Marlins reliever Anthony Bender will miss the remainder of the season, manager Clayton McCullough told media (including Kevin Barral of Fish on First). Miami had placed the righty on the 15-day injured list before tonight’s game with a stress reaction in his right tibia.
Bender tossed 50 innings for the Fish this season. He turned in a personal-best 2.16 earned run average despite striking out a career-low 20.6% of opposing hitters. Bender did a solid job keeping the ball on the ground but had a very difficult time missing bats. He got swinging strikes on just 8% of his offerings, also a personal low. Opponents hitting .213 on balls in play was a big factor in his success.
The 30-year-old Bender was nevertheless one of McCullough’s most trusted relievers. He leads the team with 19 holds and trails only Calvin Faucher in appearing in high-leverage situations. Bender had punched out an above-average 26% of batters faced a season ago and was continuing to generate strong bottom line results, so it’s unsurprising he remained one of their top bullpen arms.
Miami fielded trade interest in Bender this summer, with the Padres and Yankees among the teams reportedly in the mix. They ultimately elected to hold onto him. Bender is under arbitration control for another two seasons and will be due a modest raise on this year’s $1.42MM salary. Even with the diminished swing-and-miss rates, it should be an easy decision for the front office to tender him a contract.