The Phillies and free agent right-hander David Robertson have agreed to terms on a two-year contract, the club announced today. The deal includes a third-year club option for the 2021 season.
The 33-year-old reliever appeared in 69 games for the New York Yankees in 2018, going 8-3 with a 3.23 ERA, five saves, a 1.03 WHIP and 91 strikeouts in 69.2 innings. He held opponents to a .183 batting average and .595 OPS, allowing just one home run to the 151 right-handed batters he faced. Left-handers batted .176 with a .240 on-base percentage against him, both of which ranked in the top eight among any pitcher in baseball who faced at least 130 left-handed hitters last season.
Robertson, an 11-year veteran and 2011 All-Star, has appeared in at least 60 games in nine straight seasons (since 2010), a feat accomplished by only 12 other pitchers in major league history. He has averaged at least 10.00 strikeouts per nine innings in each of his first 11 seasons, something no other major leaguer has ever accomplished, and his career 11.97 strikeouts per nine is the best mark among any pitcher ever with at least 600.0 innings pitched. Robertson is 53-32 with a 2.88 ERA, 137 saves, a 1.14 WHIP and 874 strikeouts in 657.0 innings over 654 career relief appearances.
A native of Birmingham, Ala., Robertson has also appeared in 30 postseason games, all with New York, posting a 3.48 ERA with 40 strikeouts and just 26 hits allowed in 33.2 innings.
Robertson has spent parts of nine seasons in the majors with the Yankees (2008-14, 2017-18) and three with the Chicago White Sox (2015-17) after originally being selected by the Yankees in the 17th round of the June 2006 draft out of the University of Alabama.