Phillies' David Robertson suffers setback, unlikely to pitch this season

Just under two weeks ago, rehabbing Phillies right-hander David Robertson was optimistic he’d return to the team’s bullpen sometime in September. That looks far less likely now, though, as Robertson suffered a setback in his recovery from July 2019 Tommy John surgery, according to Matt Breen of The Athletic.

With just a month left in the regular season and the Phillies a couple of games out of a wild-card spot, it’s eminently possible Robertson has thrown his final pitch with the team. Robertson has a $12M club option for 2021, but the Phillies are sure to buy him out for $2M, regardless of whether he pitches this season.

Robertson was a consistently durable and excellent performer with the Yankees and White Sox earlier in his career, but he has totaled a mere 6 2/3 innings with the Phillies since they signed him to a two-year, $23M contract before 2019. It was an understandable gamble at the time by the Phillies, as Robertson was then coming off his ninth straight season of at least 60 innings and was the owner of a 2.88 ERA/2.81 FIP with 11.97 K/9, 3.56 BB/9, 137 saves and 145 holds over 657 innings. Unfortunately for Philly, though, the signing has blown up in its face, and it doesn’t appear Robertson will provide the team any on-field value this season.