It was almost exactly one year ago that David Robertson underwent Tommy John surgery, and the veteran reliever is now hoping to finally return to the mound sometime in September, the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Scott Lauber writes. Robertson has spent the past month working out and rehabbing at the Phillies’ Spring Training facility in Clearwater, and is now reporting to the club’s alternate training camp.
“I think if I could get comfortable I could pitch at the big-league level in three weeks. But that’s not a hard date,” Robertson said.
Were it not for the COVID-19 outbreak that hit the Phillies’ camp in June, Robertson might already be back on the roster. Robertson was ready to start throwing off a mound when the outbreak hit, which sent Robertson back to his home in Alabama after the Clearwater facility was closed, costing him about a month of preparation time.
After throwing multiple bullpen sessions, Robertson will face live batters for the first time at the alternate camp. His velocity isn’t all the way back, as Robertson said he “could probably hit 90” miles per hour on his fastball but he hasn’t topped 88mph during his bullpens. While the right-hander has never been a flame-thrower, Robertson’s fastball has averaged 92mph during his 12 MLB seasons.
A late-season return would give Robertson a chance to salvage something from what has been a disastrous stint in Philadelphia. After signing a two-year, $23MM free agent deal in the 2018-19 offseason, Robertson pitched in only seven games before being sidelined by a flexor strain, which eventually led to his Tommy John procedure. It was a major blow for a pitcher who has been known for his durability, as Robertson averaged 65 innings per season from 2010-18.
Robertson’s contract contains a $12MM club option for 2021, though that will almost surely be bought out for $2MM. As such, banking a few innings and pitching well in September would give Robertson at least some type of free agent platform for the winter, though it will likely be difficult for a recent TJ patient entering his age-36 season to land a guaranteed contract. A good showing over the Phillies’ last few games could help Robertson make the case (perhaps personally, since he represented himself in his last foray into free agency) that he can return to his old All-Star form now that he is healthy.
One of the best guys in baseball and off-the-field. Hope he can bounce back well.
hope we can bring him back. obviously not at that price but i think he still has something left.
Agree. I always liked the signing and I felt terrible for the guy that he’s been hurt. More than anything I was just excited to see him pitch for my team. If he comes back with any success, I’d love to see him for another year too
Here’s to you, Mr. Robertson.
The Phillies need him desperately. Even if he’s a shell of his former self, he’ll be the best arm in the pen.
Phillies have a top 3 MLB rotation
and their offense has been good. the mediocre record just shows how bad the pen is in spite of these things. its been better lately but it was horrid for a bit.
@twiker- is that good enough to win the NL East?
They do. The pen is the major problem.
If the Phillies don’t re-sign him the Yankees will definitely have an interest in bringing him back to NY. As just mentioned one of the good guys in baseball where everything is about the team and not him. Underrated reliever who’s had great stuff over the years. He’s definitely worth signing for any contender.
Could see him going back to the Yankees, doing well and then leaving AGAIN to sign elsewhere.
I don’t think so. The Yankees know what they’re doing. Robertson and Betances were both shells of their former selves when the Yanks let them go.
@VonPurpleHayes- the Yankees will have no problem signing him again if the Phillies let him go. It’s funny not thinking Girardi will let that happen he is a big Robertson guy.
Wasn’t he the player who led the Yankee playoff pool money fiasco? If so he wasn’t considered a great guy at the time.
I think it’s safe to say this signing hasn’t worked out for the Phillies. At the time it happened it did look good though.
Plenty of Phillies fans want Klentak gone, and I’m not going to sit here and defend him, but this is a perfect example of one of those moves that was great on paper and turned into a disaster due to circumstances outside of anyone’s control.
A big reason the Phillies bullpen is such a disaster is because of major injuries. Robertson and Seranthony were two gigantic pieces of the Phillies bullpen that have essentially been out the last 2 seasons. The bullpen could have been a huge strength for this team, but that’s baseball. Some teams have the depth to overcome crucial injuries. The Phillies haven’t been that team.
It would be like a trade deadline add. Might give the team a boost. Wish nothing but the best for him
He’ll be back wearing real pinstripes next year
@realistnotsucker- yes, that seems like that would definitely be in his best interest.
He has an opt out for next year right? Ur the Phillies u exercise that option, $2m is cheaper that $12m for what has turned into an unfortunate contract for them
@bravesfan- sounds really good then he can go back where it all started for him.
A fastball averaging 88 mph from a RHP is not encouraging. Hope it ticks back up. That’s down about 4 mph. In fairness, D-Rob’s fastball always played up. Despite only being about 5’10”, he has one of the longest strides in the game, so 92 mph played at 95 mph to the hitter. He also possessed some of the highest spin rates in the game. The combination of the two led to his high K rate. Can he get that back? Despite a great second-half showing on his return to the Yankees in 2017, his prime was 2009 to 2013 when he posted a 175 ERA+. That slipped to a 135 ERA+ from 2014 to 2018. He’s never had a bad season though. (I’ll give him a pass for 2019 when he only appeared in about a half a dozen games before his elbow blew out.) He’ll likely have to take an incentive-laden deal with some team for 2021. Wouldn’t bet against him…unless he’s still throwing 88.
@lordd99- no problem, the Yankees will take him back throwing that 88 miles per hour fastball, Gotcha!
Wouldn’t surprise me at all if he’s back with the Yankees.
PLEASE! The bullpen’s a disaster, but the rest of the this team is playoff caliber, or damn close to it. Even if he’s a quarter of his best, he’s better than just about every reliever the Phillies have.
@kreckert- Bingo!
Man.
I remember really wanting the Yankees to bring back D-Rob & Adam Warren after the 2018 season. A “keep the band together” kinda thing (even though Warren got traded in a horrifying deal).
Ooops.
With the Gerit Cole signing, the Yankees are in CBT jail for years to come unless they unload 3 or 4 of their higher paid arbitration players this off season (like Gary Sanchez, Urshela, etc..). After their 9+ arbitration cases are done and they bring on 2 new starting pitchers, the Yankees are most likely going to be over the $240M threshold and will start losing draft picks. They’ll either need to say F it and take the penalties or they are going to have to be very frugal and perhaps only sign one legitimate SP to replace Tanaka, Happ and Paxton. Should be an interesting off season for the Bombers.
Yanks have plenty of loot.
I’m not concerned in the least about it.
The CBT levels are all going to increase significantly with the next agreement.
I certainly appreciate your concerns. But, the Yankees are worth well over a billion dollars (!) more than the red sox, have a better TV deal, and draw more fans.
We’ll be just fine, @mantooth.
😉