Chicago Cubs-David Robertson have discussed him returning for a 17th season

According to Bruce Levine, it was Robertson who reached out to the Cubs about returning to the club next year.  He previously pitched for the organization in 2022, but was dealt partway through for Ben Brown.  Robertson specifically wants to return as a back end of the bullpen piece, which is an area that Chicago could use a boost in.

David Robertson career statistics and earnings 

From 2008-2024, Robertson has missed just the 2020 season.  He has appeared in 861 career games throughout his durable career in which he has a 2.91 ERA and 177 saves.  He’s earned $105 million throughout his career in which he most recently declined his half of a $7.0 million mutual option with the Texas Rangers earlier this off-season.

An extremely effective cutter 

Robertson has three pitches that he regularly goes to, with the cutter being his bread and butter.  The 93 MPH pitch held opposing batters to a .163 batting average last year and .183 a season beforehand.  By mixing in a slider and knuckle curve, he has continued to strike batters out at a clip well above MLB average as he fanned 33.3% of batters last year.

As a top reliever option left in free agency, it will be interesting to see where Robertson lands up.  While he currently does not have an agent, he’s managed to secure contracts with an average annual value of $10 million or more in eight of the past 10 seasons.  The last time he signed with the Cubs was one of those years, so perhaps history can repeat itself.