Mariners Trade-a-Day: David Robertson
The biggest strength of the 2021 Mariners has become one of the team's greatest liabilities in 2022.
Seattle's bullpen has struggled for long stretches and it lacks both high-leverage options and quality middle-inning relievers. The team should get help from within—and soon—as right-handers Erik Swanson and Ken Giles are both set to return to the pen in the coming days. And while it's been a rough couple of outings as of late, Sergio Romo's track record and previous success would seemingly indicate he's currently experiencing more of a bump in the road than anything else.
But the team still needs legitimate, experienced options to call upon late in games. Paul Sewald remains steady and Diego Castillo has been brilliant in his last seven outings, but Andrés Muñoz and Matthew Festa have shown a wide variety of possibilities, and we cannot guess what Drew Steckenrider will look like once/if he returns from his demotion to Triple-A Tacoma.
The Mariners need help.
Thankfully, general manager Jerry Dipoto has shown a knack for finding diamonds in the rough and building out bullpens on the fly, and there is never any shortage of relief options available in June and July. But perhaps this is the year Dipoto goes for a top-shelf option, like veteran reliever David Robertson.
If you've paid close attention to MLB in the past decade, you probably remember Robertson's name. The longtime Yankee has been a fixture on major league rosters since 2008 and has carved out an impressive career. The 37-year old righty has appeared in 692 games, posting a career 11.95 K/9, 3.60 BB/9, 2.89 ERA, 2.84 FIP, 2.93 xFIP and 144 saves.
Robertson is actually experiencing a bit of a rebirth in 2022 after injuries wiped out most of his 2019, 2020 and 2021 seasons. Thus far, he's appeared in 19 games, covering 21.2 innings, and the numbers have been remarkable. He's currently posting a 12.46 K/9, 3.74 BB/9 and a 1.93 FIP for the Cubs.
Robertson deploys a true three-pitch mix: a cutter, curveball and slider. He's been so dominant this year that he has yet to allow a hit on his slider and has allowed just two hits on his curveball. He excels at creating vertical drop on his arsenal, and his cutter is unique in that it generates more vertical drop than any in the game. He doesn't have overpowering velocity (he tops out at 94 MPH), but he sits in the 92nd percentile in whiff rate and the 99th percentile in fastball spin. His Baseball Savant page is incredibly impressive and paints the picture of a reliever who has been nothing short of dominant in 2022.
But along with the track record and current success of Robertson comes a massive market. Every team who fancies themselves a contender in the coming weeks will surely be interested, which makes acquiring the veteran, who is a rental, a bit tricky for a fringe playoff contender like Seattle. The Mariners will need to feel like Robertson is going to pitch in the playoffs for them to justify the likely cost.
Another complicating factor in negotiations might be the Cubs themselves. They certainly didn't spend the offseason acting like a team that wants to rebuild and it's possible they would prioritize MLB talent over prospect capital.
It also makes a bulk deal less likely—something the Mariners will surely prefer to do. Look at what the Cubs got last July for Craig Kimbrel: two MLB players in Nick Madrigal and Cody Heuer. And while Kimbrel wasn't a rental like Robertson, he did carry a large salary.
But even factoring in the rental discount, the cost still could be hefty. The Mariners themselves snagged utility man Abraham Toro for two months of Kendall Graveman.
At the end of the day, Robertson is likely headed to a team that is not only likely to play in October, but one that believes it can win the World Series this year. It's hard to imagine the Mariners being in a position to want to outbid such a team. But if Dipoto decides to step in and go to battle, there are several options for the Cubs to consider.
If we are going to assume the Cubs want MLB talent back for Robertson, outfielder Taylor Trammell, catcher Luis Torrens and Toro spring to mind. Torrens might be the most interesting, given the Cubs are likely trading Willson Contreras this summer and are without a long-term answer at catcher. Now, Torrens hasn't hit yet and he's not an ideal everyday option, but he has answered a lot of questions about his defensive abilities and has proven to be a viable behind the dish. So if the Cubs believe in the bat, Torrens does carry surprising value in trade talks.
But for the Mariners to consider this move, they need to be sure of a few things.
Firstly, they need to see a healthy Tom Murphy. Trading a viable big league catcher for a reliever to help make a playoff push makes no sense for Seattle.
Second, the team needs to feel like Cal Raleigh can handle everyday duties if needed. You do not mess around with catcher depth. It's incredibly hard to find. But if Seattle believes Raleigh can handle the duties 40 percent of the time in 2022 without being a black hole at the plate and see Murphy back and healthy before July, this type of deal may just be possible.
