Banda will be squeezed out of a rotation role by the Rays' four-man rotation experiment, the Bill Chastain of MLB.com reports.
Banda might be the Rays' fifth-best starter right now, and he'd certainly be in contention for their fifth starter job, but that job is unlikely to exist, at least at the start of the season. Manager Kevin Cash confirmed that the team will run a four-man rotation for at least six weeks and hopefully longer. The added off days in the major-league schedule this season will make a fifth starter less necessary, and the Rays intend to go with a bullpen game whenever they have five games in a row. Banda could be the first pitcher on the mound in those games, but he would be removed after two or three innings and thus would be ineligible for a win. This setup hurts Banda's potential fantasy value, though he's possibly just one injury away from being a member of the Rays' four-man rotation and could still see a decent number of innings as a long man in the team's bullpen.