The Yankees had an open spot on their 26-man roster Saturday night, unable to get another pitcher to the West Coast after Aroldis Chapman went to the IL with a leg infection.
Well, that spot was filled from outside the organization on Sunday, as the team announced they have signed LHP Anthony Banda to a major-league deal and added him to the roster.
To make room on the 40-man roster, RHP Luis Gil was called up from Triple-A and placed on the 60-day injured list.
Banda, 29, is 1-1 with a 5.88 ERA over 26 innings in 30 games (one start) with Pittsburgh and Toronto this season. He was most recently with Seattle, who signed him to a minor-league deal earlier this month but released him on Saturday.
Over parts of six MLB seasons with Arizona, Tampa Bay, the Mets, Pittsburgh, and Toronto, the lefty is 706 with a 5.43 ERA and one save in 78 games (six starts). He has never been a Yankee until Sunday but was involved in a Yankees deal: he was one of the players sent from Arizona to Tampa Bay in the February 2018 three-team deal that brought Brandon Drury to New York.
The Yankees played a pitcher short on Saturday due to Chapman’s injury, and while they expect Clay Holmes to be activated off the IL Monday as soon as eligible, Banda, who last pitched at Triple-A Tacoma on August 19, will likely be counted on to provide some length if needed behind Sunday starter Clarke Schmidt.
The Bombers could still be a little short in the bullpen Sunday despite the addition, as Ron Marinaccio threw 32 pitches Saturday, Jonathan Loaisiga has pitched two days in a row, and Lucas Luetge threw 44 pitches on Thursday. If all three of those hurlers are unavailable, the Yankees would have Banda, Lou Trivino (who was on the mound at the end of Saturday's game), Wandy Peralta, Greg Weissert, and Luke Bard - who has yet to appear since being called up earlier this week - available behind Schmidt.
Gil underwent Tommy John surgery earlier this year and will be sidelined until mid-2023 at the earliest.
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