Texas Rangers add a former World Series winner to the bullpen

The Texas Rangers woke up from their offseason slumber on Thursday night. Texas had not signed a significant free agent since coming to an agreement with Kirby Yates on December 6th. That came to an end when baseball insiders revealed that Texas signed right-handed reliever David Robertson to a one-year contract worth between $11-12 million. It is a departure from the end of the Jon Daniels era when the front office found unexpected diamonds in pitchers like Sam Dyson, Shawn Tolleson, Keone Kela, Ian Kennedy, and Josh Sborz. So lets dive into what Robertson brings to Texas, how he pitched in 2023, and what role will he pitch in the bullpen.

David Robertson, professional bullpen pitcher.

David Robertson is not a former starter turned reliever. He is a player who has been pitching in the bullpen since being drafted by the New York Yankees in the 17th round of the 2006 draft. He made his debut in June 2008 at age 23 and has been an active reliever since then. Texas will be Robertson's ninth organization to pitch for what will be his 16th season.

Robertson will give Bruce Bochy another veteran arm to call upon in the late innings. He enters the 2024 season with a career ERA of 2.90 with 175 saves. He brings plenty of postseason experience to a bullpen full of pitchers who got their first taste of the postseason back in 2023. Robertson in his career has pitched in 42 postseason games with an ERA of 3.04. He has pitched in two World Series with the Yankees in 2009 against the Phillies and then again in 2022 for the Phillies against the Astros.

Robertson has seen everything in his long career. He can use that experience and be a mentor for the younger members of the staff. That would include players like Josh Sborz, Jonathan Hernandez, Brock Burke, Grant Anderson, and the variety of younger bullpen arms that will populate spring training starting next month. He will be a fountain of wisdom for those players.

Next: What did Robertson do in 2023?