New York Yankees Were Right To Move On From David Robertson

With their signing of free agent reliever Andrew Miller to a four-year, $36 million deal, the New York Yankees are effectively moving on from former closer David Robertson. Both relievers were the best on the free agent market this offseason and the Yankees made the right choice paying big for Miller rather than Robertson.

While neither had much closing experience going into last season, Robertson was the full-time closer for the Bronx Bombers and he successfully closed out 39 games. Miller, meanwhile, has only two saves in his major league career. However, Miller actually projects as the better closer in the long-term.

He didn’t close last season, but in 73 appearances as a set up man, Miller had a dominant 2.02 ERA. Those are definitely closer numbers and the fact that he’s a lefty just makes him that much more valuable. Teams recognized that, as he reportedly had 22 teams interested in him at the beginning of the offseason.

When it came down to it, the Yankees were willing to pay $9 million annually and they actually may have gotten a bargain by the time it’s all said and done. If he can be shutdown closer for four years, they more than got their money’s worth. However, at this point, it’s unknown whether or not Miller will even be the closer in 2015.

So while they’ll miss Robertson in the bullpen, Miller will provide a better bullpen option for the Yankees in the next few seasons. Even though he wasn’t a closer, his numbers were more impressive than Robertson’s a year ago. Now Miller just needs to develop the killer instinct that makes potentially good closers great. If he’s waited this long for an opportunity to close, it’s a good bet he will be able to adjust.