Twins release Minor League catcher Derek Bender

MINNEAPOLIS -- The Twins released Minor League catcher Derek Bender on Friday, a day after a report emerged on ESPN that the 21-year-old had been informing opposing hitters of the pitches being thrown during at-bats in the game that eliminated Class A Fort Myers from playoff contention.

Sources confirmed the accuracy of the report, which indicated that Bender was informing hitters of pitches during a Sept. 6 game between the Mighty Mussels and the Lakeland Flying Tigers, the Class A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. Fort Myers lost that game, 6-0, after starting pitcher Ross Dunn allowed four runs in 1 2/3 innings.

The Twins did not have any official comment on the matter, with a team spokesman indicating only that Bender had been released from the organization on Friday.

Bender had been the Twins’ sixth-round Draft selection this past July out of Coastal Carolina, signing with the organization for a bonus of $297,500 before he was activated to the Fort Myers roster on Aug. 6. He hit .200/.273/.333 with two homers and two doubles in 19 games and did not appear in the Mighty Mussels’ final two games of the season.

According to the ESPN report, Bender had noted to teammates that he wanted the season to be over, and the Twins learned of the pitch tipping through members of the Lakeland coaching staff, with the situation moving up to the upper levels of the Minnesota front office thereafter.

That Sept. 6 game had been the final loss in a seven-game losing streak that dropped the Mussels out of playoff contention.