David Robertson has agreed to a deal with the Philadelphia Phillies, taking a free agent target of the Boston Red Sox off the board.
The pool of available free agent relievers continues to dry up with another Boston Red Sox target signing elsewhere.
MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand reports that right-hander David Robertson has agreed to a two-year, $21 million deal with the Philadelphia Phillies that includes a $12 million club option for 2021 (or a $2 million buyout).
BREAKING: David Robertson has agreed to a two-year deal with the Phillies that guarantees him at least $23 million. He’ll earn $10M in 2019, $11M in 2020, with a $12M club option ($2M buyout) for 2021. He’s passed a physical and the deal is complete.
— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) January 3, 2019
Robertson was a target the Red Sox were considering to fill their vacant closer role. The feeling was rumored to be mutual considering his preference to sign with a team close to his Rhode Island home. While most assumed that meant Boston or New York, it seems Philadelphia was deemed close enough.
The 33-year old is coming off a solid season in which he went 8-3 with a 3.23 ERA and 11.8 K/9 for the New York Yankees. He served primarily as a setup man to Aroldis Chapman but did manage a handful of rogue saves.
Robertson has several years of experience as a full-time closer, tallying 137 career saves to go along with a 2.88 ERA over 11 seasons in the majors. He may not have held the closer title last year in New York’s loaded bullpen but he was certainly viewed as a capable option for the role in this free agent market.
The fallout of the Robertson deal impacts the Red Sox in a variety of ways, the most obvious of which is it leaves one less free agent reliever target on the board. Robertson joins Joe Kelly (Angels), Jeurys Familia (Mets), Andrew Miller (Cardinals) and Joakim Soria (A’s) as some of the prominent relievers that have signed this winter. Several still remain but the options are dwindling.
On the plus side, Robertson’s move to Philly depletes a Yankees bullpen that may also lose fellow free agent Zach Britton. If the Red Sox couldn’t land one of their targets, at least this signing weakens their fiercest rival. It also means one of the top relief pitchers on the market is moving to the National League where Boston will rarely have to face him.
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Robertson’s contract also sets the market for the other over-30 relievers of his caliber. Other available relievers who fall in this category, including Britton, will be hard-pressed to find a deal that guarantees more than two years for much more than Robertson’s $10.5 million average annual value. That’s an affordable salary in Boston’s price range.
Which leads us to the lone possible exception who warrants a tier of his own, Craig Kimbrel. He commands a higher salary and more years. There’s no doubt he deserves it. But where will he find it? The Phillies were Boston’s main competition for Kimbrel with few other contenders having the need or financial resources. It’s possible that Philadelphia could double-dip in the reliever market. Robertson was a setup man in New York last season so he may not be opposed to setting up for Kimbrel. Yet it would be surprising if the Phillies hadn’t given Robertson some assurances that he’d get the first crack at the closing gig. Otherwise, why not hold out for another offer with a clearer path to that role? An interested Red Sox team, for example.
With the Phillies no longer having a pressing need for a closer, their interest in Kimbrel presumably dims. With another suitor falling off the table, the chances of Kimbrel returning to Boston on their terms increases.
There’s clear downside for the Red Sox losing one of their targets and the main upside depends on how they react. The pressure is rising for the team to make a decision on what to do in the ninth inning role and the clock is ticking on the free agency window.