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Anthony Banda’s time with the Dodgers is over after contributing to two championships.
The Los Angeles Dodgers have found a trade partner for left-hander Anthony Banda. Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports that the Dodgers have traded Banda to the Minnesota Twins for international bonus pool space. Francys Romero of BesibolFR adds that the Dodgers will get $500K in space.
#MNTwins acquire LHP Anthony Banda from Dodgers for international bonus money. Banda had been DFA’d last week.
Banda, 32, was a solid relief option for the Dodgers over the past two seasons. He was designated for assignment on February 6, when Los Angeles claimed catcher Ben Rortvedt off waivers.
When Banda was DFA’d, the expectation was that the Dodgers would trade the left-hander. Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reported that Los Angeles would find a partner by Friday.
The bonus pool money in the deal should help offset the penalties from signing two free agents who rejected qualifying offers. The Dodgers forfeited $2 million by signing Edwin Diaz and Kyle Tucker. Los Angeles has benefited greatly from developing international prospects over the years.
Anthony Banda’s Tenure With the Dodgers
Banda picked a great time to join the Dodgers, collecting a pair of World Series rings for his contributions. Los Angeles acquired the hard-throwing left-hander from the Washington Nationals in May 2024.
It’s a move that looks great in hindsight. Banda made 119 appearances for the Dodgers over the past two seasons. He pitched to a 3.14 ERA with a 23.3% strikeout rate and a 10.9% walk rate over 114.2 innings. Putting it into further context, Banda posted a 77 ERA- over that stretch. That means he was 23% better than the league-average pitcher at preventing earned runs.
In addition to providing valuable innings for the Dodgers’ bullpen, he was a solid postseason performer. His postseason ERA is 4.61, but it’s influenced by a rough 2025 World Series performance. Banda surrendered six runs in three innings across four appearances, contributing to losses in Games 1 and 4. However, he also picked up a key out in their Game 3 win.
In his other 13 postseason performances, Banda was scoreless in 12 of them. While he wasn’t a late-inning reliever, that type of consistency is pivotal when the margin of error is thinner. He gave manager Dave Roberts the ability to pitch in the early and middle innings to set up the back end of their bullpen if they had a lead.
Dodgers Bullpen Entering 2026
The Dodgers’ bullpen was a problem for much of the 2025 season. They’ve since addressed that by signing former Mets closer Edwin Diaz to the largest per year deal for a reliever.
Diaz will handle the primary closing duties for the Dodgers. That leaves Tanner Scott, who blew 10 save opportunities last season, in a high-leverage relief role.
The hard-throwing left-hander could benefit from more situations where he’ll match up more against left-handed hitters. Opposing lefties hammered him to the tune of a .259/.323/.621 slash with five home runs in 65 plate appearances. It’s less of an issue because teams will bring a right-handed bat in key situations against him.
Alex Vesia, Blake Treinen, and Brusdar Graterol could also contribute in the late innings. Jack Dreyer and Will Klein could also be in line for bigger roles after getting promising results in 2025. Klein was the unsung hero for the Dodgers, pitching five scoreless innings in their Game 3 win over Toronto.
The Dodgers also signed former closer Evan Phillips. However, the right-hander is rehabbing from Tommy John surgery. Since the surgery date was in June, he’s not a candidate to return until after the All-Star break. MLB.com reporter Sonja Chen wrote that Phillips has already started a throwing program, a key step in his recovery.
With the amount of resources invested in the bullpen this offseason, the Dodgers are hoping that it won’t get in the way of a possible three-peat.
Michael McDermott Michael McDermott is a writer at Heavy Sports covering the Arizona Diamondbacks and Major League Baseball. Michael has 10 years experience writing about the D-backs and their farm system for AZ Snake Pit, Burn City Sports, and Diamondbacks On SI. More about Michael McDermott
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