Dodgers cut Anthony Banda to make room for catcher Ben Rortvedt

All winter, the Dodgers have been dealing with a 40-man roster crunch.

On Friday, it led to a notable shake-up in their organizational depth chart.

First, recent free-agent infield signing Andy Ibáñez was reportedly claimed off waivers by the Athletics, after he was designated for assignment earlier in the week. Then, the team announced a waiver claim of its own, re-acquiring catcher Ben Rortvedt from the Reds while designating reliever Anthony Banda for assignment in a corresponding move.

The transactions provide some clarity about how the fringes of the team’s opening day roster could look when the season begins next month.

They also mark the departures (or, in Banda’s case, likely departure) of two players who were once expected to be big-league contributors for the two-time defending World Series champions this year –– as well as the return of an unexpected hero from last year’s postseason run.

It was only three weeks ago that the Dodgers signed Ibáñez to a $1.2 million free-agent contract. His addition was supposed to help bolster the club’s infield depth this spring, with second baseman Tommy Edman uncertain for opening day coming off an offseason ankle surgery.

However, Ibáñez was DFA’d this week when the team re-claimed outfielder Michael Siani off waivers from the Yankees (Siani had originally been claimed off waivers by the Dodgers earlier this offseason, but was DFA’d as the corresponding move for Kyle Tucker’s signing in late January).

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In DFA’ing Ibáñez, the Dodgers might have been hoping to slip him through waivers and keep him stashed in the minor leagues as a potential depth option. However, the A’s were willing to take on his contract, ending his Dodgers tenure before he could even report for camp.

The club attempted a similar maneuver earlier this winter with Rortvedt, the backup catcher they initially acquired at last year’s trade deadline and leaned on early in the playoffs while Will Smith was recovering from a hand fracture.

In November, the team quietly agreed to a $1.25 million deal with the arbitration-eligible Rortvedt, then DFA’d him in hopes of sneaking him through waivers and keeping him in the organization. However, the Reds unexpectedly claimed him, leaving former top prospect Dalton Rushing as the team’s only viable backup catching option for 2026.

But things changed again last week, when the Reds DFA’d Rortvedt in order to make room on their roster for free-agent third baseman signing Eugenio Suárez. Thus, the Dodgers scooped Rortvedt back up Friday, bolstering their catching depth with a reliable veteran who started each of their first four playoff games last October.

Because the Dodgers’ 40-man roster is maxed out, re-acquiring Rortvedt forced them to cut someone else loose. Their choice there was Banda, a former journeyman left-hander who emerged as a trustworthy member of the Dodgers bullpen the last two seasons (posting a 3.14 ERA in 119 total appearances) but was also facing stiff competition this spring to make the team’s opening day roster.

The Dodgers already have plenty of left-handed relief depth, with Alex Vesia, Tanner Scott, Jack Dreyer and Justin Wrobleski all also returning from last year’s squad. They added another southpaw, relief prospect Ronan Kopp, to their 40-man roster at the beginning of this offseason, as well.

Thus, the team had considered Banda as a potential trade piece this winter. And now, they will have a week to potentially find a trade partner for him (similar to how they traded another reliever, Ryan Brasier, last offseason after he was DFA’d) before having to put him on waivers.

The Dodgers could also try holding onto Banda, who is signed to a $1.625 million contract this season, and attempt to sneak him through waivers as they did with Rortvedt and Ibáñez previously. But it’s doubtful he would go unclaimed, leaving his chances of remaining with the team –– and finding a new role in their ever-changing roster picture –– slim as spring training approaches.