Some of the Philadelphia Phillies’ trade deadline additions last season will not return to the club in 2025. Outfielder Austin Hays is a free agent after being non-tendered by the organization this offseason.

Closer Carlos Estévez is a free agent and unlikely to be re-signed by the Phillies. Setup man Jeff Hoffman recently signed with the Toronto Blue Jays and will not return to Philadelphia. Jordan Romano agreed to a one-year deal earlier this winter and looks to be Philly’s closer with spring training due to commence in mid-February.

Philadelphia acquired Tanner Banks from the Chicago White Sox for prospect shortstop William Bergolla at last season’s deadline. Following the trade of left-hander Gregory Soto to the Baltimore Orioles at the end of July, the club replaced him with the former Chicago pitcher.

The 33-year-old went 0-1 with a 3.70 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP in 22 contests following the trade to Philly. Banks had 23 strikeouts and 10 walks. During Game 1 of the National League Divisional Series versus the New York Mets, he allowed one earned run and two hits, and finished with two strikeouts in one inning. He did not pitch in the other three contests during the series.

If the Phillies do not add any more relievers via trade or free agency before the start of the regular season, Banks is projected to be an option for manager Rob Thomson to use in the mid-to-late innings.

Let’s look further into Banks’ potential role with the Phillies bullpen in 2025.

Banks is one of three left-handed relievers in the Phillies bullpen with a key role during the upcoming season

Philadelphia has two other experienced left-handers returning this year, José Alvarado and Matt Strahm. The duo, and emerging youngster Orion Kerkering, are likely to assume more late-inning work over Banks.

However, that could change if Banks performs well and any of the other top relievers struggle or deal with injuries. Steamer predicts Strahm will not do as well in 2025 as in previous seasons. In that case, Thomson may have no other choice but to use the Riverton, Utah, native in the late innings in preparation for using Romano in the ninth inning to save games.

Banks is not an ideal option for the Phillies to use as a closer consistently. He has only eight career save opportunities and three saves during his three years in the majors. He played in a career-high 63 games between his time with Chicago and Philadelphia last year.

At the time of the trade, Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski commented on why the organization decided to trade for the left-hander.

“We’ve liked Banks for a long time,” Dombrowski said, per MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki. “Our people have pushed for him. We like his stuff. He’s really been effective vs. left-handed hitters this year. He’s been one of the best pitchers in Major League Baseball in that regard, so we thought he was a better fit for our bullpen, at this time, than Soto was.”

If Alvarado or Strahm have already been used or are unavailable in a regular season game, Thomson will use Banks if more left-handed batters are due up in an opponent’s lineup. The former White Sox can earn more work as the Phillies setup man in 2025, beginning with a strong spring training.