David Robertson off of Phillies' NLDS Roster After Suffering Injury Celebrating HR

Veteran reliever David Robertson was left off the Philadelphia Phillies' roster for the National League Division Series:

Manager Rob Thomson said Robertson strained his right calf while celebrating Bryce Harper's home run in Game 2 of the NL Wild Card Series. Thomson described him as "devastated" and "very disappointed."

Harper took Miles Mikolas deep in the second inning to give Philadelphia a 1-0 lead. Robertson jumped in the dugout after the homer, which is when he injured himself.

While he's not their best reliever, the 37-year-old figured to be a regular option for Thomson in the NLDS against the Atlanta Braves.

Philadelphia acquired Robertson prior to the 2022 MLB trade deadline. In 22 appearances with the team, he had six saves, a 2.70 ERA and a 3.71 FIP.

His performance was somewhat shaky to close out the regular season, though. From September on, he allowed five earned runs over 11.2 innings, with opposing hitters posting a .389 on-base percentage, per Baseball Reference.

This isn't the kind of note the Phillies will have wanted to start the NLDS. Their relievers ranked 12th in FIP (3.71) and 19th in xFIP (3.98), per FanGraphs. The bullpen has improved compared to recent years, but it still remains one of Philly's weak spots.

José Alvarado, Zach Eflin and Seranthony Dominguez were already going to be leaned on heavily in high-leverage situations. Robertson's injury will force somebody else to step up, and Andrew Bellatti might be the most obvious candidate after not featuring in the Wild Card Series.