Difficult decisions are the cost of doing business for a high-level contender, and once in a while, you may be forced to move on from a player you don’t necessarily wish to; such is the case with Anthony
Banda and the Dodgers. After agreeing to a deal to avoid arbitration with the left-hander, the reigning back-to-back champs found themselves in need of a roster space, to which the solution was designating Banda for assignment, allowing for any of the other 29 MLB clubs to pick him up — the Yankees should contemplate doing so.
2025 Statistics: 71 games, 65 IP, 3.18 ERA (131 ERA+), 4.52 FIP, 4.77 xFIP, 22.8% K%, 12.7% BB%, 1.22 WHIP, 0.1 fWAR
2026 FanGraphs Depths Charts Projections: 26 games, 26 IP, 4.39 ERA, 4.38 FIP, 22.2% K%, 10.1% BB%, 1.38 WHIP, 0.0 fWAR
Before assessing the merits of Banda’s addition, his availability is, if unexpected, somewhat natural given the other lefty options the Dodgers bullpen has available: particularly Jack Dreyer, who represents a higher-upside alternative and still carries minor league options. Amidst the flurry of injuries, shortcomings, and unique circumstances surrounding the Dodgers’ bullpen last postseason, Banda found himself being one of the more utilized relievers by Los Angeles, acquiring a type of experience in key spots that’s difficult to find. Before imploding in the World Series, Banda secured some important outs for the Dodgers on their path to win the NL pennant.
The concerns for Banda ahead of 2026 are rather obvious, for as much as the Dodgers were able to extract the best out of him after bouncing around in the bigs, it didn’t come without its warning signs. Although the zone rate remained the same, Banda saw batters drastically decrease their chase rate against him, ultimately leading to an unsustainably poor 12.7 percent walk rate.
What allowed Banda to be reasonably effective was the combination of an uncanny ability to strand runners and limit batting average on balls in play, two skills that under regular circumstances are likely to regress in 2026. The flip side of it is that we’re looking at a left-hander who has pitched over 100 innings with a 3.14 ERA since joining the Dodgers, clearly able to produce consistently at a solid enough level.
The Yankees currently have two lefties in the bullpen in Tim Hill and Ryan Yarbrough, and while Banda’s acquisition wouldn’t fix the lack of a strikeout specialist, his splits make him an outstanding left-on-left option: left-handed hitters had a .255 SLG against Banda in 2025 and a .496 OPS. Noting Ryan Yarbrough is going to serve a long-relief role, to which his handedness isn’t a primary factor, it’d hardly be considered overkill to add one more established southpaw, particularly to a bullpen that has a nice core but could always use a bit more depth.
Arbitration eligible for the second time, this offseason, Banda, a journeyman reliever, will receive a little over one and a half million, far from a prohibitive figure to the Yankees. His availability on waivers is strictly due to a roster crunch, and if not the Yankees, someone most definitely will pick him up.
