David Robertson entered the offseason without much leverage in free agency. He’s an aging veteran reliever who didn’t handle the closing duties in 2024.
But after a bulk of the best relievers have signed with teams, Robertson remains one of the top arms left, so his market might be a bit better now than it was a few weeks ago.
Bleacher Report’s Kerry Miller predicted Robertson would re-sign with the Rangers this winter. Spotrac projects him to sign for about $7 million, which is equal to the mutual option he declined a few months ago.
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“Robertson will turn 40 shortly after Opening Day, but he’s still delivering the goods and the holds, providing the Rangers with 34 of the latter this past season,” Miller wrote. “He has been a hot potato lately, pitching for five teams over the past three seasons and delivering a 3.00 ERA or lower to four of those five. Given the still-questionable overall state of their bullpen, though, it’s surprising Texas hasn’t re-signed him yet. Maybe it’s just been waiting for his price tag to drop.”
The Rangers need to add, or in this case re-sign, a high-leverage reliever to replace Kirby Yates. Yates was one of the best closers in the game last season and there isn’t a reliever on the market who could match his production from 2024.
Still, re-signing Robertson would be a step in the right direction for a Rangers team that’s trying to work its way back to the World Series in 2025.
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