The Pirates designated Banda for assignment Monday.
Banda was booted off the 40-man roster and 26-man active roster with the Pirates needing to clear room for right-hander Miguel Yajure, who was called up from Triple-A Indianapolis to start Monday's game in Washington. Over his 23 appearances with Pittsburgh this season, Banda had languished in a middle-relief role, turning in a 6.41 ERA and 1.98 WHIP in 19.2 innings.