He’s back!

No, it’s not the blockbuster bullpen move you were probably hoping for this month. But the Phillies signing David Robertson on Sunday afternoon is far from a bad thing. In fact, it could be a really smart signing for Dave Dombrowski and the Phillies front office.

But what is this move telling us?

Here’s what I thought as the news came down.

-Supply and demand are working against the Phillies (and every contender in need of bullpen help): As of the morning of July 21, only nine teams sat more than five games out of a postseason spot. And according to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, the Athletics have told teams not to bother making offer for Mason Miller. Of the nine bottom feeders, David Bednar and Felix Bautista stand out as the only current (or formerly) dominant relief arms. Every contender wants one. Two (perhaps four or five if we expand the list of sellers) are almost surely available. It’s a sellers market. The Phillies are preparing for life without the ability to land a difference maker.

-Robertson is still a quality pitcher, as proven by his 2024 (68 games, 3.00 ERA, 2.65 FIP) and number of contenders trying to sign him after a workout now.

-There’s some arrogance to the Phillies public posturing to the deadline, including this deal with Robertson. This team talks a lot about October, and how the playoff rotation and bullpen could look. Robertson is going to need time to ramp up, making him more likely to be a mid-to-late August addition than one that jumps into the bullpen tomorrow. The Phillies are acting like a team that has a playoff spot wrapped up.

-Robertson’s prorated $16M will pay him about $5.5M for the rest of the season. Depending on how much money the Phillies are willing to take on at this deadline, that number could matter. Did the Phillies just spend, say, one third of what they’d be willing to add to their payroll (not to mention luxury tax payments) on Robertson? Keep an eye on the salaries of players they are now linked to in the coming week. I will be.

If you missed it, Quarter Century Week concluded on Friday. Here was the final Top 5 athletes in Philadelphia sports since 2000, as voted on by listeners and the WIP staff. I still think the last spot should have went to Chase Utley or a member of the 2008 Phillies.

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