Fresh off another losing series, the Phillies finally made a veteran addition to a bullpen that has struggled all season long and lost its top arm to a suspension.
The Phillies on Friday reportedly agreed to sign 40-year-old righthander David Robertson, who pitched 68 games for the Rangers last year but was unsigned for the first half of this season. Robertson will join the Phillies for the third different time in his career.
Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic first reported the signing, and his colleague Matt Gelb provided the details of the 1-year deal.
Per @MattGelb, total cost of Robertson to PHI will be ~$12M, including 110% tax they must pay on every dollar for being over fourth luxury-tax threshold. Robertson getting ~$5.5M on pro-rated one-year, $16M deal. First on money: @Feinsand. Story: https://t.co/lq1kKlvXT2
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 20, 2025
Robertson has a career 2.91 ERA in 16 seasons to go along with 177 career saves. He first pitched for the Phillies in 2019 – an elbow injury limited him to just seven games – and again in 2022, pitching to a 2.70 ERA in 22 games with six saves.
The Phils badly have needed arms in their beleaguered pen, especially since losing José Alvarado to an 80-game suspension earlier in the season. Their 4.43 bullpen ERA is eight-worst in all of Major League Baseball and they’re expected to make more bullpen upgrades by the trade deadline.
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