The Phillies have acquired right-handed reliever David Robertson from the Chicago Cubs in exchange for right-hander Ben Brown, Phillies President of Baseball Operations David Dombrowski announced today.

Robertson appeared in 36 games for the Cubs this year and posted a 2.23 ERA (10 ER, 40.1 IP) with 51 strikeouts and 19 walks. Among all National League relievers this season, Robertson ranks seventh in opponents average (.162) and tied for eighth in saves (14). He has a 48.4% ground ball rate this season which would be the second-best mark of his career, short of only a career-high 50.9% rate in 2013.

Per Statcast data, Robertson ranks in the 100th percentile this year in fastball spin rate, the 97th percentile in expected batting average, the 92nd percentile in expected slugging percentage and the 89th percentile in strikeout percentage and whiff percentage. His average fastball velocity is 93.3 MPH this season which is up on average 1.2 MPH from last year and would be his highest in a single season in the Statcast era (since 2015).

Robertson has thrown 169 curveballs this season and opponents are hitting just .064 with a .149 slugging percentage against it. Further, Robertson has thrown 119 sliders and opponents are hitting .056 with a .222 slugging percentage.

Robertson has appeared in 33 postseason games in his career and has a 3.11 ERA (13 ER, 37.2 IP), which includes two scoreless appearances in the World Series, both coming against the Phillies in 2009. In total, 27 of his 33 career postseason appearances have been scoreless.

This marks Robertson’s second stint with the Phillies after previously signing as a free agent with the club prior to the 2019 season. He’s a veteran of 14 major league seasons and has pitched for the New York Yankees (2008-14; 17-18), Chicago White Sox (2015-17), Phillies (2019), Tampa Bay Rays (2021) and Cubs (2022).