Former Texas Rangers Relief Pitcher Predicted To Land With Boston Red Sox

A former Texas Rangers reliever still on the free agent market has been predicted to land with the Boston Red Sox.

Aug 3, 2024; Arlington, Texas, USA; Texas Rangers relief pitcher David Robertson (37) pitches against the Boston Red Sox during the seventh inning at Globe Life Field. / Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

One of the areas of the Texas Rangers roster that underwent the most changes this offseason was their bullpen.

Several key relievers from last year were set to hit the open market, which necessitated the changes. Closer Kirby Yates and fellow veterans David Robertson, Andrew Chafin and Jose Leclerc all became free agents.

None of them returned to the Rangers, as Bruce Bochy is going to have a lot of new faces to turn to late in games.

Right-handed pitchers Chris Martin, Jacob Webb, Shawn Armstrong and Luke Jackson all signed one-year deals. Left-handed pitcher Hoby Milner also signed a one-year deal.

In a trade with the Washington Nationals, Texas acquired left-handed reliever Robert Garcia in exchange for first baseman Nathaniel Lowe.

The only thing missing from the group of pitchers that were brought in this winter is the lack of an experienced closer. Someone is going to have to emerge as a reliable late-game option or Bochy could opt for a closer-by-committee approach to play matchups.

Their lack of closing options makes it all the more head scratching as to why they didn’t bring back any of their veterans.

Yates signed a deal with the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers. Leclerc signed with their rivals, the Athletics. Chafin returned to the Detroit Tigers, the team whom Texas acquired him from ahead of last year’s deadline, on a minor league deal.

Robertson remains unsigned and would be a solid addition given his experience filling several different bullpen roles. He is capable of handling closer duties and is coming off a productive 2024 campaign with a 3.00 ERA across 72 innings with 99 strikeouts.

The only knock against Robertson is that he is set to turn 40 years old in April.

That could certainly have played a part in the Rangers not bringing him back and him still being available with two weeks until Opening Day.

However, Zachary D. Rymer of Bleacher Report doesn’t believe that will be the case for much longer.

In a recent piece highlighting the best remaining free agents, the MLB writer made some predictions about where players will land.

In Rymer’s opinion, the former All-Star is going to land with the Boston Red Sox to bolster the backend of their bullpen.

The Red Sox didn’t bring back Kenley Jansen in free agency but did add Aroldis Chapman and Liam Hendricks in free agency.

There may not be a pressing need for Robertson, but teams can never have too much pitching.

As for Texas, it will be seen how they operate without their key relievers not longer with the team after the overhaul this winter.

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