Report: Phillies Reached Out to Former Reliever Robertson

We learned of the suspension of Phillies reliever Jose Alvarado on Sunday, prior to the club's defeat of the Pittsburgh Pirates.  But Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski knew that something could be happening as far back as the first week of May, when the Phillies faced the Tampa Bay Rays in Tampa.  According to a report, Dombrowski was already looking at options.

Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports that the Phillies reached out to free agent reliever David Robertson recently:

Prior to the announcement of Alvarado’s suspension, a source said the Phillies reached out to free agent David Robertson, easily the best reliever left on the open market. No serious talks took place, the source said, but it wouldn’t be a surprise if the Phillies considered a reunion with the 40-year-old, who has had two previous stints in Philadelphia.

Would Robertson be interested in pitching?

Now 40 years old, Robertson declined a $7 million contract option with the Texas Rangers for 2025.   After doing so, Robertson has remained unsigned.  Does he really want to pitch?

His 2024 season, at age 39, was a productive one. Robertson appeared in 68 games and pitched to a 3.00 ERA in 72 innings.   Robertson had two saves and a 3-4 record.

Robertson signed with the Phillies as a free agent on a two-year deal ahead of the 2019 season and appeared in seven games, before succmbing to "Tommy John" surgery.  He did not appear in a game in the 2020 season.

The Phillies traded prospect Ben Brown to the Chicago Cubs to re-acquire Robertson at the 2022 trade deadline.  Robertson helped the Phillies reach the World Series as a third bullpen option behind Alvarado and Seranthony Dominguez.

This may or may not lead to a signing, but if anything, it's a sign that the Phillies are taking the loss of Alvarado seriously and doing their due diligence.

After all - some fans might be happy: