stole outs from pitches, paychecks from players, wins and rings from players, owners and employees. And lifetime memories from fans.
Do people realize these cheaters are thieves? I get it, Yankee and Red Sox fans didn’t know they were a cheats when they were rooting for him, But they now know. And then to brag about these players accomplishments is pretty darn bad. What they accomplished is cheating history.
How are Ortiz, Manny and A-Rod revered?
Was Sheffield not young talent?
Has Cash been asleep since he signed Happ? He has let too many players slip by. Corbin, Kikuchi, and now DRob. They shouldve been the top targets of the offseason.
I agree that D-Rob would’ve been a good addition, but he had no chance to close in NY. If that’s why he chose Philly, it’s hard to blame Cash for it. As for Corbin and Kikuchi, nope. Corbin at the money he got is a terrible investment.
Happ on a two year deal is also far better than Kikuchi on four years guaranteed. Plus, Japanese players often insist on playing on the West Coast. So who knows why the Yankees gave up on him.
Corbin was overpaid, sure. But Kikuchi was easily affordable. The 4 years guaranteed is a bonus for the team given that the player is only getting $14M a year. I’d rather they have Kikuchi and Happ rather than just Happ.
@ Begamin;
Young Mr. Kikuchi has yet to throw a pitch against major league hitters in an in-season major league game.
Scott Boras got him a guaranteed $56m. Amazing.
By the way, what was it that impressed you the most when you saw Mr. Kikuchi pitch?
They have five starters. Four of them signed beyond 2019. At this point, the only addition that makes sense is Kluber….because if they sign another starter, that takes them out of next year’s starting free agent market.
Just as a reminder, Sale, Cole and Bumgarner are all free agents next year. So they better have damn good reason to take themselves out of that market. Only reason good enough would be Kluber.
@Samuel: Kikuchi is an established professional pitcher in the second best baseball competition in the world, and well worth the contract he got.
Just because you don’t have the ability to look past what happens in your home country doesn’t mean everyone suffers from that limitation. The world is a big place. You shouldn’t ignore 95% of it.
The New York Yankees are not the Kansas City Royals. 56 million is a risk that they can well afford to take. Be a shame to lose to the other team in your division who spends to capacity while you let Hal count his millions. Has nothing to do w kikuchi. If they didn’t like him so be it. But the yankees haven’t spent anything on a player who wasn’t on their roster last season and now they just lost one.
Can’t play for tomorrow and forget today. If the Yankees wanted to unload a SP to play in next years market you don’t think they could do it? JA happ could be dealt in a heartbeat.
Seven years for 109 million if effective. Four years at 56 million if not.
I would much rather my team sign him to that then what is going to Corbin. .
I think he wanted to play with the Ms. I believe he could have gotten more.
You forgot Verlander.
Corbin?
For 2016 and 2017 his ERA was 4.53 over 345 innings. You want to invest 140 million dollars in that guy?
Let’s see what Keuchel goes for, but a five year deal for him is almost as absurd.
By the way, here’s how you can tell D-Rob’s representing himself: the sports media had no clue he’s about to close the deal….because there was no agent to leak the news.
That’s where all these writers get their scoops from, btw. : the agents. Not “inside sources”. Just the agents. They’re the only ones with an interest to create buzz around their clients.
Very good signing but I’m still waiting for the big “stupid money” acquisition. If the Phils are serious about contending they need to sign Harper or Machado.
“If the Phils are serious about contending they need to sign Harper ___A N D___ Machado.”
Fixed free of charge.
You’re welcome.
They’ll do just fine with either or
Good job ATL, you just lost the one bullpen piece you should’ve been pursuing to a division rival…
Red Sox should have had Robertson replace Kimbrel.
Rather have Kimbrel
Most would rather have Kimbrel but he will cost twice as much.
Allow me to rephrase. My bad I was at work and was trying to be discreet and quick so I did very little in terms of research.
Robertson is a great set-up man, but I don’t believe it was a necessary move. We have Hunter, Neshek, Dominguez, Alvarez, Nicasio, Pazos, Arano, Rios, Edubray Ramos, Neris, Morgan and Davis in house. Of those, five can not be optioned, and five have proven to be legitimate major league caliber relievers. Adding Robertson is nice, but I think that money would have been better served going into the rotation.
Im also not a huge fan of spending a lot on veteran relievers. While the Phillies are a bug market team and can stomach it, I just never saw it as the most efficient way to allocate resources when there are tons of relievers out there who look like diamonds in thr rough. Were talking Jennings, Cedeño, Zych, etc. Im not saying dumpster dive, like obviously the Phils are above Mike Zagurski and Oliver Drake at this point, but I feel as though it could be done more efficiently.
In regard to my stance on Phillies transactions- definitely not going for a Casey’s Partner vibe. I loved the Segura deal, the Alvarez trade and the Cutch signing this offseason. I wasn’t a fan of the Asdrubal Cabrera deal because I thought Kilome was a high price to pay and I didn’t see a point for acquiring Bour when they already had 2 first basemen.
I just dont want the Phillies to get back to a place where we’re staring down 5 years of 100 loss seasons because we didn’t allocate our financial resources efficiently.
Explanation over- I screwed up earlier- my bad.
What pitcher? Keuchel? There’s no one else left who is all that exciting and Keuchel is asking for the moon.
I agree with your general viewpoint on not spending a lot on veteran relief, as it will always be a volatile position with too many ups-and-downs. BUT…23 million over two years for a guy with his track record does very, very little to impact the Phillies’ financial flexibility going forward. In the Phils’ ‘allocation of resources’ conversation this Robertson contract will only be a small part of it. You listed a bunch of bullpen dudes on the roster, yes, but how many of them would you rather have over Robertson? This is an improvement in an area of need, plain and simple, and I like the move. While I preferred Britton to Robertson, I like the fact that the Phils came away with a bullpen upgrade for this price. I’m actually quite surprised that the Yankees didn’t offer a very similar contract; I thought for sure he’d go back to NYY.
You philly fans are going to absolutely love this bulldog named Roberson ! He isn’t scared if any situation and has ice in his veins. The only annoying thing about him if he gets into trouble by waking guys but he usually works out of it with little to no damage done somehow
When he got out of that bases loaded nobody out jam in game 2 of the 2009 Alds Houdini Roberson was officially born. Imma miss you buddy and we thank you for everything you have done here 🙁
Very happy to have him here in Philly. He’s been solid for a long time
If he has bases loaded nobody out don’t be too scared as I’ve seen him get out of that jam 1,726 times lol
I hope Robertson treats the Phillies clubhouse staff better than he treated the Yankees’ clubhouse staff.
davids24…as far as I know he held the floor and the players as a whole made the vote..not fair to lay any of that at his feet
Well loved Robertson, farewell loved him the first time around, second time around. Hope it goes well in Philly! However what is with all these weird incentives?
he has a lot of mileage on his arm and is in his mid 30’s so I don’t blame the Phillies
Red Sox screwed up. That is an easily digestible salary for a guy with a rock solid reputation for getting things done in the late innings. This was their guy, and they blew it. Now its likely they’ll just try to make due with what theyve got in hopes they can fill the voids left by Kelly and Kimbrel, which they likely wont.
Agreed. Plus Robertson wanted to be in Boston. Might have signed for even less to be in Boston. Win-win.
He just signed in Philadelphia for more. I’d have to say no In fact he did not want to sign for a discount in Boston. They should’ve offered this though.
finally the Phills do something good.
“He’ll also donate 1% of his salary to the team’s charity fund.”
That’s a base part of his contract, or that’s from the incentives if he hits those marks? Either way, that is quite an interesting clause.
It’s not unusual. Stanton’s contract is the first to come to mind. 1% of his salary goes to the Marlins club charity. Many players set up donations to club charities or other charities that way.
Some incentives are a bit difficult for a relief pitcher to get. I like that 1% of his salary goes to a charity. Be nice to see more of that across the league
This was a good signing for Philly , now go spend the money on harper or machado.
They gotta save some cash for Trout when he inevitably leaves the Angels