'If anybody can do it, he can': Robinson's road back to baseball

This story was excerpted from Steve Gilbert’s D-backs Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

The world came to a screeching halt in 2020 because of the pandemic, shutting down more than just baseball. It came crashing down on D-backs prospect Kristian Robinson, nearly ending what appeared to be a very promising career. His journey since is a story of understanding, learning about mental health issues, perseverance and, perhaps most importantly, love. Love of the game, of family and of himself. 

If it weren’t for that, Robinson may have never made it back to the field, let alone to the Arizona Fall League, the long-running finishing school for the game’s best prospects. Robinson’s numbers -- .319/.405/.449 with nine steals in 19 games -- were impressive, but they are unimportant for a player who went nearly four years without playing in a competitive game, an absence so long that the idea of never returning to the field certainly entered his consciousness.

To understand just how far Robinson, who will turn 24 on Dec. 11, has come, it’s important to understand where he’s been. 

On March 12, 2020, Major League Baseball shut its doors during Spring Training because of COVID. Robinson entered that spring as Arizona’s top prospect. He had signed out of the Bahamas in July 2017 for $2.5 million and had already reached full-season ball at age 18 in 2019. The sky was seemingly the limit.

Like so many during the shutdown, Robinson struggled with the isolation, more than he realized. The news report in late March stated matter of factly that he was found walking aimlessly down the interstate and was arrested after he struck an officer who was trying to get him off the road. What no one recognized at the time was that the 19-year-old athlete was in a mental health crisis.

The combination of that crisis and the ensuing legal entanglements forced Robinson into an exile of sorts. The legal issues made it impossible for him to get a visa, so he was stuck in the Bahamas. Even once he got back to the United States, he was limited to workouts at the team’s complex. Robinson is quick to credit the D-backs for supporting him not as a multitooled outfielder, but as a struggling young man.

“From ownership all the way down, baseball was not the priority,” said Josh Barfield, who was Arizona’s farm director at the time and now is an assistant general manager with the White Sox. “The young man, the human being, getting him the help he needed, knowing it wasn’t going to be an overnight thing, was the most important. There was a scenario where he wasn’t going to play baseball ever again. Between the mental health stuff, COVID, going through the public court case, it was a lot to go through for a young father.”

At the time, Robinson was a new father, with a son who is now 4 years old. There’s now also a 9-month-old girl in the family. It’s a commitment Robinson takes seriously, and his eyes light up when he discusses his wife and children, knowing their love and support have been at the center of his recovery and return.

“My family is a lot of what I have to be thankful for, when it comes to that,” Robinson said. “They distract me a lot from the thoughts lingering. And I just try to just be appreciative of them and try to soak in the time. Almost, if I would say, for lack of a better term, distracting myself by over-loving them and devoting my time to what I do outside of it.”

If a player gets injured, there’s a blueprint. Trainer, surgeon if needed, rehab, back to the field. But for what Robinson had to get through? Both he and the D-backs were building the plane as they were flying it.

“There is no manual on this,” Barfield said. “I definitely learned a lot about a lot of things I never thought I would in a farm director role. The D-backs organization did a really good job tapping into a lot of resources, finding the right people to help navigate some of the challenges we had. It would have been a daunting task had he been asked to navigate it alone.”

“I hate to use this metaphor, but it's like a baby learning how to walk,” Robinson said about working through his struggles. “Not to say that I was naive to it, but I had no knowledge about it. So just taking baby steps into it, not leaning too far into diagnosing myself with anything, or thinking that I'm less than or unlike others. But [I was] just learning it as I go and being receptive to what, not only what I was being told, but just what the reality was at the time. 

“It was a lot to take in. But I think overall, I definitely became more aware of not only my mental health, but how I am interacting with others and just a general appreciation for what this really is.”

As Robinson started to regain his footing from a mental health standpoint, his support circle began to see baseball not as an afterthought, but perhaps something that could be part of his treatment plan. It started with getting him on a back field to work out and grew slowly from there.

“To his credit, he put the work in, got the help he needed,” Barfield said. “We took it slow and we started to see him slowly come back. At a certain point, there he was again. That was really encouraging to see, knowing he was on the right track.”

Robinson was able to complete the probation and community service hours that came as a result of his altercation. When he finally received his work visa in May 2023, he was allowed to come off the restricted list.

And at a certain point, the goal of becoming a Major League Baseball player came back into focus.

Robinson was able to take the first step toward realizing that dream when he suited up for the Single-A Visalia Rawhide on May 30, 2023. There was a good combination of rust and results, as he posted a .945 OPS in 43 games and earned a bump up to High-A Hillsboro on July 13. It may be a result-oriented game, but the numbers he put up were secondary.

“As soon as I got back on the field last year, I think that was the first thing that I wanted to soak in and recognize -- that just being on the field is a blessing, and I want to appreciate every single inning, every single pitch, even though sometimes, it could drag,” Robinson said. “… I think what helps now is that, thankfully, I'm a father, so I'm looking at my kids to try and just make them proud of who I am and who I want to be.”

For the first time in a long time, Robinson is allowing himself to look ahead. He played a full, albeit uneven, year with Double-A Amarillo in 2024. Then the front office asked Robinson to extend his season by playing in the AFL.

“As soon as I heard the news that I was selected to be a part of the Fall League, I was elated,” Robinson said. “I've seen groups of guys who have played in the league and now play in the big leagues, and that was an inspiration for wanting to be a part of it and finally being a part of it now.”

The 2025 season could provide a big step forward for Robinson. On the baseball side of things, it will be his second year at the upper levels of the system. Outside of what happens between the lines, he has a deeper understanding of himself and how others have had to work through their own issues.

Robinson is careful about how much he wants to engage on the subject of mental health. But as his education expands, he can see a time where he might speak more openly about it and make himself a resource for others.

“I think that comes with age, maturity,” Robinson said. “I sort of bluntly walked into this with baby steps. So me learning a little bit more about it would probably come first before I help some others. But it's definitely something I want to take up if it comes up.”

Whatever happens next, Robinson can be reassured that he will always have the people in his corner who have been with him through every stop of this long, arduous journey.

“I root for him. I’ll always root for him,” Barfield said. “Knowing what he’s gone through, how he’s grown from it. He’s definitely a stronger, better man than he was before. I would love to see him, even if it was just for one day, get up to the big leagues. 

“He’s always been a really talented individual. He looked like he belonged on a Major League field as a teenager. The tools were there. Will he be able to overcome all this? If anybody can do it, he can.”