Twins Cut Minor League Catcher Derek Bender For Pitch Tipping

Twins Cut Minor League Catcher Derek Bender For Pitch Tipping

Now, this is crazy! The Minnesota Twins’ Single-A affiliate, The Fort Myers Mighty Mussels, cut catcher Derek Bender for tipping pitches, ESPN MLB insiders Jeff Passan and Kiley McDaniel reported this week.

For any baseball novice who may be reading, this means that he was telling the opposing team’s batters what pitches to expect before they were thrown–giving batters a clear advantage as the element of surprise is taken out of the game.

News: The Minnesota Twins released catcher Derek Bender, their sixth-round pick this year, after he tipped minor league opponents the pitch that was coming during at-bats of a game with playoff implications, sources told me and @kileymcd.

Details at ESPN: https://t.co/mTZYiOXoE4

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) September 13, 2024

Why Did He Do It?

To add insult to injury, Derek Bender was caught doing this in a game that had playoff implications. This fiasco occurred on the second day of a doubleheader against the division rival Lakeland Flying Tigers, the Detroit Tigers’ Single-A affiliate. As a result of Bender’s actions, the Flying Tigers won 6-0, eliminating the Mighty Mussels from playoff contention. According to Passan, Bender “told teammates that he did this because he wanted the season to be over.” Well, with this kind of attitude, his season and career may be over indefinitely. 

Lakeland players had told their coaches, who then, told Fort Myers coaches. We should commend the Flying Tigers players and staff for their honesty in the situation; Derek Bender spent the last two games of the year in the dugout. Hell, he should have spent them at home on the couch.

Bender was a sixth-round pick (No. 188 overall) of the 2024 MLB draft. In 19 games for the Mighty Mussels, Derek Bender hit .200/.273/.333 with two home runs and eight RBIs. Before the draft, he played college ball at Coastal Carolina, where he hit .326/.408/.571 with 32 homers and 153 RBIs in 144 career games.

Acknowledge Jose Ramirez

Neither Bender nor the Minnesota Twins organization commented on the situation. Bender signed for $297,500, and he will keep his bonus, per sources. I think his (and everyone else’s) contract should include a clause that voids payment if a player directly sabotages their team.

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