(MLB.com) — Having frustrated American League hitters for the past decade, David Robertson is headed to the National League for the first time in his career, agreeing to a new deal to join the Phillies.

The Phillies agreed to a two-year contract with Robertson, who passed his physical Thursday in Philadelphia to finalize the deal.

The right-hander will earn $10 million in 2019 and $11 million in 2020, while the deal also includes a $12 million club option for 2021 that would make the deal worth $33 million over three years if it’s exercised. The Phillies can buy out the option for $2 million, meaning Robertson is guaranteed $23 million over the next two years.

“Philly really checked off all the boxes for me,” Robertson told MLB.com. “They are hungry to get back to the postseason and win. They have a great fan base, a beautiful ballpark and a special focus on charity. They’ve put together a great squad and I think I can bring a lot to the team in the back end of their bullpen.”

MLB.com

As excited as I am that Gabe the Babe and GM Klentak, we need a nickname for him, are apparently going to spend a week in Vegas with Bryce Harper, this is something we all as a Phillies-fan-collective should be rejoicing over. Robertson has completely dummied batters over the last few years posting a 3.23 ERA, 1.033 WHIP, and 91 Ks over 69 appearances in 2018, nice. Since the Eagles, Sixers, and Gritty have probably cleared it from your mind, the Phillies bullpen was a constant thorn in the team’s side throughout 2018 with only Seranthony Dominguez shining through and even he struggled at times. Robertson adds a fantastic veteran presence along with the ability to actually hand the ball off to the closer with the lead still intact. He could even close out games and let Seranthony take the 8th inning. I’d prefer the former but we’ve seen Gabe’s avoidance of bullpen labels.

Let’s look at the aforementioned checked boxes Robertson mentioned:

1. “They are hungry to go back to the postseason and win.” – You’re goddamn right they are after the August/September collapse.
2. “They have a great fan base, a beautiful ballpark, and a specific focus on charity.” – Suck it, Chris Christie.
3. “They’ve put together a great squad and I think I can bring a lot to the team in the back end of their bullpen.” – You 1000% bring a lot to the bullpen, David, and we’re happy to have you.

Also, I didn’t mention Manny Machado above, but I’m fully aware the Phils are also going after Machado as well as Harper to try to win one of these sweepstakes. I’ve felt pretty apathetic towards bringing Machado on board given his penchant for “questionable plays.” I’m still preferring a Harper signing to put the Phils over the top but we’ll see how all the big wallets jockeying for his glove turns out.

(cover photo via)