FORT MYERS, Fla. -- In a move that almost made too much sense not to happen, the Twins acquired left-hander Anthony Banda from the Dodgers for international bonus pool money on Thursday. To make room for Banda on the 40-man roster, right-hander Jackson Kowar was designated for assignment.
The Dodgers designated Banda for assignment last week when they claimed catcher Ben Rortvedt off waivers from the Reds (Rortvedt has since been DFA’d again).
TRADE DETAILS
Twins get: LHP Anthony Banda
Dodgers get: International bonus pool money
Banda completes a rebuild of the left side of the Twins' bullpen, after the team traded away five top relievers at last year’s Trade Deadline. He joins Taylor Rogers and potentially also returnee Kody Funderburk to give manager Derek Shelton multiple left-handed options.
“How we use them functionally we'll have to figure out,” said Shelton, who managed Banda in Pittsburgh in 2021-22. “But I think they're all different in their own right, which is important. If you had the same guy, then I think we'd have a little bit of a challenge. But the fact that they have different skillsets and pitch repertoires, we can be able to mix and match them.”
The move is nothing new for the well-traveled Banda, who is joining his 13th different organization in Major League Baseball after being traded for the seventh time.
Banda is the third veteran reliever to join the Twins on Thursday. Minnesota also agreed to Minor League contracts with Liam Hendriks and Julian Merryweather.
Banda was an important part of the Dodgers’ bullpen over the past two years, recording a 3.14 ERA with 111 strikeouts in 114 2/3 innings spanning 119 appearances (three starts). He won World Series rings in both seasons, making a total of 17 playoff appearances in that time.
It was easily the most successful stint of his career. Prior to joining the Dodgers, Banda had a lifetime 5.69 ERA over 90 appearances (six starts) for the D-backs, Rays, Mets, Pirates, Blue Jays, Yankees and Nationals. He also spent time with the Brewers, Giants, Mariners and Guardians, though he didn’t appear in an MLB game with any of those four organizations.