The Philadelphia Phillies are limping towards the All-Star break with a beleaguered bullpen. Multiple underperforming starting pitchers have led the team to rely heavily upon their relief corps, and they’ve cycled in another fresh arm by recalling left-hander Tanner Banks ahead of Saturday’s series opener against the Kansas City Royals.
The Phillies acquired Banks from the Chicago White Sox at the 2024 trade deadline in a deal for prospect William Bergolla. His excellent 3.07 ERA across 69 games last year led many to believe that he could be one of the Phils' top setup options coming into 2026, but so far he’s been anything but.
The funky left-hander has been a major disappointment this year for a team that can ill-afford it. In 27 ⅔ big league innings thus far, Banks has registered a vile 5.86 ERA while surrendering 40 hits and 13 walks. Things got so bad that the Phillies demoted him to Triple-A Lehigh Valley the day after they did the same to former top prospect Andrew Painter.
Unfortunately, no one has stepped up in his stead. The bullpen currently boasts southpaws Tim Mayza, Kyle Backhus and José Alvarado. Mayza has been excellent in 34 appearances, while Backhus and Alvarado both have ERAs hovering around the 6.00 mark. That cumulative production simply isn’t good enough for a team with World Series aspirations, and president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski will need to consider trading from his paperthin prospect pool to address this new weakness.
The Phillies are hoping Tanner Banks can help their ailing bullpen ahead of second half
Hopefully the addition of Banks will help out the struggling lefty contingent, but there aren’t any signs pointing in that direction. The 34-year-old has posted a brutal 6.23 ERA in four contests for the Ironpigs. In all likelihood, this promotion will be a short-lived band-aid to help get the club through to the upcoming All-Star break with a fresh arm.
Phillies will recall lefty Tanner Banks to add to the bullpen mix this weekend, a source said. They are off Friday because of soccer in Kansas City. https://t.co/pTUYRKA4VO
— Matt Gelb (@MattGelb) July 3, 2026
Banks’ roster spot comes courtesy of swingman Alan Rangel, who was optioned to Lehigh Valley on Thursday after starting that day’s series finale against the Pirates in which he fired four scoreless innings. The 28-year-old Rangel has done yeoman’s work while riding the shuttle between Triple-A and the majors, working to a 3.38 ERA across four appearances with the parent club.
The Mexican hurler was thrust into service after Andrew Painter lit his first major league opportunity on fire, and performed much better than the former top prospect did. Rangel will likely be back up in the majors after the All-Star break, as the three-day respite will allow the Phillies to reset their rotation and give some much needed rest to a bullpen that has been ridden hard and put away wet.
The abnormal Friday off day that has allowed for the Rangel/Banks swap came courtesy of the FIFA World Cup’s Colombia vs. Ghana match, which is taking place in Kansas City. After the Phils wrap up their series with the Royals, they’ll head to Cincinnati for three games against the Reds, and finish out the week with three more in Detroit against the Tigers before finally getting the much-needed break for All-Star festivities.
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