Stay or Go: Should Phillies Bring Back David Robertson?

Robertson was a decent midseason acquisition who gave the Phillies some much-needed innings down the stretch, but should the 40-year-old be brought back?

Oct 4, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies pitcher David Robertson (30) throws a pitch during the seventh inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers during game one of the NLDS round for the 2025 MLB playoffs at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images | Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

The Philadelphia Phillies' midseason acquisitions in 2025 made it abundantly clear that they were incredibly uncomfortable with the state of their bullpen. Adding All-Star closer Jhoan Duran was their major addition, but inking veteran David Robertson to his third deal with the club was also a notable move.

Robertson, who posted an impressive 3.00 Earned Run Average in 72.0 innings with the Texas Rangers in 2024, went unsigned for the first half of the 2025 season before being signed by the Phillies.

He built himself up for a handful of weeks and was inserted onto the Major League Roster on August 10th after 3 appearances with the AAA affiliate Lehigh Iron Pigs. Robertson was immediately thrown into the fire, pitching 17.2 innings across 20 games in the remaining month and a half of the season. He had some good stretches, but a few rough outings saw him end the year with a 4.08 ERA.

His one postseason appearance did not end well, as, after escaping a brief jam in the sixth inning of Game 1 of the NLDS, he allowed the first two Los Angeles Dodgers he faced to reach base to begin the 7th before being relieved by Matt Strahm, who promptly gave up a go-ahead home run to Teoscar Hernandez.

The 40-year-old is an unrestricted free agent entering the 2026 offseason and will likely be a gun-for-hire once again on a future one-year contract.

The Verdict: Go

To put it in simplest terms, there are far better options on the free agent market than Robertson.

Phillies' President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski stated that he won't begin the season with Philadelphia, giving little clues as to the club's interest in bringing him back in any capacity.

“David Robertson’s not going to be back with us to start the season. I don’t think he wants to pitch in the beginning of the season anymore throughout his lifespan,” Dombrowski said.

Unless injuries ravage the team's bullpen throughout the 2026 season, there seems to be very few legitimate reasons to retain the veteran righty. There are plenty of younger and more reliable players on the open market for the Phillies to pursue, and nothing that Robertson displayed in 2025 was enough to warrant entertaining a fourth stint.

The struggles Orion Kerkering and other pieces of the bullpen have dealt with could force Dombrowski's hand to invest resources in more relief arms in the coming months, but Robertson should not be on the short list (or long list for that matter), of candidates to improve the roster in that area.