Three relievers who were off the Dodger radar last year are now part of the 26-man roster
by Cary Osborne
Veteran Anthony Banda’s locker is next to rookie Ben Casparius in the Dodgers’ clubhouse. It’s two pitchers with much different Major League stories.
They’re connected, though.
Both pitchers, despite being basically off the radar this time last year, ended up pitching in the World Series for the Dodgers. Now they are bullpenmates on the Dodgers’ home Opening Day roster — just as they were in Tokyo for Opening Day last week.
“This one’s a little different,” Banda said.
Banda, who made his Major League debut in 2017, was on an active roster on one other Opening Day — 2023 with the Washington Nationals. After 10 games with the Nationals, he was sent to the Minor Leagues with a 6.43 ERA. Things were more difficult with Triple-A Columbus where he ended the season with a 7.58 ERA.
His first Opening Day experience was seeming more and more like it might be his last.
“At one point I was already getting ready to hang him up,” Banda admits. “(But) it was just that little guy inside was like, ‘Hey, let’s keep going. Keep going.’ That’s a good way to put it — I was just trying to survive.”
The Dodgers scooped him up last May 17 from Cleveland for cash considerations and his fortune changed.
The left-hander appeared in 48 regular season games for the Dodgers and was often used as a lefty neutralizer (he limited left-handed batters to a .552 OPS and no home runs in 87 matchups). Then he appeared in 10 postseason games — including four scoreless outings in the World Series.
Now at 31 years old and in his 10th MLB season, Opening Days (in Tokyo and Dodger Stadium) are his reward and the reinforcement of the Dodgers’ belief in the veteran.
“I’m very grateful for the fact that I have another opportunity to have an Opening Day, to be able to be on a team, to be able to contribute the way I can, and just to continuously go forward,” Banda said.
His lockermate had a much shorter wait to get on an Opening Day roster. But considering where Casparius started last year and the competition in this year’s Spring Training, it’s fair to say he overcame large odds in the last year.
“I knew it was kind of going to be a bloodbath (in Spring Training) with the amount of talent we had to crack the roster,” Casparius said.
Manager Dave Roberts said at numerous points last season that he didn’t know Casparius’ name before the season began. Now he says he’s basically a seasoned veteran.
The right-hander was a two-way player until his junior year in college. But he was primarily a position player to that point. The Dodgers selected him in the fifth round of the 2021 MLB Draft, and he quietly climbed up the system. The Dodgers brought him up to his Major League debut on Aug. 31.
The incredible ascent took him to the mound in Game 4 of the World Series, starting for the Dodgers in Yankee Stadium.
Casparius said if he can handle the nerves of that game, then he can do the same on Opening Day. The honor of making the roster is not lost on him, though.
“I’m super grateful for it, and it makes you really appreciate your time on the field,” Casparius said. “I’m not taking anything for granted. Just putting on a uniform every day is really special to me.”
Casparius started talking about the various journeys of all the Major Leaguers in the Dodger clubhouse — how each is special in its own way. Then he pointed to Jack Dreyer.
The left-hander, with a locker across the room from Casparius and Banda, was promoted to the Dodger 40-man roster in November. Dreyer, like Casparius, had also been absent from most prospect lists.
He had Tommy John surgery in 2021 at the University of Iowa. The Dodgers signed him as an undrafted free agent that year.
The Dodgers, though, like Dreyer’s consistent strike-throwing and fastball. The son of former Major League pitcher Steve Dreyer made his MLB debut March 19 in relief against the Cubs during the Tokyo Series.
There, Roberts informed him he would be on the Dodger Stadium Opening Day roster. Dodger pitching coach Mark Prior recorded the interaction on video.
“Jack got really emotional,” Roberts recalled.
“Every single guy has a journey, and there’s obviously a lot of adversity for everybody,” Dreyer said. “But you know, I was undrafted, then with TJ and having to rehab, never on any of the prospect boards. So it’s a cool experience to be able to get to the top when so much of it feels as though I really had to earn it. And so that’s why I’m so thankful for the Dodgers.”
For a handful of Dodgers, Opening Day hits a little different was originally published in Dodger Insider on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.