David

Robertson

After getting a pair of ground outs to open the ninth inning, Robertson made things a bit more interesting as he allowed a two-out single to Troy Johnston. Not to worry though, as he retired Graham Pauley on a line drive to center to close it out. The 40-year-old hurler now boasts a 4.32 ERA, 1.50 WHIP and a 21/7 K/BB ratio over 16 2/3 innings on the season while converting two saves in three chances.

Duran’s fourth blown save extended things tonight, but the Phillies were able to score a run in the top of the 10th, after which David Robertson pitched a scoreless inning for his first save of the year. Duran now has seven wins, two of which have followed blown saves.

Duran avoided serious injury after a scary incident during Friday’s series opener against the Nationals when he had to be carted off the field after being struck in the right foot by a line drive. The Phillies might opt to give the hard-throwing 27-year-old closer a couple days off to rest and recover, but it appears he’ll avoid a trip to the injured list after X-rays came back negative for any fractures. It would be some combination of Orion Kerkering, Matt Strahm and David Robertson handling the closing duties if he’s unavailable this weekend.

It’s certainly an encouraging update after Duran had to be carted off the field after being drilled by a line drive during Friday’s appearance against the Nationals. It doesn’t necessarily mean that he’s out of the woods yet though as initial X-rays often don’t tell the entire story. He’ll head for additional testing. Look for the Phillies to update his status again before Saturday’s ballgame. Orion Kerkering and Matt Strahm would be next up if Duran winds up hitting the injured list. Veteran reliever David Robertson is the wild card here given his extensive closing experience.

Robertson will be available for Sunday’s showdown against the Rangers after finalizing a one-year pact with the Phillies earlier this week. The 40-year-old high-leverage specialist has plenty of closing experience, but he’ll operate in a setup capacity, helping bridge the gap to closer Jhoan Duran.

The final hurdle that the 40-year-old right-hander needed to clear was pitching in back-to-back days, which he accomplished on Friday. As long as he feels good on Saturday, the plan will be for him to join the Phillies’ ever-increasing setup corps on Sunday.

The deal was reported yesterday and is now official. Robertson’s contract will be prorated over the remainder of the season and pay him just over $6 million; however, that overall contract is certainly the money of a player who is expected to pitch high-leverage innings. He will start off at Triple-A Lehigh Valley, but he could be up in the big leagues after just a few appearances. He deserves to be added in all fantasy leagues while we wait to find out how long until he’s pitching near the end of games for the Phillies.

The 40-year-old right-hander threw for interested teams in Rhode Island on Saturday and drew offers from several interested teams including the Red Sox and Tigers. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com adds that he’ll make $6.22 million for the remainder of the season, which is a prorated portion of what would have been $16 million over a full season. He’ll add another high-leverage arm to the Phillies’ stable of late-inning relievers.

Robertson pitched for the Rangers last season, posting a 3.00 ERA in 72 innings with a 99/27 K/BB ratio. From 2022-24, the 40-year-old averaged 63 appearances per season with a 2.82 ERA, so he has proven that he still can be a quality reliever at the big league level. While many teams were interested in Robertson earlier in the season, the veteran held firm to his contract demands and, as Sammon reports, “clubs failed to meet his asking price.” With the season nearing a close, Robertson’s salary demands are likely to be more acceptable to contenders, so it would not be a surprise to see him sign with a team by the end of the month.

Feinsand notes that “no serious talks took place,” and it’s possible that the Phillies had been concerned about Jordan Romano at the time they reached out to Robertson, but it’s worth noting that the discussion took place. While Robertson is a right-handed pitcher, he has been good versus lefties in his career, and the Mets even used him as a pseudo left-handed specialist when they didn’t have enough left-handed relievers in their bullpen. That means Robertson wouldn’t be the worst committee partner with Jordan Romano at the end of the Phillies’ bullpen. We’ll have to see if the two sides strike up any more talks.