The Chicago Cubs have had a few bright spots come out of the bullpen so far to start the 2022 campaign.
One of those bright spots is the emergence of Keegan Thompson who really seems to have found a home in the Cubs bullpen for the foreseeable future. Thompson definitely deserves the recognition as he has been lights out pretty much every time he has had his number called on the mound. Another pitcher who really is turning some heads out there on the mound is veteran reliever David Robertson.
The Cubs this past offseason had to do some revamping to the bullpen with a number of moves. One of those moves was to bring in the veteran reliever Robertson on a one year deal worth $3.5M. The signing of Robertson has really been a home run, and could be seen as one of the more underrated signings around baseball right now. Robertson is a guy who has had a very successful career and does not look to be slowing down anytime soon with how he is pitching in 2022.
David Robertson, Painted 93mph Back Door Cutter. 🖌️🎨 @BleacherNation pic.twitter.com/lLLcWoKTAT
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 19, 2022
Robertson really wasted no time contributing for the Cubs as manager David Ross called his number the first game of the season against the Milwaukee Brewers on opening day. The veteran right hander was very effective out there throwing 13 pitchers, 10 of them being strikes, while also recording 2 strikeouts and getting his first save in a Cubs uniform.
We are just about a month into the regular season and Robertson still has not given up a run out there on the mound. Hopefully this article does not jinx Robertson here soon, but it really has to be acknowledged how dominate he has been out there when he is given the ball. His stat line going into this two game series against the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday is the following: 9 appearances, 10 innings pitched, 1 victory, 0 earned runs, 5 saves, and 14 strikeouts. Robertson also has a WHIP of 0.60 in 2022 with his career WHIP being at 1.15 throughout the regular season.
This is Robertson’s 15th season pitching for multiple teams throughout his big league career. He even got to pitch for team USA in this past Olympics which is something that everybody cannot say they have done in their career. Not only has he been dominant out there on the mound, but he also brings a veteran presence for some of the younger guys in the Cubs bullpen.
Guys like Thompson, Rowan Wick, Ethan Roberts, among others will most likely all tell you how important Robertson has been for them. Whether that was in spring training, or throughout the first month he is a presence these young pitchers can go ask questions to, or go over different situations since he has been around in the big leagues for so long. He also really seems to embrace the leadership role as well.
Will Robertson still be a member of Cubs in a few months when the trade deadline passes? Time will tell, but if he is not then we all should really enjoy how well he is pitching while he is wearing a Cubs uniform at the moment. If Robertson were to be moved and still pitching great come July the Cubs should be able to get a good prospect or two back in return.
The Cubs front office knocked it out of the park this offseason by signing Robertson to help anchor the bullpen. All members of the Cubs organization and fans are hoping that Robertson is able to come in and add a 6th save to his 2022 total against the White Sox on Tuesday night at Wrigley Field.
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