Phillies are kicking tires on veteran reliever the Angels should've signed months ago

José Alvarado's 80-game suspension is a crushing blow to the Philadelphia Phillies' bullpen, as he was either leading or in the top-three of virtually every stat pertaining to their relievers. He led the Phillies' relievers in saves, ERA and strikeouts, and ranked third in BB/9 and innings pitched. The Phillies are 29-18 and lead the National League East right now, and Dave Dombrowski is reportedly calling David Robertson (who represents himself) in an attempt to recreate their closer in the aggregate. Per MLB.com's Mark Feinsand:

"Prior to the announcement of Alvarado’s suspension, a source said the Phillies reached out to free agent David Robertson, easily the best reliever left on the open market. No serious talks took place, the source said, but it wouldn’t be a surprise if the Phillies considered a reunion with the 40-year-old, who has had two previous stints in Philadelphia."

Mark Feinsand

Gee, I wonder if there's another team that recently lost a vital back-end reliever indefinitely that could use Robertson's services...whose bullpen is FAR worse than the Phillies' and therefore needs the veteran's services more? Well, in fact, the Angels' bullpen is THE worst in baseball, and it's getting embarrassing that the front office and ownership group are not showing more sense of urgency here. By the way, David Robertson's a player that we here at Halo Hangout have been pleading for the Angels to sign since November!

Phillies are kicking tires on veteran reliever the Angels should've signed months ago

When will Perry Minasian learn that his dart throws are not working, and in order to fix the team's most glaring problem he needs to stop taking half-measures? The dudes he's bringing in on minor league deals or via waiver claims/low-level trades are just not good enough. Whether it's Touki Toussaint, Jake Eder, Carl Edwards Jr., Connor Brogdon, Ian Anderson, or Héctor Neris (you're safe for now Shaun Anderson, Garrett McDaniels, Hunter Strickland), Minasian's been swinging and missing on stabilizing the bullpen over-and-over again. Take a full measure!

Minasian brought in Kenley Jansen during the offseason for $10 million (full measure), and outside of two appearances he's been great this year. Yes, working for Arte Moreno is difficult, but the ownership group has to also see that this Angels team could actually be competitive for a change and desperately needs a player of Robertson's caliber to pair with Jansen.

Heck, Ron Washington publicly begged for more help in the bullpen after Joyce was ruled out for the rest of the season! When the Angels get Robert Stephenson back soon, their bullpen plus Robertson would clearly no longer be the single worst in the league if Moreno ponies up:

Closer: Jansen
Set-Up: Stephenson, Robertson 
Middle Relief: Burke*, Zeferjahn
Swing: [Insert two relievers here: McDaniels, Fermin, Bachman, Neris, S. Anderson, Strickland]
Long Relief: Detmers

It's baffling that Robertson is still a free agent, and even more so that the Angels are bringing in veterans on MiLB deals instead of calling him. Don't let the Phillies big boy you, Perry. Get the deal done by any means necessary.

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