Dodgers cut two-time World Series winning reliever who had brief stint with Blue Jays

Anthony Banda has become a victim of the numbers game. The lefty reliever was cut by the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday (Feb. 7). The team announced they Banda was designated for assignment after they claimed catcher Ben Rortvedt off waivers from the Cincinnati Reds.

Banda, 31, was a middling reliever and had played in six different markets over a three year stretch before finally (seemingly) finding a home in LA. One of those stops included a very brief stint with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2022.

Dodgers cut two-time World Series winning reliever who had brief stint with Blue Jays

Banda was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 10th round of the 2012 MLB draft. He was then packaged with Mitch Haniger and sent to the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for Gerardo Parra at the traded deadline in 2014. He made his big league debut for the Diamondbacks a few years later on July 22, 2017, but was on the move again shortly after.

Banada was sent to Tampa Bay as part of a wild three team trade that also involved the New York Yankees. Brandon Drury went to New York. Steven Souza Jr. went to Arizona and four other players were moved in the deal as well. Between 2018-2020 Banda pitched in a total of 25.2 big league innings for the Rays, resulting in a 5.29 ERA.

The next three seasons were a country-crossing adventure for Banda that included stops with the New York Met,s the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Blue Jays and the Yankees. He was never in one place for too long, in fact in 2022 alone he played for three different teams, and that's not to mention his stints in the minor leagues as well for each of those organizations.

With the Blue Jays, the southpaw Banda got into seven games after being purchased by Toronto on July 2. Those games included one start, and he pitched a combined 6.1 innings, with seven strikeouts, and three earned runs. But by August 6 he was granted free agency and on August 9, he signed with the Seattle Mariners. He didn't appear in a game with Seattle, as he was granted free agency on August 25, and subsequently picked up by the Yankees.

He appeared with the Washington Nationals in 2023 for 10 games and and following that season he was granted free agency again. The Cleveland Guardians signed him in January before the 2024 season, but in May on 17, he was purchased by the Dodgers and finally seemed to figure things out at the MLB level.

Banda pitched in 48 games striking out 50 batters in 49.2 innings. He had a 130 ERA+, a 1.24 WHIP and 3.67 FIP. He held batters to a .238 batting average against and his hard hit percentage against was down to 39.1%. He was also lights out in the playoffs, allowing just one earned run in 8 innings pitched, with 11 strikeouts. Although Banda did walk six batters he mitigated that damage, and he appeared in four of the five games in the World Series against the Yankees and held them to two hits and no runs as the Dodgers beat the Yankees in five games.

That earned Banda a shot at being a part of the defending champions bullpen in 2025 and he rewarded his manager's trust by pitching to a 3.18 ERA in a career high 71 games and 65 innings pitched. His WHIP was once again a tight 1.21 while he managed a 130 ERA+ and struck out 61 hitters during the regular season. But he wasn't as dominant in the playoffs in 2025 and the Blue Jays picked him apart in the World Series. In three innings, Banda gave up six earned runs, with two home runs allowed and didn't strike out a single batter.

Regardless of his poor performance in the Fall Classic, Banda could be a very valuable lefty reliever out of anyone's bullpen, especially as a lefty specialist. He held left handed batters to a .153/.241/.255 slash line during the 2025 regular season with a 2.33 SO/BB ratio.

Perhaps the Blue Jays, who are somewhat thin on lefty relievers with big league experience going into camp this week in Dunedin will give their former a reliever a call. They've got Brendon Little, Mason Fluharty and Eric Lauer as the lefty options who are currently on their 40-man roster. A minor league deal with an invite to Spring Training seems like it could be in order.