Miami Marlins lose another relief pitcher to free agency

The Miami Marlins have some intriguing jersey news...but are also losing relief pitchers in the meantime. The Fish now lost another one to free agency. The relief pitcher that I'm talking about is righty David Robertson. Robertson is now on the Texas Rangers, signing for 1 year and $11-12 million.

David Robertson will no longer pitch for the Miami Marlins.

David Robertson is 38 years old and will be 39 early on in the upcoming season. It's pretty clear that he's a bit old to expect him to continue to perform at a high level. He pitched for the New York Yankees from 2008 to 2014, producing a 2.81 ERA/2.74 FIP, with 12.0 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9 in 402 games and 393.1 innings pitched. He took over as the team's closer in 2014, producing a 3.08 ERA/2.68 FIP and accumulating 39 saves.

Robertson signed with the Chicago White Sox as their closer after the 2014 season. He pitched for the team from 2015 to 2017, getting traded back to the New York Yankees at the 2017 Trade Deadline. He produced a 2.88 ERA/2.88 FIP, with 12.0 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9, in 183 games and 194.0 innings pitched. He spent most of this time as a closer.

David Robertson spent the 2018 season with New York, producing a 3.23 ERA/2.97 FIP, with 11.8 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9, in 69 games and 69.2 innings pitched. He moved on to the Philadelphia Phillies for the 2019 season, where he produced a 5.40 ERA/6.06 FIP, with 8.1 K/9 and 8.1 BB/9, in 7 games and 6.2 innings pitched.

He missed the 2020 season due to injury, but moved on to the Tampa Bay Rays for the 2021 season. He produced a 4.50 ERA/3.67 FIP, with 12.0 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9, in 12 games and 12.0 innings pitched. It appeared that he was done as an effective reliever at this point. He split 2022 between the Chicago Cubs and then Philly again. This time he produced a 2.40 ERA/3.58 FIP, with 11.5 K/9 and 4.9 BB/9 in 58 games and 63.2 innings pitched. It was clear that he just wasn't an elite reliever at this point.

Robertson split 2023 between the New York Mets and the Miami Marlins. He produced a 2.05 ERA/3.57 FIP, with 9.8 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9, in 40 games and 44.0 innings pitched. He overachieved as you can see and then was traded to the Miami Marlins at the Trade Deadline. He wasn't effective as The Fish's closer and produced and overall disappointing 5.06 ERA/3.49 FIP, with 12.7 K/9 and a bloated 5.1 BB/9. He did this in 22 games and 21.1 innings pitched.

The Miami Marlins will not miss David Robertson and Texas will probably regret their overpaying for him. Peter Bendix made the right call to pass on re-signing him.