White Sox closer David Robertson is one of the most talked about trade pieces in the MLB As teams look for elite late inning pitching, Robertson’s name is toward the top of their lists.
Robertson has been in the MLB for the past nine seasons, appearing in 524 games and 519 innings. He holds a career 2.97 ERA with a 685/211 K/BB ratio. Robertson has accumulated 118 career saves including atleast 34 the past three seasons.
While he has performed well on the mound, Robertson’s best selling point may be his contract. The White Sox closer is making just $25 million over the next two seasons.
After seeing what Mark Melancon, Kenley Jansen and Aroldis Chapman earned in free agency, Robertson’s contract seems quite modest.
Robertson may be one of the best closers available, but his market hasn’t developed how the White Sox hoped. As Spring Training approaches it appears more and more likely that Robertson enters the season as the team’s closer.
The Nationals seemed like Robertson’s likely trade destination as Washington failed to sign any of the top closers in free agency. The two teams matched up in the Adam Eaton deal making the match seem almost perfect.
However the Nats recently traded for Rays’ reliever Enny Romero. Romero is nothing special holding a career 5.27 ERA and having just one career save. But the trade shows that the Nationals may be more content having Shawn Kelley enter the year as their closer and building around him.
The Nationals still have the prospects to pull off a Robertson deal, but trading for Romero may mean that the team is holding off on the White Sox closer for now. Even if they are still involved, they aren’t considered as heavy of a favorite as they once were.
But if the Nats aren’t going to trade for Robertson, then who is?
Obviously Washington isn’t the only franchise in need of late inning pitching. Other teams around the league could use a pitcher of Robertson’s caliber. While the Nationals were, and potentially still are considered the favorites, multiple teams around the league could end up trading for the White Sox closer.
Here’s a few that come to mind.
