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Groin discomfort to sideline Morris for rest of season

MIAMI -- The discomfort reached the point where the Marlins no longer thought the risk was worth it. So on Friday, reliever Bryan Morris was shut down for the rest of the season.

Morris has dealt with a left groin strain since Aug. 23 at Colorado. The right-hander made four appearances since then, with the last on Sept. 9 at Milwaukee. But the club became concerned watching the setup reliever laboring to field his position.

"He was trying to [gut] it out, and we were trying to protect him and keep his innings limited, pitches limited," manager Mike Redmond said. "His last time in Milwaukee, when he had to come off the mound two or three times to field bunts, it really irritated it. That's it. We need to get this guy healthy."

The Marlins acquired Morris from the Pirates in early June for a Competitive Balance pick in the 2014 First-Year Player Draft.

With Miami, Morris became valuable in a late-inning role, going 4-1 with a 0.66 ERA in 33 appearances, with 36 strikeouts in 40 2/3 innings. Counting his numbers with the Pirates, Morris was 8-1 with a 1.82 ERA in 64 1/3 innings this season.

"He did a great job for us coming over here from Pittsburgh, really stabilizing our bullpen and giving us another big arm down there," Redmond said. "We owe a lot of our success in the second half of the season to him and that bullpen. It's been a big part and will play a big part going forward."

Chris Hatcher and Sam Dyson have assumed more of late-inning roles to go along with A.J. Ramos and Mike Dunn.

Joe Frisaro is a reporter for MLB.com. He writes a blog, called The Fish Pond. Follow him on Twitter @JoeFrisaro.
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