A Twins minor leaguer — and 2024 MLB Draft pick — lost his job after he was caught tipping pitches to an opposing team.
Catcher Derek Bender was playing with the Twins’ Single-A affiliate, the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels, in the Florida State League when he was cut after it was discovered that he was telling batters on the other team what pitches were about to be thrown, ESPN reported on Tuesday.
The incident occurred during a game against the Lakeland Flying Tigers last week that Fort Myers lost, eliminating the team from playoff contention.
Bender reportedly told several batters during the second game of a doubleheader on Sept. 6 the exact pitches that starter Ross Dunn was going to throw.
Flying Tigers coaches notified members of the Mighty Mussels coaching staff about what Bender had been doing after the game, and his actions were so brazen that they even surprised players on the Lakeland squad.
Bender also told teammates he wanted the season to be over, sources told ESPN.
The loss allowed Lakeland to take the Florida State League West Division.
The Mighty Mussels won their final two games of the season, but Bender spent those final two contests in the bullpen instead of the dugout.
Bender, 21, was selected in the sixth round of July’s draft out of Coastal Carolina.
He signed for $297,500.
During his 19 games with the Mighty Mussels, he batted .200/.273/.333 with two home runs and eight RBIs.
Bender had gathered with his friends and family to watch the draft in July to see where he would begin his professional baseball career.
“This was probably one of the longest days of my life up until this point,” Bender told My Horry News. “Nothing prepares you for that moment. The rise of emotion that I got just being around everybody… today isn’t just about me. It’s about my parents, my family, friends and coaches, everyone who has gotten me to this point. It was awesome to see them excited. Even that brought out so many more awesome emotions.”
Bender hit 32 homers with a .979 OPS over three seasons with Coastal Carolina.
In 2023, he was named a semifinalist for the Dick Houser Trophy, which is awarded to the top player in college baseball by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.