Anthony Banda To Miss Months With Significant Lat Strain

The Twins placed left-hander Anthony Banda on the 15-day injured list today. Right-hander Cody Laweryson was recalled as the corresponding move. Manager Derek Shelton tells Matthew Leach of MLB.com that Banda’s injury is significant, with his recovery to take months rather than weeks.

Banda, 32, was acquired from the Dodgers in a February trade. He has thrown 34 1/3 innings for the Twins with a 4.46 earned run average. His 21.2% strikeout rate and 9.6% walk rate are both pretty close to league average.

He’s not the most dominant relief arm in the league but it’s a notable loss for Minnesota regardless. They traded away most of their bullpen at last year’s deadline, with Jhoan Duran, Griffin Jax, Louis Varland, Brock Stewart and Danny Coulombe all shipped out of town. They didn’t do much to bolster the group coming into 2026 and, predictably, their bullpen has been one of the worst in the league. Minnesota’s relievers have a collective 5.45 ERA on the year, highest in the majors.

Despite that shaky bullpen, the club is hanging around in the weak American League playoff race. Their 40-45 record isn’t much to look at but the Twins are nonetheless just two games back of a playoff spot at the moment. While an injury to a pitcher with a 4.46 ERA might not be notable at first glance, it takes on extra significance when considering the larger roster picture and playoff race. As they try to keep the season afloat, Taylor Rogers and Kody Funderburk now make up the club’s southpaw relief contingent.

For Banda personally, it’s potentially going to impact his career. He was already a fringe roster guy, depending on the roster. He was part of the Dodgers’ playoff squad last year but struggled in the postseason. The Dodgers tendered him an arbitration contract for 2026, agreeing to a $1.625MM salary, but then designated him for assignment in February. That led to the aforementioned trade to the Twins.

The Twins can retain Banda for 2027 via arbitration but it’s fair to wonder if they will do so. As mentioned, Banda’s numbers have been more passable than great this year. He’s now going to miss a good chunk of the second half. There are only three months left in the season, so it’s entirely possible he doesn’t make it back from this injury before the offseason. In the arbitration system, player salaries almost never go down, so the Twins likely have to decide if Banda is worth a slight raise.