David Robertson

Just under two weeks ago, rehabbing Phillies right-hander David Robertson was optimistic he’d return to the team’s bullpen sometime in September. That looks far less likely now, though, as Robertson suffered a setback in his recovery from July 2019 Tommy John surgery, Matt Breen of The Athletic tweets.

With just a month left in the regular season and the Phillies a couple games out of a wild-card spot, it’s eminently possible Robertson has thrown his final pitch with the team. Robertson has a $12MM club option for 2021, but the Phillies are sure to buy him out for $2MM, regardless of whether he pitches this season.

Robertson was a consistently durable and excellent performer with the Yankees and White Sox earlier in his career, but he has totaled a mere 6 2/3 innings with the Phillies since they signed him to a two-year, $23MM contract before 2019. It was an understandable gamble at the time by the Phillies, as Robertson was then coming off his ninth straight season of at least 60 innings and was the owner of a 2.88 ERA/2.81 FIP with 11.97 K/9, 3.56 BB/9, 137 saves and 145 holds over 657 innings. Unfortunately for Philly, though, the signing has blown up in its face, and it doesn’t appear Robertson will provide the team any on-field value this season.

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.

The Phillies are hopeful they’ve got a built-in summer acquisition in the form of veteran reliever David Robertson. As Matt Breen of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports on Twitter, new Phils skipper Joe Girardi says that he hopes Robertson will be able to make it back for the second half of the 2020 campaign.

Long a steady and productive late-inning hurler, Robertson endured a brutal first year in Philadelphia after signing on to a two-year deal last winter. He made just seven appearances, breaking a string of nine-straight seasons of 60+ games, and ultimately required Tommy John surgery in mid-August.

The timing of the procedure not only halted any hope of a late-2019 return, but also put Robertson’s 2020 availability in doubt. It was obviously a rough development for the Phils, who are in need of just the kind of output Robertson had long provided and still owe him $13MM (including a buyout on a club option).

Fortunately, it now seems there’s enough progress that a return at some point in 2020 is possible to envision. The team probably can’t make any assumptions about whether, when, and in what form Robertson will make it back. But realistic hope is better than nothing and the Phillies may have more clarity by the time the trade deadline rolls around.