Chicago White Sox join mix in pursuit of David Robertson

As many as half a dozen teams have shown some interest in former New York Yankees closer David Robertson, with the Chicago White Sox being the latest team to join the mix. George A. King III of the NY Post reported news of Chicago’s interest, noting that the club doesn’t seem turned off by Robertson’s reported contract demands – a four year deal in the neighborhood of $50 million.

Robertson excelled this past season, amid the pressures of replacing Mariano Rivera as the Yankees’ closer. The long time setup man appeared in 63 games this past season, posting a 3.08 ERA, 1.057 WHIP, and 13.4 K/9 with 39 saves.

While Robertson provided some clear value for the Yankees, it was never a foregone conclusion that they’d bring him back once he reached free agency for the first time in his career. The rising cost of top-notch closers, coupled with last season’s emergence of Dellin Betances, essentially showed the club that there may be alternative options.

Chicago’s interest in improving their bullpen isn’t much of a surprise. The group posted a collective 4.38 ERA in 2014, the third highest mark in baseball. The team has already brought in Zach Duke to add some left-handed leadership in the bullpen, but he remains the only significantly experienced option out of the pen.

The Yankees are believed to still have interest in bringing Robertson back, even after signing Andrew Miller to a lucrative contract. It remains to be seen how high they are willing to bid to retain him, however, but reports have suggested that they’ve “softened” their stance towards offering him a four year deal. The Toronto Blue Jays have some interest, but it is uncertain if they have the payroll room left, and the Houston Astros are expected to make an offer, though King notes rumblings that the team believes Robertson doesn’t want to pitch for them.