Anthony Banda

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Frank Anthony Banda

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Biographical Information[edit]

Pitcher Anthony Banda was drafted twice, first by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 33rd round in 2011, out of high school, and again by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 10th round in 2012, out of San Jacinto College. The scout was Brian Sankey. He began his pro career in 2012 with the AZL Brewers, going 2-3, 5.83 in 14 games. He spent 2013 with the Helena Brewers of the Pioneer League, where he was 3-4, 4.45 in 14 games. He took a major step forward in 2014, when he was a combined 9-6, 3.03 in 26 games in the Midwest League. He started off with the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, then moved to the South Bend Silver Hawks after being traded to the Diamondbacks, along with Mitch Haniger, in return for outfielder Gerardo Parra on July 31. After the trade, he was 3-0, 1.54 in 6 starts for South Bend.

He spent 2015 in Class A with the Visalia Oaks of the California League, where he was 8-8, 3.32 and struck out 152 batters in 151 1/3 innings. He continued his steady progression in 2016 when he was assigned to the Mobile Bay Bears of the Double A Southern League. He was 6-2, 2.12 after 13 starts when he was promoted to the Reno Aces at the end of June. Around that same time, he was named a member of the United States team for the 2016 Futures Game. He ended up the loser in that game, played at Petco Park on July 10, as he entered the top of the 8th with a 4-3 lead, but Raimel Tapia reached on an error by third baseman Alex Bregman and Yoan Moncada followed with a two-run homer to put the World team ahead to stay. Banda finished the year in Triple A with the Reno Aces, going 4-4, 3.67 in 13 starts to finish the year with a combined record of 10-6, 2.88 in 26 starts, logging 150 innings.

He started the 2017 season back at Reno, where he was 7-5, 5.08 in 18 starts. On July 22, he was called up to make his major league debut, starting for Arizona against the Washington Nationals. He was greeted to the bigs by a tape measure homer by Bryce Harper in the 1st, giving up 4 runs in 5 2/3 innings, and was charged with a 4-3 loss. In 8 games for Arizona (4 starts), he went 2-3, 5.96, pitching 25 2/3 innings. On February 20, 2018, he was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays, alongside infield prospect Nick Solak and two players to be named later (pitchers Sam McWilliams and Colin Poche), in return for outfielder Steven Souza. He went 1-0, 3.68 in 3 appearances for the Rays and 4-3, 3.64 in 8 games for the Triple A Durham Bulls, but in early June the team announced that he would have to undergo Tommy John surgery, putting him on the shelf for a year. He returned at the tail end of 2019, posting a 6.75 ERA in 3 big league appearances (4 innings). In 2020, during the season abbreviated by the COVID-19 pandemic, he once again made only a handful of big league outings going 1-0, 10.29 in 4 games and 7 innings. On August 31st that year, he was purchased by the San Francisco Giants from the Rays, but was only at their alternative training site the rest of the season.

On July 2, 2021, he was acquired by the New York Mets in a minor league trade and spent a month with them, going 1-0, 7.36 in 5 games before being claimed off waivers by the Pittsburgh Pirates. He finally some regular action with the Bucs, making 25 appearances out of the bullpen over the final two months of the season and going 1-2, 3.42 while striking out 25 batters in 26 1/3 innings. It seemed like he was finally making good promise on the promise that had made him a top prospect years before, but he then started 2022 poorly and was on the move again. He was 1-0, 6.41 after 23 games with Pittsburgh then was purchased by the Toronto Blue Jays on July 2nd. He made 7 appearances for the Jays, including one as an opener, giving up 3 runs in 6 1/3 innings, but was let go in early August, being signed in turn by the Seattle Mariners and New York Yankees. He pitched in two games for the Yankees at the end of the year, giving up 3 runs in two-third of an inning for an ERA of 40.50. Piecing the three stints together, his record for the year was 1-1, 6.75 in 32 games, with 43 hits allowed in 26 2/3 innings. In 2023, he was mostly in the minors, and in 10 games for the Washington Nationals had an ERA of 6.43 with no decisions in 7 innings of work.

On September 9, 2024, after an outing with the Los Angeles Dodgers against the Chicago Cubs in which he allowed two runs in one inning, he broke his pitching hand by whacking it into a "solid object", as described by manager Dave Roberts. The Dodgers had acquired him from the Cleveland Guardians in May and he had done well in L.A., going 2-2, 3.23 with 2 saves in 46 games, in what was easily his best stretch as a major league pitcher at age 30. He claimed however that he did not do the stupid thing that pitchers sometimes do in frustration, which is to punch a solid wall; instead, he swatted at a paper towel dispenser with the outside of his fist, but somehow managed to hit the object with a weak bone, causing a fracture. He was back to throwing in the bullpen after a couple of weeks and expected to be able to return to action in time for the postseason.

Notable Achievements[edit]

Further Reading[edit]

  • Mike Digiovanna (Los Angeles Times): "Dodgers pitcher Anthony Banda wants to make clear how he broke his hand", Yahoo! Sports, September 22, 2024. [1]

Related Sites[edit]

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