The Mets sent right-handed reliever David Robertson to the Miami Marlins in exchange for two minor-leaguers on Thursday night. Catcher Ronald Hernandez and second baseman Marco Vargas, neither of whom has appeared above the rookie level in the minors, are headed to New York.
Speaking to SNY in the locker room after being informed of the trade, Robertson said, “I figured I would be moved. I didn’t know where. … It was kind of a shock, but it’s part of this game.
“It’s not been the funnest part of the year, that’s for sure. … When you come in here and everybody’s asking where you’re going, what are your thoughts, it’s a lot to deal with and still go out there and compete in between the lines knowing you may not be on this team for very long.
“I’ve just tried to deal with it and stay calm and collected and make pitches and do what I’m supposed to do on the team that’s paying me to play for them.”
David Robertson reacts to being traded and what this stretch has been like with trade rumors:
"It's not been the funnest part of the year. When you come in here and everybody's asking where you're going, it's a lot to deal with" pic.twitter.com/a5sqQq5m7h
— SNY (@SNYtv) July 28, 2023
The move is a money-saver for the Mets, who are 48-54 and seven games off a playoff position despite having a major-league-record payroll $364 million payroll. Robertson is making $10 million this year, so he is due around $3.7 million for the rest of the season.
He joins a Marlins team that is 55-48 and just a half-game out of the final National League wild-card position.
Robertson, 38, is 4-2 with a 2.05 ERA and 14 saves in 17 chances this season, his first with the Mets.
Robertson broke into the majors with the New York Yankees in 2008 and was an All-Star as a setup man in 2011. He was the Yankees’ closer in 2014, saving 39 games, and after signing with the Chicago White Sox as a free agent the following winter, he saved 34 games in 2015 and 37 in 2016.
He had a second stint with the Yankees in 2017 and 2018 and subsequently pitched for the Philadelphia Phillies (two stints), Tampa Bay Rays and Chicago Cubs before signing a one-year deal with the Mets last December.
In 771 career games (one start), Robertson has a 61-38 record, 171 saves and a 2.84 ERA.
Hernandez, 19, was hitting .298 with a .464 on-base percentage, a .452 slugging percentage, three homers and 25 RBIs in 31 games for the Marlins’ Florida Complex League affiliate.
Vargas, 18, was Hernandez’s teammate in Florida this year. He was batting .283/.457/.442 with two homers and 19 RBIs in 33 games.
–Field Level Media