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Anthony Banda

Giants Acquire Anthony Banda

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The Rays have traded left-hander Anthony Banda to the Giants, Robert Murray reports. The Giants sent cash considerations in return, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle was among those to tweet. To make room for Banda, the Giants placed outfielder Joey Rickard on the 60-day injured list with left elbow inflammation.

The 27-year-old Banda spent a short time in limbo, as the Rays designated him for assignment Sunday. Banda’s a former top 100 prospect whom the Rays acquired from the Diamondbacks in a three-way trade entering the 2018 season, though he hasn’t made much of a major league impact so far. Banda wound up throwing just 51 1/3 innings with the Rays, including seven frames this year, and recording a 5.96 ERA (and a far better 3.67 FIP) with 7.19 K/9 against 3.16 BB/9.

Rays Reinstate Brendan McKay From IL, Designate Anthony Banda

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The Rays have reinstated Brendan McKay from the injured list and sent him to the team’s alternate training site.  Left-hander Anthony Banda has been designated for assignment to create a 40-man roster spot.

McKay is out for the rest of the season after undergoing shoulder surgery, but the Rays had to officially bring him back off the COVID-19 injured list, and thus needed to create an opening on the 40-man.  McKay tested positive for the coronavirus during Summer Camp and wasn’t cleared to participate at the alternate training site until early August.

The procedural move leaves Banda in DFA limbo.  The southpaw had an ugly outing today, allowing five runs in an inning of work during the Rays’ 12-7 win over the Marlins.  Banda has a 10.29 ERA over seven innings for Tampa Bay this season, with more walks (five) than strikeouts (four).  Once a well-regarded prospect in his minor league days, Banda has yet to establish himself over 51 1/3 Major League innings since the start of the 2017 season, with a big chunk of that time spent rehabbing after Tommy John surgery.

Rays Option Seven Players To Triple-A

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The Rays cut seven players from their 26-man roster today, as per a team announcement (Twitter link).  Outfielder Randy Arozarena, right-hander Trevor Richards, left-hander Anthony Banda, infielders Nate Lowe and Mike Brosseau, first baseman/outfielder Brian O’Grady and two-way player Brendan McKay are were all optioned to Triple-A.

Given how the Rays so often shuttle players from Triple-A and the big leagues, it’s safe to assume all seven of these names will wind up seeing action for the club this season, should the season get underway.  Tampa Bay is perhaps better equipped than most teams to handle the challenges posed by a potential shortened schedule and an effort to fit as many games as possible into an abbreviated period of time, as the Rays’ strong farm system gives them a lot of extra depth, and many of their players (especially pitchers) are already used to frequent trips up and down the ladder.

Since Lowe, Ji-Man Choi, and the newly-acquired Yoshitomo Tsutsugo are all left-handed hitters, it made sense that the younger Lowe would be the odd man out of the first base/DH mix.  The same is true for O’Grady, acquired in a trade with the Reds back in November.

Arozarena is also a newcomer to Tampa Bay, having been acquired as part of the multi-player trade with the Cardinals in January that brought Jose Martinez to the Rays.  Martinez is the right-handed complement to Choi and Tsutsugo (though the Rays have been experimenting with Tsutsugo as a part-time third baseman and outfielder), while Arozarena will provide outfield depth at Triple-A.  Arozarena’s chances of making the Opening Day roster were lessened when the Rays picked up Manuel Margot from the Padres, though Arozarena’s ability to play all three outfield positions will very likely make him the first call-up should an injury or need arise in the Rays’ outfield.

The delayed start to the season should give Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow time to get fully healthy, which meant McKay and Richards were suddenly expendable.  Since the Rays still plan to occasionally spell their starters by using openers, Richards will probably get action either in a traditional starting role or as a bulk pitcher behind an opener — he served in both capacities after being acquired by the Marlins at last year’s trade deadline.  In fact, it could be easy to see a scenario where Richards and “Two Way McKay” are combined together in a piggyback outing, with the intriguing McKay (one of the game’s top prospects) also serving as an X-factor at the plate.

Rays Select Cole Sulser, Recall Anthony Banda

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The Rays are set to select the contract of right-hander Cole Sulser from Triple-A Durham, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter links). They’ll also call up southpaw Anthony Banda as a September addition to their expanded roster — marking the former top prospect’s first big league action since undergoing Tommy John surgery last year. Tampa Bay will need to make a 40-man roster move to accommodate Sulser’s promotion.

Sulser will be getting his first call to the big leagues after grinding through parts of seven minor league seasons. The 29-year-old, originally drafted in the 25th round by the Indians back in 2013, joined the Rays organization as part of the three-team offseason deal that sent Edwin Encarnacion to Seattle, Jake Bauers to Cleveland and Yandy Diaz to Tampa Bay.

Given his age, Sulser unsurprisingly isn’t considered to be among the Rays’ top prospects, but he’s nevertheless enjoyed a terrific season in Durham. Through 66 innings, he’s tallied a 3.27 ERA with 12.1 K/9, 3.3 BB/9, 0.55 HR/9 and a 31.6 percent ground-ball rate. Sulser is no stranger to working multiple innings, as those 66 frames have come across a total of just 49 appearances. He’s “started” four games in Durham this season, though he’s functioned as an opener on each occasion; none of those four appearances lasted more than two innings in length. Sulser will give the Rays some additional depth in the ’pen and perhaps an option to open a game or two in front of a bulk pitcher such as Ryan Yarbrough, should the Rays feel comfortable with such an alignment.

As for Banda, who recently turned 26, he’s had mixed results since he and his newly repaired ulnar collateral ligament got back on the mound in late June. The lefty began his road back with a series of one- to two-inning stints and has since stretched himself out further. He’s totaled 33 1/3 innings with an ugly 6.09 ERA, but his results have improved over the past month, as well. Banda pitched to a 4.74 ERA with an 18-to-6 K/BB ratio in 19 August innings, and his most recent outing was his longest and arguably most successful: a five-inning effort in which he allowed a pair of runs on four hits and a walk with six punchouts.

Banda’s future with the Rays could very well be in the rotation — or at least in a Yarbrough-esque modified long relief role — but it remains to be seen how the Rays will utilize him down the stretch. They’ll surely keep a watchful eye on his workload, as the former top 100 prospect has the potential to be a significant contributor to their club in 2020 and beyond. At the very least, he’ll be a candidate to make some multi-inning relief appearances in the season’s final month. With a strong enough showing, he could even tempt the Rays into considering him for a postseason roster spot;

AL East Notes: Red Sox, Price, Orioles, Rays

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Left-hander David Price had been a candidate to come off the injured list and start for the Red Sox on Sunday, but that won’t happen, Scott Miller of Bleacher Report was among those to report. Price, out since Aug. 8 with a left wrist problem, is instead another several days from returning. He’ll throw a 55-pitch simulated game Tuesday, after which the Red Sox will decide a next course of action, according to manager Alex Cora. That’s unfortunate news for Boston, which is a potentially insurmountable seven games back of the American League’s last wild-card spot and whose rotation has been an issue throughout the season. Price didn’t help the Red Sox’s cause in his most recent starts, as his ERA skyrocketed from 3.16 on July 14 to 4.36 after the last time he took the ball. But the 33-year-old has still been among the club’s most effective starters this season. His K/BB ratio (4.06) ranks 26th out of 103 pitchers who have thrown at least 100 innings in 2019.

  • The Orioles fired a combined 11 members of their front office and scouting departments Friday, Rich Dubroff of BaltimoreBaseball.com relays. Tripp Norton, who had been the Orioles’ director of baseball operations dating back to 2012 (and was with the O’s since 1998), was the most prominent member of the organization to lose his job. The club also parted with scout Nathan Showalter, son of ex-Baltimore manager Buck Showalter. First-year general manager Mike Elias, who’s attempting to remake the front office in his image, said the team will “be very busy bringing people into this organization” to replace those it let go.
  • Red Sox infielder Michael Chavis started a rehab assignment Friday, according to the team’s Triple-A affiliate in Pawtucket. Chavis went to the IL on Aug. 12 with an AC joint sprain in his left shoulder, continuing what has been a rough month for the 24-year-old. While Chavis was amid a slump when he landed on the shelf, he has enjoyed a respectable rookie year overall. Chavis has batted .254/.322/.444 with 18 home runs in 382 plate appearances and 95 games, during which he has split time between first and second base.
  • The Rays activated lefty Anthony Banda from the 60-day injured list Friday and optioned him to Triple-A Durham, per Juan Toribio of MLB.com. They placed infielder Brandon Lowe (out for the season) on the 60-day IL in a corresponding 40-man move. Banda hasn’t pitched in the majors since undergoing Tommy John surgery in June 2018, though perhaps he’ll serve as a late-season reinforcement for the Rays. The 26-year-old has struggled at the Triple-A level this season, though, evidenced by a 5.57 ERA/6.14 FIP across 21 innings.

Anthony Banda Begins Rehab Assignment

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Rays left-hander Anthony Banda, on the mend from June 2018 Tommy John surgery, will begin a rehab assignment at the High-A level Sunday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweets.

Now 25, Banda isn’t far removed from a run as a well-regarded prospect. When Banda’s previous team, the Diamondbacks, promoted him to the majors for the first time in July 2017, he was seen as one of the game’s top 100 farmhands. Banda threw 25 2/3 innings with the Diamondbacks that year before they sent him to the Rays in a three-team trade centering on outfielder Steven Souza in February 2018.

In his first year with the Rays, Banda turned in effective results before going under the knife. He logged a 3.64 ERA/3.29 FIP with 10.50 K/9 and 3.86 BB/9 across 42 innings and eight appearances (all starts) at Triple-A Durham. Banda also picked up a bit more major league experience, notching a 3.68 ERA/3.30 FIP with 6.14 K/9 and 1.84 BB/9 over 14 2/3 frames (three appearances, one start).

Should he return this season, Banda could be a reinforcement for the playoff-contending Rays’ pitching staff – whether as a starter, opener or reliever. The club has a 2 1/2-game lead on the American League’s top wild-card spot, and also figures to welcome breakout righty Tyler Glasnow back from the injured list in the coming weeks.

Latest On Rays’ Pitching Staff

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Traditionalists may never fully embrace the approach, but it’s hard to argue with the results: through a quarter of the season, the Rays’ pitching staff has been lights out. By design, it’s a fluid and ever-evolving mix of hurlers. Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times provides an update on some particularly important arms for the AL East-leading team.

Most notably, prospect Brent Honeywell has encountered another hurdle in his effort to return from Tommy John surgery. He’s only slated for a week-long shutdown for nerve irritation in his right elbow, but this isn’t the first setback. The fact that Honeywell’s road back hasn’t been perfectly smooth doesn’t mean he won’t make it, but it does add to the uncertainty and bump back his timeline.

In Topkin’s assessment, the Tampa Bay front office won’t be able to consider Honeywell as a MLB option until July or August. He’s obviously going to be handled with plenty of caution given his high-ceiling billing and hiccups to this point. Honeywell is going to need a full arm build-up and even then will need to show he’s fully ready for the majors, having never yet pitched in the bigs. No doubt the Rays will keep a close eye on his workload even when he is ready for game action. Honeywell hasn’t yet topped 140 innings in a professional season and already missed all of 2018.

Clearly, then, Honeywell won’t be stepping into the opening in the rotation created when Tyler Glasnow hit the injured list recently. Nobody will, in fact. Skipper Kevin Cash tells Topkin that the club won’t tap a third starter, even on an interim basis. Rather, the club will continue to piece things together on a day-to-day basis behind rotation pieces Blake Snell and Charlie Morton.

Topkin warns not to expect any major acquisitions to plug the openings. Fortunately, Glasnow is said to be looking at an absence of only four to six weeks. That’s about as good an outlook as might have been hoped for when he left with forearm tightness. The injury might knock the 25-year-old out of surprise Cy Young contention, but hopefully won’t spoil his breakout season.

Plus, there are some other hurlers working back. Reliever Hunter Wood is close to being an option again for the MLB roster after hitting the IL with a shoulder issue, though he may take at least one more rehab outing. Wood showed an intriguing 18.0% swinging-strike rate in 6 1/3 innings to open the year. Former top prospect Jose De Leon is ready to move his rehab work to the highest level of the minors after a pair of High-A outings. Given his long and arduous rehab process, the odds are he’ll be given some time to work at Triple-A even when his assignment is up (which must occur on or before June 2nd). There’s no word yet on when Anthony Banda will be ready to begin his own rehab assignment after undergoing Tommy John surgery last June, but he was reportedly throwing from a mound late last month.

Anthony Banda To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

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Rays lefty Anthony Banda will undergo Tommy John surgery, according to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (via Twitter). Given the typical year-plus recovery timeline for this procedure, Banda will likely miss the remainder of the current season and most or all of 2019.

Banda came to Tampa Bay over the offseason as a key part of the three-team swap that sent outfielder Steven Souza to the Diamondbacks. He had turned into a notable prospect in the Arizona system, which he joined along with Mitch Haniger following the 2014 deadline deal that sent Gerardo Parra to the Brewers.

With the news, Banda will join another recent top pitching prospect acquired in a significant, relatively recent trade — Jose De Leon — on the road to a return from a TJ procedure. De Leon will surely hope to be ready at some point relatively early in the 2019 season. It’s certainly not out of the realm of possibility that Banda will be able to join him late next year, though of course the Rays will surely exercise caution.

In weighing a timeline, it’s also worth bearing in mind that Banda is still not established at the game’s highest level. The 24-year-old southpaw struggled in his first taste of the majors last year, but gave the Rays 14 2/3 useful innings this year, over which he allowed six earned runs while compiling ten hits against three walks. Banda also showed a health (95.4 mph average) heater, up from his numbers in 2017.

In truth, Banda’s limited MLB showing isn’t yet sufficient to draw any conclusions about his future. He has pitched well this year at Triple-A, though, after putting up middling numbers there in 2017. Through 42 frames over eight starts, he owns a 3.64 ERA with 10.5 K/9, 3.9 BB/9, and a 38.4% groundball rate.

The move puts another dent in Tampa Bay’s rotation depth, both for the present season and beyond. More immediately, the organization has at least finally welcomed Nathan Eovaldi back. And Yonny Chirinos is also off of the DL, though he has been optioned to Triple-A despite a solid start in his season in the majors.

Rays Notes: Archer, Banda, Pitching, Mariners, Trades

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Here’s the latest from Tropicana Field…

  • Chris Archer will undergo an MRI on Monday to determine the extent of his injured groin, he told MLB.com’s Erik Erickson and other reporters.  The injury cropped up during Archer’s start on Saturday, and the Rays ace said the problem was still bothering him today.  Given the timeline, Archer said it was “questionable” whether he’d make his next scheduled start.  Losing Archer would be another blow to a Rays team that has been scrambling for arms due to injuries and their unique usage of regular bullpen days, not to mention the potential impact it could have on Archer’s value as a potential trade chip at the deadline.
  • In further ominous injury news, the Tampa Bay Times’ Marc Topkin reports (Twitter link) that southpaw Anthony Banda will visit with team doctors after being placed on the Triple-A disabled list due to a forearm strain.  Acquired as the primary piece in the three-team trade that sent Steven Souza to the Diamondbacks last offseason, Banda has posted solid numbers at Triple-A this season and also made three MLB appearances for the Rays (one official start and two relief outings behind “openers” Sergio Romo and Ryne Stanek).  Forearm injuries are always cause for concern, particularly since Tampa Bay has already lost youngsters Jose De Leon and Brent Honeywell to Tommy John surgery within the last few months.
  • Rays senior VP of baseball operations Chaim Bloom recently spoke with The Athletic’s Juan Toribio (subscription required) about the team’s controversial “bullpen day” strategy and the usage of relievers to “start” games by pitching an inning before turning things over to a multi-inning pitcher.  Bloom said the front office has been “encouraged” by the results thus far, and very pleased with how the players and coaching staff have bought into the idea.  Despite the relative success thus far, however, Bloom said the Rays won’t necessarily stick with the pitching strategy going forward.  “I think time will tell, but we don’t want to shoehorn a group of players into a certain model just to say that we’re doing it….I think potentially if you have a different group of players with different strengths and weaknesses, you might do something different,” Bloom said. “But what we wanted to get away from was kind of doing the opposite, where I think previously the mindset was that no matter what the strength and weaknesses are of our player group, we’re going to force them to be in the so-called traditional model. We wanted to take an approach of, let’s assess the strengths and weaknesses of our group, and then try and figure out a way to build this in a way that gives them the best chance.”
  • The recent deal that sent Denard Span and Alex Colome to Seattle stands out as perhaps the biggest of the nine trades between the Rays and Mariners since Jerry Dipoto became Seattle’s GM in September 2015.  The close relationship between Dipoto and Rays GM Erik Neander plays a large role, though Topkin expands on that topic as part of a larger piece about how Tampa Bay approaches trades in general.  For instance, the Rays send several scouts to analyze another team’s player (or players) to get a variety of opinions before targeting someone in talks.  The club also puts a particular focus on scouting the lower levels of the minors to find hidden gems; several players acquired from the Mariners, in fact, have been unheralded names who eventually cracked the big leagues.

Rays To Promote Anthony Banda

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The Rays are set to call up pitching prospect Anthony Banda, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Topkin notes that it’s not yet clear whether the left-hander will merely be the 26th man for Saturday’s doubleheader or if he’ll be earning a longer look at the MLB level.

The centerpiece in the surprising trade in which Tampa Bay traded Steven Souza Jr. to the Diamondbacks, Banda has gotten off to a strong start in Triple-A Durham this season. Through 36 innings, the 24-year-old has posted a 44-to-16 K/BB ratio (11.0 K/9, 4.0 BB/9) with a 42.1 percent ground-ball rate and just one homer allowed. The resulting 3.50 ERA is bloated to an extent by a .375 average on balls in play behind Banda, with metrics like FIP (2.72) and xFIP (3.25) providing a more bullish outlook on his performance.

It won’t be the first MLB look for Banda, who pitched in eight games for the Diamondbacks in 2018 but struggled to a near-6.00 ERA in that small sample of work. The former top 100 prospect — Baseball America ranked him 88th heading into 2017 — had a rough season in both Triple-A and the Majors last year, but he’s looked much more like the 2016 version of himself so far with his new club.

Whether this proves to be a spot start or a longer-term audition for Banda, it’s hard to argue that he won’t have a crack at stepping into the team’s rotation at some point this season. The Rays entered the year planning to utilize a four-man rotation (Chris Archer, Jake Faria, Blake Snell and Nathan Eovaldi) with the would-be fifth slot in the pitching order being a “bullpen day” each week. However, Eovaldi was hurt early on in the season and has yet to pitch at the big league level.

Meanwhile prospects Brent Honeywell and Jose De Leon were lost for the season due to Tommy John surgery, while right-hander Yonny Chirinos, who’d stepped up as the fourth starter in place of Eovaldi, is now out for a month himself. Whether in a traditional starting role or in a hybrid capacity on the team’s bullpen days, Banda should earn a chance to prove that he can be a fixture on the Tampa Bay pitching staff for years to come in the near future.

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