Early in the 2024 season, the Los Angeles Dodgers acquired Anthony Banda from the Cleveland Guardians for cash considerations.
At the time of the deal, Banda had pitched 118.2 innings over his career with a 5.69 ERA, 4.35 FIP, 1.63 WHIP, 8.27 strikeouts per nine and 3.72 walks per nine.
But with the Dodgers, Banda ended up becoming a key high-leverage arm in their bullpen, posting a 3.08 ERA, 3.67 FIP and 1.25 WHIP in 49.2 innings while striking out 9.06 hitters per nine and walking 3.26.
Banda is not the first success story for the Dodgers as they have often got the most out of players whom other teams had already given up on.
Along with Banda, Evan Phillips, Michael Kopech, Ryan Brasier and Blake Treinen all had down years before joining the Dodgers and breaking out.
Their ability to find gems is a credit to both their front office and the coaching staff for being able to help the player implement the changes necessary for them to succeed.
“I think that’s what’s so special about the Dodgers,” Banda said. “They see what others see and they exploit the strength in individuals. I think it has a lot to do with the understanding and the communication from coach to player, player to coach.
“Their biggest message when I first got here was, just be yourself. I think that translates into the communication part of it where they can understand us as players better. That way they could turn around and voice whatever it is they need to exploit as far as with pitches or movement types or anything else like that.
“I think that’s what they do very well here, given the fact that all the analytics stuff and everything else like that to back that up. But I think that’s the biggest reason.”
After the Dodgers acquired Banda, they re-worked his slider, focusing more on the pronation of his arm. They also used a slow-motion camera to help him visually see the changes needed to be made.
After working with the coaches, Banda’s stuff+, which measures physical characteristics of each pitch including, vertical and horizontal movement, release point, pitch velocity and spin rate, ticked up.
The Dodgers should continue to rely on Banda as one of their key relievers in 2025, and they still have three years of team control over the southpaw.
Anthony Banda avoids arbitration with new contract
Banda and the Dodgers were able to avoid arbitration this offseason by agreeing to a one-year, $1 million contract for the 2025 season. It was Banda’s first time being arbitration eligible.
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