David Robertson was a P who played for the New York Yankees from 2008-2014, 2017-2018. Career stats: 38-22 record, 2.75 ERA, 666 strikeouts.
David Robertson pitched for the Yankees in two separate stretches -- 2008 through 2014, then again in 2017 and 2018 -- and spent most of that decade as one of the best setup men in baseball before closing games himself in 2014. He won a ring in 2009, made an All-Star team in 2011, and picked up a nickname (Houdini) that tells you everything about how he pitched: dangerous jams, clean escapes, over and over. He retired in January 2026 after 17 big-league seasons and eight organizations -- one of the most durable relievers of his generation.
Path to the Bronx
Robertson grew up in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, pitched at the University of Alabama, and fell all the way to the 17th round of the 2006 draft before the Yankees took a flier on him (pick 524 overall, in case you want to feel bad for the 523 guys taken ahead of him who didn't pitch 17 big-league seasons).
He debuted on June 29, 2008, a 23-year-old with a hard fastball and a curveball that started around a hitter's eye level and finished at his shoe tops. Within a couple years he wasn't just filling innings. He was the guy manager Joe Girardi called with the game on the line and the bases a mess.
Yankees Career
| Yankees Seasons | 9 (2008--2014, 2017--2018) |
| Record | 38-22 |
| ERA | 2.75 |
| Innings Pitched | 498.0 |
| Strikeouts | 666 |
| Saves | 53 |
| WHIP | 1.16 |
| All-Star Seasons | 2011 |
| Postseason | 30 G, 5-0, 3.48 ERA |
The signature year was 2011: a 1.08 ERA, 100 strikeouts in 66.2 innings, and his only All-Star selection (he got the call after Josh Beckett scratched with a knee issue, then pitched the second inning of the game itself). He picked up down-ballot Cy Young and MVP votes that year. As a setup man. That's how good he was.
By 2013, with Mariano Rivera in his farewell season, Robertson was the presumptive closer-in-waiting. He got the job officially in 2014 and saved 39 games -- not Mo numbers, nobody's numbers were Mo numbers, but a credible answer to an impossible question. On Sept. 26, 2018, he made his 500th career appearance in pinstripes at Tampa Bay, becoming just the third pitcher in franchise history to reach 500 games, behind Rivera (1,115) and Dave Righetti (522). Good company.
Even in all the years he set up for Mo, David was a closer in the moment that you needed him. There was no moment that was ever too big for him.
Houdini
The nickname traces back to a single night: Game 2 of the 2009 ALDS against Minnesota, Oct. 9, at the Stadium. Robertson comes on in the top of the 11th with the bases loaded and nobody out, and somehow -- a heads-up defensive play by Mark Teixeira, a couple of well-placed pitches -- gets out of it without a run scoring. Teixeira leads off the bottom of the inning with a walk-off homer off Jose Mijares. Yankees win, 4-3. Robertson's legend as an escape artist starts right there.
It wasn't a one-time thing, either. For his career, hitters batted .163 against him with the bases loaded, a 28-to-3 strikeout-to-walk ratio in those spots. Houdini wasn't a cute nickname. It was a scouting report.
That October ended with a ring. The Yankees beat the Phillies in six games in the 2009 World Series, and Robertson threw 2.1 scoreless innings in the Fall Classic itself after a clean five-appearance postseason overall. One ring, earned as a 24-year-old setup man in his second big-league season.
Key Moments
MLB Debut
Robertson debuts for the Yankees at age 23, two years after being drafted in the 17th round out of Alabama.
The Houdini Game
Robertson escapes a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the 11th inning of ALDS Game 2 against the Twins; Mark Teixeira walks it off in the bottom half for a 4-3 win.
All-Star Selection
Posts a 1.08 ERA with 100 strikeouts in 66.2 innings, earns his only All-Star nod, and draws Cy Young and MVP votes as a reliever.
Takes Over as Closer
Steps in as the Yankees' closer following Mariano Rivera's retirement and saves 39 games.
Leaves for the White Sox
Declines a $15.3 million qualifying offer and signs a four-year, $46 million deal with Chicago.
Traded Back to New York
The White Sox send Robertson, Todd Frazier, and Tommy Kahnle to the Yankees in a seven-player deal for Tyler Clippard and three prospects.
Gone, Then Back, Then Gone for Good
The first exit stung a little. Robertson turned down a $15.3 million qualifying offer after the 2014 season and signed with the White Sox for four years and $46 million, and the Yankees settled for a compensatory draft pick. Two and a half years later, general manager Brian Cashman flipped a package to Chicago and got Robertson back -- along with Todd Frazier and Tommy Kahnle -- in a July 2017 trade that helped fuel a run to Game 7 of that year's ALCS.
He stuck around through 2018, made his 500th Yankees appearance, and hit free agency again that winter. This time there was no third act in the Bronx. Robertson signed with the Phillies for 2019 and kept pitching -- through Tommy John surgery, a COVID-canceled 2020, a silver medal with Team USA at the Tokyo Olympics, and stops with the Rays, Cubs, Mets, Marlins, Rangers, and, three separate times, the Phillies again. He closed out the 2017 World Baseball Classic championship game for Team USA in between his two Yankees stints, too (an 8-0 win over Puerto Rico, the last out a Carlos Correa groundout). He announced his retirement on Jan. 30, 2026, after 17 big-league seasons and eight organizations. None of those later stops were with the Yankees, despite a round or two of reunion chatter that never went anywhere.
Off the mound, Robertson and his wife started the High Socks for Hope foundation in 2011 after tornadoes tore through his hometown of Tuscaloosa -- named, fittingly, for the pulled-up socks he wore on the mound. It's since helped fund roughly 20,000 homes across 17 states, and it earned him a Yankees nomination for the Roberto Clemente Award in 2013. Since 2018 he's also represented himself in free agency, no agent, because as he put it, nobody understands what he wants better than he does.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many seasons did David Robertson play for the Yankees?
Nine, across two stints: 2008 through 2014, then 2017 and 2018. He posted a 38-22 record, a 2.75 ERA, and 53 saves in 501 Yankees appearances.
Did David Robertson win a World Series with the Yankees?
Yes. He was a key reliever on the 2009 World Series championship team, going 5-0 with a 3.48 ERA over 30 career Yankees postseason appearances.
Why is David Robertson called Houdini?
He earned the nickname after escaping a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the 11th inning of Game 2 of the 2009 ALDS against Minnesota, setting up a Mark Teixeira walk-off homer. For his career, hitters batted just .163 against him with the bases loaded.
Did the Yankees trade David Robertson and then get him back?
Not exactly a trade the first time -- he left as a free agent, signing with the Chicago White Sox after the 2014 season. The Yankees got him back in a July 2017 trade that also brought Todd Frazier and Tommy Kahnle to New York.
Did David Robertson return to the Yankees in 2024?
No. Robertson signed with the Texas Rangers in January 2024, not the Yankees. His last Yankees season was 2018; he never played for the team again despite periodic free agent speculation.
Nine years, two stints, one ring, and a nickname that still holds up. Robertson never had the highlight-reel fastball of a closer built for TV, just a knack for making bad situations look routine -- which, for a reliever, is the whole job.
Career Stats
Regular Season
| Year | G | GS | W | L | SV | IP | H | ER | K | BB | ERA | WHIP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 65 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 60.2 | 52 | 18 | 81 | 19 | 2.67 | 1.17 |
| 2013 | 70 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 66.1 | 51 | 15 | 77 | 18 | 2.04 | 1.04 |
| 2014 | 63 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 39 | 64.1 | 45 | 22 | 96 | 23 | 3.08 | 1.06 |
| 2017 | 30 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 35.0 | 14 | 4 | 51 | 12 | 1.03 | 0.74 |
| 2018 | 69 | 0 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 69.2 | 46 | 25 | 91 | 26 | 3.23 | 1.03 |
| Career | 501 | 0 | 38 | 22 | 53 | 498.0 | 372 | 152 | 666 | 204 | 2.75 | 1.16 |
Career-best seasons highlighted in gold. Stats via Retrosheet.
Postseason
| Year | G | GS | W | L | SV | IP | H | ER | K | BB | ERA | WHIP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 5 | -- | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5.1 | -- | -- | -- | -- | 0.00 | -- |
| 2010 | 6 | -- | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.1 | -- | -- | -- | -- | 16.20 | -- |
| 2011 | 2 | -- | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 | -- | -- | -- | -- | 0.00 | -- |
| 2012 | 6 | -- | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6.1 | -- | -- | -- | -- | 1.42 | -- |
| 2017 | 8 | -- | 2 | 0 | 0 | 13.0 | -- | -- | -- | -- | 4.15 | -- |
| 2018 | 3 | -- | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.2 | -- | -- | -- | -- | 0.00 | -- |
| Career | 30 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 33.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 |