The Rangers will look to defend their World Series title in 2024 but it won’t be easy. Texas will be without key players for parts of 2024 and several bullpen arms are no longer with the Rangers. The Rangers addressed the bullpen already this offseason and Texas has done so again with David Robertson.
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A Look at Robertson
When the Mets signed David Robertson last winter, the idea was that the veteran righty would slot into a setup role for Edwin Diaz. But when Diaz suffered a season-ending injury in the WBC, Robertson — who has 175 career saves as of 2024 — slot in to be the Mets’ closer.
While Diaz’s injury left the Mets’ pen short-handed, Robertson thrived as the closer. The 38-year-old struck out 48 over 44 innings and posted stellar 2.05 ERA/1.00 WHIP figures for the Mets. New York did trade Robertson to the Marlins last July as part of their big selloff and Miami immediately made him their closer.
Robertson, though, struggled in Miami with command and walked 12 batters — just one less than he did in 44 innings with New York — over 21.1 IP and ultimately lost the closer’s job to Tanner Scott.
The end of Robertson’s 2023 was a blemish to what was a very strong year for him. Robertson has made a living off his sharp low-90s cutter, a pitch that’s tough to pick up and is a weapon he’ll use against both lefties and righties.
He’ll also pair it with a curveball and slider, the latter of which got tagged when he was a Marlin. Robertson’s curveball is a hard knuckle-curve that sits in the mid-80s, breaks in on lefties and away from righties, and is a very difficult pitch to pick up thanks to its plus movement.
What should also make the Rangers feel comfortable with Robertson is that he did rebound to have a strong end to 2023. After he gave up 10 earned runs over 10 August innings, Robertson gave up two over 10.1 IP and struck out 19.
Per ESPN, David Robertson will join the Rangers on a one-year deal that will fall in the $11-12MM range.
Analysis
While the Rangers do have their rotation questions thanks to injuries and Jordan Montgomery entering free agency, the bullpen was another point of concern for Texas heading into the offseason.
The Rangers lost left-handers Will Smith and Aroldis Chapman to free agency. Cody Bradford, meanwhile, could be a rotation option after he posted a 1.17 ERA in 7.2 postseason innings.
Texas did pick up righty Kirby Yates earlier in the offseason and there were some rumors that Hector Neris could be a target. However, the Rangers have appeared to have settled on Robertson, who may not be a left-hander but did post very good numbers (.672 OPS, 27.6% K% against LHH in 2023) against lefties.
Now, Robertson is set to join a bullpen alongside the likes of Grant Anderson, Brock Burke, Daniel Duarte, postseason standout Josh Sborz, and likely closer Jose Leclerc.