The Twins have made another significant addition to their bullpen — potentially the biggest one yet. They’ve acquired left-hander Anthony Banda from the Dodgers in exchange for international bonus pool money, they announced on Thursday. Banda, who was somewhat surprisingly designated for assignment by Los Angeles last week, instead lands in Minnesota.
Righty Jackson Kowar, who the Twins claimed on waivers last week, has been DFA’d to make room for Banda on the 40-man roster.
Banda, 32, instantly slots into a projected high-leverage role on the back end of Minnesota’s work-in-progress bullpen. He had a 3.18 ERA across 65 innings with LA last season, although his 61 strikeouts came with 34 walks and a 4.52 FIP. Banda had a 3.08 ERA and slightly better peripheral numbers in 49.2 innings in 2024. He also made 17 appearances over the past two postseasons for the two-time defending World Series champions.
Anthony Banda | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
A sixth-round pick by the Brewers in 2012, Banda made his MLB debut with the Diamondbacks in 2017. He has since bounced around the league, also pitching for the Rays, Mets, Pirates, Blue Jays, Yankees, and Nationals. The Twins will be his ninth team. Banda has a career 4.44 ERA in 233.1 innings, with 220 strikeouts and 101 walks. His last two seasons with the Dodgers have been the best of his career thus far.
Banda throws a sinker, slider, four-seam fastball, and a changeup that he mixes in as his fourth pitch. The big key for him is limiting his walks. He’s far more effective against lefties (who he’s held to a .635 OPS in his career) than righties (.849 OPS). He’ll make $1.625 million in 2026.
Makes sense.
Anthony Banda is a left-handed reliever who needs to be shielded from good right-handed hitters, but he had a 3.14 ERA and .215 opponents’ batting average in 115 innings for the Dodgers the past two seasons. And he’s cheap at $1.625 million. https://t.co/0fEWwJV87d
— Aaron Gleeman (@AaronGleeman) February 12, 2026
Here’s an update projection for what the Twins’ bullpen could look like on Opening Day.
RHP Cole SandsLHP Taylor RogersLHP Anthony BandaRHP Liam HendriksRHP Justin TopaRHP Eric OrzeLHP Kody FunderburkRHP David Festa
Many, many others will be in the mix for those spots. Other names to watch include Connor Prielipp, Marco Raya, Travis Adams, Julian Merryweather, John Klein, Matt Bowman, Andrew Bash, Dan Altavilla, and Trent Baker. We’ve projected Festa as a starter-to-reliever conversion, but that’s also an option on the table for Zebby Matthews, Taj Bradley, Mick Abel, and other young pitchers.
The Twins’ starting rotation projects as a strength of the roster, but putting together at least a competent bullpen will be key for Derek Shelton’s team to have a chance at competing for a playoff spot in 2026. Banda is a significant addition in that pursuit.
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