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Banks

No word yet on the severity of the strain or how long Banks will be sidelined for. The 34-year-old southpaw holds a troublesome 7.14 ERA, 2.00 WHIP and a 32/13 K/BB ratio over 29 innings in 28 appearances with the Phillies this season.

Banks fortifies Philadelphia’s bullpen with a fresh arm for the rest of their series against the Royals. The 34-year-old lefty has posted an inflated 5.86 ERA across 27 2/3 innings in the big leagues this season.

Banks had a 5.86 ERA in 26 appearances and had allowed an eye-popping 40 hits to go along with 13 walks for a 1.91 WHIP. The 34-year-old still has option years left and will try to get it together with the IronPigs.

The 34-year-old Banks has 253 2/3 career innings with a 3.65 ERA under his belt, but this was just his first time eligible for arbitration and since he’s not a closer, he was resigned to accepting just a little more than 1.5 times the MLB minimum. With the trade of Matt Strahm to Kansas City, Banks should move up the Phillies’ depth chart a bit this year.

Jordan Romano entered the game in the bottom of the ninth to protect a 4-0 lead, but Romano gave up a three-run homer to Nick Kurtz to cut the lead to 4-3. The Phillies had seen enough, so they turned to Banks and he was able to punch out Luis Urias to get the one-out save. Romano’s ERA has ballooned to 8.05 on the season while Banks currently sits at 3.91, and it’s feasible — but far from guaranteed — he could see more chances to close out games.

Banks was starting in place of Taijuan Walker, who also pitched poorly in relief. The Phillies likely won’t rely on either for meaningful innings during the postseason.

It’s Walker’s spot in the rotation, but he won’t get another opportunity to start after giving up eight runs to the Mets on Thursday. Either he or Kolby Allard could follow Banks in the contest, since Banks will likely pitch two innings at the most. One imagines Walker would have to turn in a couple of impressive performances over the next six days to have a shot of making the Phillies’ initial postseason roster.

Banks bolsters Philadelphia’s left-handed relief depth as a low-cost insurance policy and has been excellent as a weapon against southpaws this year. It’s ostensibly a one-for-one swap as the Phillies shipped fellow lefty Gregory Soto out to Baltimore in another deadline deal.

Banks was the surest thing in the White Sox pen, a lefty with a 4.13 ERA in 48 innings this season. He would have been very much in the mix for saves the rest of the way, but he’ll have a lesser role in Philadelphia.