This Forgotten Reliever Is Still a Free Agent:

When people talk about the best relievers in the game today, many people think of Emmanuel Clase, Mason Miller, Josh Hader, etc. However, among those names, there are always great relievers that aren't in the spotlight as often. The 40-year-old David Robertson fits this criterion. Robertson has a career ERA of 2.91 over his 16-year career. He's accumulated a 21.7 WAR (Wins Above Replacement) while pitching for six different teams. Ever since coming into the league in 2008, he's had a K/9 of over 10.4 every season of his career except 2019 (had Tommy John surgery). Regardless of the situation or teams he's played for, David Robertson has proved himself as one of the most consistent and reliable relievers over the past decade while showing zero signs of regression.

His 2024 season with the Texas Rangers proved Father Time hasn't caught up to him just yet. After signing an $11.5 million 1-year deal with the reigning World Champions, the Rangers had high hopes for their new acquisition that added to an already good bullpen. While the Rangers faltered and missed the playoffs after winning the World Series the year prior, David Robertson was far from the problem. He posted a 3.00 ERA and an even more encouraging 2.65 FIP. He also struck out 99 batters, which was the second most of his entire career, only behind his age 26 season with the Yankees. Oh, and his fastball velocity increased to 94.7 mph, which is the highest average fastball velocity in a given season for him ever since Statcast came into existence in 2015.

So how is he doing in 2025?

Unfortunately, he's still somehow a free agent heading into June with no direct signs of joining an MLB team anytime soon this season. Many fans question why a reliever that has consistently performed while showing no signs of decline isn't on an MLB team. Even though there are no performance issues that teams would necessarily be wary of, he represents himself in contract negotiations and doesn't have an agent. Reports recently suggested he wanted a 1-year, $10 million contract in the offseason. While asking for that contract figure is actually completely reasonable, he never received an offer in that range and is standing firm on his asking price. Applying all his statistics and injury risk, I'm going to come up with a 1-year contract for this year as if he were signing at the moment this blog gets published.

Since more than one-third of the MLB season has already passed, and it would take another month or two for Robertson to ramp up, his asking price would have to take a fall. Taking into account Robertson's excellent peripherals and rise in stuff despite being 40, the valuation model predicts a high-value contract despite the short amount of time Robertson would be able to participate in the regular season.

Verdict: 1-Year, $2.4 Million