After not finding the contract that he sought in free agency last winter, David Robertson returned home to Rhode Island with unplanned leisure time on his calendar. “I played a lot of tennis,” he said.

Once he joins the Phillies, Robertson will begin his 17th season in the majors. He signed a two-year, $23 million free-agent deal with the Phillies in 2019, but appeared in only seven games for them before undergoing Tommy John surgery. The Phillies reacquired him in July 2022 in a trade with the Chicago Cubs for right-hander Ben Brown.