David Robertson looking for more than 15.3 million…. Really?

This hot stove blog posted an article on David Robertson, last season’s closer of the New York Yankees.
David Robertson has turned down a qualifying offer by the Yankees. The purpose of a qualifying offer is to make sure that the team that offers this amount, will get a draft pick of the team that signs the player. No matter which team besides the Yankees will sign Robertson to a contract, they will have to give up their first round draft pick.

This qualifying offer is worth $15.3 million, a standard amount set by Major League Baseball. This amount would have been the largest sum of money ever paid to a relief pitcher for one season… But apparently that is not enough for Robertson.
Unlike many other Yankee fans, I think that Robertson has a good 2014 season under his belt. As a closer he converted 39 saves of 44 save chances. The five saves that he blew resulted in a loss on his account: W-L record 4-5. When you compare Robertson with Mariano Rivera in his first season as a closer, Mo converted 43 saves out of 52 opportunities, so Robertson’s performance wasn’t too shabby afterall. I liked him better in the set up role, but he did a good job in replacing Rivera.

If Robertson decides to pitch somewhere else, the Yankees have a viable replacement in flame throwing Dellin Betances. In 2014 Betances was the setup man for Robertson, a role that Robertson had when Mo was the closer and the role that Mo had when John Wettleland was the closer of the 1996 World Series winners. Betances had a 5-0 record with a very low 1.40 ERA.

Don’t get me wrong, I love to have Robertson back because I think he is good. But I doubt if he is 15.3 + million good.
With Betances as backup and a possible first round draft pick (which is a long time ago that the Yankees had one because they signed many free agents in the past) glaring at the horizon, I tend to say: “Please sign somewhere else David.”

More than $15.3 million…. I think that a little bit of modesty would suit him well. He should take the man whose shoes he had to fill as an example.