Healthy again, reliever Anthony Bender aims to be a big part of the Marlins' bullpen. The right-hander's consistent effectiveness hinges on staying on the mound.
Anthony Bender was one of the Miami Marlins' best relief pitchers last season.
With a 2.16 ERA over 51 games, the right-hander was only .4 wins behind Ronny Henriquez for the team's most valuable reliever, per Baseball-Reference.com.
Bender was also effective in 2024, although the surface numbers didn't fully show it. His ERA for that season was 4.08, the highest of his career. But his Fielding Independent Pitching -- which measures what a pitcher's ERA would be if defense weren't a factor, for better or worse -- was 2.92.
2025 was the opposite, where Bender had a 2.16 ERA but a 3.62 FIP.
Bender is one of the longest tenured Marlins, having been with the Fish since 2021. Now, he's the topic of our latest Getting to Know the Fish, a series profiling each Miami player.
Height: 6-foot-4
Weight: 205 pounds
Hometown: Petaluma, California
2025: By most measures, Bender's 2025 season was a success.
Unfortunately, it ended in the middle of August with a leg injury.
Injuries have been a recurring theme over Bender's career.
In 2022, Bender appeared in only 22 games, missing time due to back stiffness, and then sustained a right elbow strain in August that ultimately required Tommy John surgery, resulting in the loss of the entire 2023 season.
Therefore, Bender didn't get to contribute to the Marlins' playoff run.
This year's Marlins team has a shot at the playoffs, and Bender is looking to be a part of it.
Where He Stands: If the Marlins' bullpen is to be a strength in 2026, Bender must be effective. The Marlins bolstered the back end of their bullpen by signing Pete Fairbanks, who had 27 saves for the Tampa Bay Rays last season. The Marlins' projected middle relief corps of Bender, Cade Gibson, and Luke Bachar all had ERAs below four last season, with Bedner, Phillips and Gibson all having ERAs below 3.
For Bedner to be at his best, he must be healthy.
“We're going to miss Anthony,” manager Clayton McCullough said after Bednar's season-ending injury in August. “You look at his entire body of work this year, and he really put together a fantastic season. Unfortunate to be missing Anthony."
If the Marlins have Anthony for all of 2026, they'll be better for it.