Could Reunion With Former All-Star Reliever Make Sense for Yankees?

Should the New York Yankees bring back a familiar face to bolster their bullpen?

Andy Marlin-Imagn Images

The New York Yankees are off to a 4-2 start after their first two series against the Arizona Diamondbacks and Milwaukee Brewers.

As the team hits the road to face the Pittsburgh Pirates this weekend, there were a couple of troubling trends which emerged from the Diamondbacks series, namely in the bullpen.

After a terrific outing from Will Warren in the series opener, the bullpen surrendered five runs -- including a decisive grand slam from Eugenio Suárez off Mark Leiter Jr. -- to lose the game.

While the Yankees won the third game of the series, it was a heck of a lot closer than it should have been after a six-run lead was cut to two by Arizona's second grand slam of the series, this time allowed by Ryan Yarbrough.

If New York wants to make a real and significant upgrade to its current group of relievers, there's a name still out there that could make a lot of sense.

Though David Robertson is just days away from turning 40 years old, he proved last season that he's still capable, posting a 3.00 ERA with 99 strikeouts in 72 innings and 68 appearances for the Texas Rangers in 2024.

Robertson is acutely familiar with the Bronx and has spent portions of nine seasons with the Yankees across two different stints, including the first seven years of his career before signing a lucrative contract with the Chicago White Sox in 2015.

New York reacquired him via trade in 2017, and Robertson responded with a 1.03 ERA down the stretch in 30 appearances before leaving again after the 2018 season.

Since then, he has spent stints with seven different clubs on mostly one-year deals, but his level of production has remained the same.

He was likely searching for a multi-year deal over the offseason, but his age likely scared off many potential suitors.

Perhaps now that the season has started, things may have changed for Robertson, who could be willing to accept a short-term agreement.

With the Yankees in need of bullpen help and Robertson still searching for a job, it should be fairly simple for them to make this move.

At the very least, the front office should be checking in on Robertson to see if he's willing to return.