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Red Sox Showed Interest in Veteran Who Took $16 Million Deal With Phillies

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Jon Conahan | Last updated Jul 22, 2025 1:30 PM ET

Prior to the 2025 MLB trade deadline, there have been a few under-the-radar free agent signings.

The latest was David Robertson, a right-handed veteran reliever, going to the Philadelphia Phillies.

Robertson has been around the league for quite some time, but didn't catch on in the early stages of the campaign, for whatever reason. Throughout much of his career, he typically threw for the New York Yankees, but he also appeared in games for the Chicago White Sox, Phillies, Tampa Bay Rays, Chicago Cubs, Miami Marlins, New York Mets, and, most recently, the Texas Rangers in 2024.

According to a recent report from Alex Speier of the Boston Globe, there was some interest from the Boston Red Sox. He noted that Robertson stated that he had interest from the Red Sox, and that they made an impressive pitch.

However, ultimately, he decided to return to Philadelphia.

“Dave Robertson confirmed that Craig Breslow had attended his workout on Saturday, and said the Sox made an impressive pitch, but he decided to return to Philadelphia, which he described as feeling like home,” Speier wrote.

It's all but guaranteed that the Red Sox will be buyers, and this is an encouraging sign of that.

Had the Red Sox not wanted to add anybody to their roster over the next few weeks, they likely wouldn't have been in this type of position to offer someone like Robertson.

Boston will have some time to figure out other things, as there will be many other players available over the next nine days.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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