Veteran right-hander David Robertson is declining his side of the mutual option he holds with the Rangers, as noted by Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. Robertson forgoes a $7MM salary in 2025 in favor of a $1.5MM buyout and the ability to test free agency.
Robertson, 39, returns to the open market on the heels of another solid season. He served as the top set-up man for closer Kirby Yates in Texas this season, pitching to a strong 3.00 ERA with 2.65 FIP in 72 innings of work. While the veteran will pitch next year at age 40, he’s shown no signs of slowing down with a 33.4% strikeout rate this year that was his best since 2017. While his 9.1% walk rate was somewhat elevated, it’s a couple of ticks below his 2023 mark and well below the mark he posted in 2022, the campaign that helped to revive his career after three mostly lost seasons due to injuries.
That dominance likely made the decision to head to the open market a fairly easy decision for the veteran as it’s hard to imagine him not beating the $5.5MM he left on the table this winter. While he’s likely to be limited to one-year guarantees due to his age, Robertson’s long track record of success in his nearly two decades as a big leaguer, his ample closing experience, and his ability to strike batters out at elite levels should all earn him a lucrative one-year deal in free agency this winter with a club in need of bullpen help. Virtually every team in the league tends to look for bullpen upgrades over the winter, and the short-term guarantee Robertson figures to command should make him of interest to contenders and rebuilding clubs alike, as even a deadline seller could shop Robertson next summer. That’s a situation Robertson is quite familiar with, as he found himself dealt at the trade deadline in both 2022 and ’23 when the Cubs and Mets shipped him off to the Phillies and Marlins, respectively.
More to come…