Rylan Bannon has been getting consistent playing time in the first week and a half of spring. He’s got a chance to crack the Opening Day roster with an injury or two—which always happens in spring. So who is he?
Bannon was drafted by the Dodgers back in 2017 and was part of the massive 2018 trade for Manny Machado on the Baltimore Orioles. Bannon would then make his major league debut with the Orioles in 2022 and was put on waivers and the Dodgers decided they wanted him back. A week later the Braves claimed him from the Dodgers.
At the end of the season, the Cubs claimed him from the Braves, and then three weeks later the Astros claimed him from the Cubs. Pretty impressive to be claimed by four different organizations between August and December.
Rhylan Bannon, Photo by Ed Delany of Metsmerized
Even with all of that movement, Bannon only played in seven major league games between 2022 and 2023 with 21 plate appearances, where he went 2-20 with eight strikeouts. Bannon had a solid 2023 in Triple-A for the Astros though, hitting .241/.360/.449/.809 over 95 games. Bannon has some pop, hitting 18 homers last season and hitting at least 10 every season he’s played in the minors. He also added some steals last season, reaching a career-high of 12 in one season (building on a career-high of 10 in 2022).
Working the count is another big part of Bannon’s game. For five consecutive seasons, he has worked at least 50 walks including 81 walks in 2018 and 63 walks last year.
Rylan Bannon is in Mets camp as third and second base depth (but he is mostly regarded as a third baseman). At the major league level, he has Brett Baty, Mark Vientos and Joey Wendle ahead of him. Then there is an additional group of players on the 40-man and in camp as non-roster invites that can slide between second and third. This is the group that Bannon needs to stand out in.
He’s been getting decent playing time so far—12 plate appearances with three hits (two doubles) and a walk. He’s scored each time he’s reached base. So we’ll see if he can continue to make an impact and in unlikely fashion land on the Opening Day roster.
