HOUSTON -- The Twins will be without one of their key relievers for an extended period.
Lefty Anthony Banda, who had emerged as one of manager Derek Shelton’s most trusted high-leverage options in recent weeks, was placed on the 15-day injured list Monday due to a left lat strain and will be out for a period of months. He suffered the injury in Sunday’s home win against the Rockies.
“It’s going to be something that he’s going to miss significant time with,” Shelton said. “It’s not going to be days, weeks. It’s going to be months.”
Righty Cody Laweryson, who was optioned to Triple-A St. Paul last week, has been recalled to take Banda’s place on the roster. Laweryson has been mostly effective this season and was the victim of an innings crunch when he was sent out on June 23.
However, Banda’s recent effectiveness will be difficult to replace, and it seems likely that Laweryson will not be the only move the Twins make in the coming days. They are down to two left-handed relievers, Taylor Rogers and Kody Funderburk, neither of whom presents the power option that Banda does. Rookie Kendry Rojas could be a solution, but he is not eligible to be recalled except for an injured player before July 9.
Rojas likely would have been considered to take Banda’s roster spot on Monday, but he pitched three innings for St. Paul on Sunday, so he would not have been available for at least a couple of days.
The club did not immediately make a move with Banda on Sunday, but following further evaluation, he was placed on the shelf prior to the first game of a weeklong road trip to Houston and New York. Banda, 32, has a 4.46 ERA and 33 strikeouts in 39 games (34 1/3 innings), but he has been much more effective since an April slump. He has a 1.00 ERA in 20 appearances since May 10.
He had stepped up as one of a trio of trusted options for Shelton in the late innings, along with de facto closer Yoendrys Gómez and rookie righty Andrew Morris. The rest of the Twins’ bullpen has been highly inconsistent, and while the team has mostly been able to finish off wins in recent weeks, it has had trouble keeping games close when trailing because of the inconsistency behind the top three relievers.