PHOENIX — The Miami Marlins will finish the 2026 season without closer Pete Fairbanks and setup man Anthony Bender, manager Clayton McCullough confirmed, leaving the club to audition relievers for high-leverage roles heading into 2027.
The losses are staggering by the numbers. When Bender went on the injured list June 30 with a right shin stress reaction, the Marlins carried a 3.38 bullpen ERA — fourth best in the National League. Since his absence, that figure has skyrocketed to 5.08, ranking 14th out of 15 NL teams.
“He was having as good a season as really any non-closer in baseball,” McCullough said of Bender. “He had taken a ton of steps this year, especially with how he performed against left-handed hitters. I think that allowed him to be able to be deployed in different, more mixed pockets of a lineup.”
Bender, who dealt with a similar shin injury that ended his 2025 season last August, had been rehabbing with Triple-A Jacksonville before a recent flareup led to the decision to have surgery. “Bender was able to see a doctor, and he’s decided to go through with a surgical procedure,” McCullough said. “And the good thing about that now is it sounds like he’ll be ready for Spring Training when that begins. … I think it’s gonna be something he can put behind him now and go into next year ready to pitch pain-free through an entire season.”
Fairbanks, 32, was placed back on the shelf with the right median nerve irritation that has derailed his entire Marlins tenure. He went on the paternity list April 6 after just four appearances, then hit the injured list weeks later when the nerve issue first surfaced. He returned May 13 but struggled for consistency before landing back on the IL Aug. 28. He returned last week but exited after just six pitches in his second outing back. “Having this is an impossibly frustrating thing to deal with,” Fairbanks said. “Because for the most part, the motor output is there. But everything else, physically or neurologically, whatever the proper word is, it’s just not there.”
“Pete’s pretty bummed out. I’m bummed out for him, for it to come down here to the end of the year,” McCullough said. “But he’ll go get it looked at, get it sorted out, and he’ll be fine.”
The bullpen auditions began in earnest at Chase Field, where seven relievers covered eight frames in a 4-2 win over the D-backs in 11 innings. Rookie right-hander Josh Ekness worked the 10th and 11th for his second career victory. “Phenomenal, phenomenal job to be able to buckle down,” McCullough said. “We had a lot of traffic at times, but we were able to stray a lot of runners on base. But those guys buckled down, put up zeros, allowed us to keep on going until we were able to finally break through.”
McCullough said the Marlins will take a committee approach in save situations for the remainder of the season, with right-handers Calvin Faucher and Michael Petersen among the top options. “We’re not going to designate someone to finish games,” McCullough said. “We just look at using the best people we can to get to that point and then whoever’s left will get that opportunity.” The auditions will continue through the final weeks of the regular season, with Spring Training serving as the next proving ground for a rebuilt bullpen.