Why Phillies reliever Tanner Banks shaved his mustache amid struggles: ‘Just gotta switch up the mojo sometimes’
PHILADELPHIA — Tanner Banks took the mound at Miami’s loanDepot park with a new look. For three seasons and 104 outings in a Phillies uniform, Bank’s appearance was complete with a signature mustache. But amid a rough start to 2026, he arrived at the ballpark on Monday with a clean shave.
”Just gotta switch up the mojo sometimes,” Banks said Tuesday inside the Phillies’ clubhouse at Citizens Bank Park.
Banks, 34, was traded to Philadelphia at the 2024 deadline, and he emerged as one of the club’s most reliable left-handed relievers last season. The prototypical eccentric southpaw, Banks had a 3.07 ERA in 69 games in 2025, putting his quirky personality and crafty arsenal on display. However, he struggled out of the bullpen to start this year, with a 6.57 ERA through his first 13 games.
Hoping to alter the energy, Banks shaved off the facial hair that became part of his on-field persona at the team hotel on Sunday night.
”It’s kind of like an identity I created within baseball,” Banks said, “and I just decided it was time to refresh and change it up a little bit.”
The pitcher said he was recently watching a YouTube video posted by a psychologist — ”whether she was a self-proclaimed psychologist or an actual psychologist, I don’t know,” he added with a laugh — who suggested that a shift in grooming could “change the flow of things.” Banks debated between getting a haircut or shaving the ‘stache. He landed on the latter.
Banks removed his mustache in stages. Keeping it at a pretty consistent seven-millimeter length over the years, he first took it down to five millimeters. Then he trimmed it down again. He flirted with a pencil mustache. Then he ditched it all together.
Those around the Phillies took notice immediately.
“Everyone’s said something about it,” Banks said. “Here we are.”
Banks himself has had to adjust to the new reality. His family joined him on the road trip, and they went out for breakfast in Miami on Monday morning. After his 4-year-old ordered a bagel, Banks went for a bit and noticed that one of his problems was no longer an issue.
”I went to wipe and I realized I didn’t have cream cheese all over my mustache,” Banks said.
For Banks, the hope was that a new start could help. And at the very least, his first appearance without the mustache was a success. He threw a scoreless seventh inning in the Phillies’ 1-0 win over the Marlins on Monday, his first 1-2-3 outing since April 7. José Alvarado tossed a lights-out eighth. It was a strong showing for two lefty relievers who haven’t pitched well so far in 2026.
“Obviously, big outs from Banksy,” interim manager Don Mattingly, who famously sported a mustache during his superstar playing career, said. “And José was just filthy yesterday. He was throwing really good, on the attack. So happy, obviously, with both guys, and really been confident with both of them.”
The Phillies (15-20) have responded well to their own reset in the past week. The organization fired manager Rob Thomson last Tuesday, and the team has gone 6-1 under Mattingly. The schedule has certainly been favorable. But the Phillies shook things up, and they’ve found better results since.
Perhaps it will go similarly for the freshly shaven Banks.
“Sometimes it’s letting go of certain things — not even related to the mojo, per se,” Banks said. “But just refreshing and giving new starts to things, however it may be.”
Duran off the IL
Closer Jhoan Duran (oblique) was reinstated from the 15-day injured list on Tuesday, the Phillies announced. Right-hander Trevor Richards was traded to the Chicago White Sox in exchange for cash considerations to make room on the active roster.
Duran has a 1.35 ERA with five saves in seven appearances this season.