That caused the story to mostly fizzle out. That is, until Thursday when Bender broke his silence. But before we jump ahead to what the former Twins catcher prospect said in his interview with The Athletic, let’s start with a clip notes version of what happened, so everyone can get caught up to speed.

What’s the story with Derek Bender?

Back on Sept. 6, 2024, Bender and the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels, the Minnesota Twins’ Single-A affiliate, lost their seventh-straight game, this time falling to the Lakeland Flying Tigers, knocking them out of playoff contention.

After the game, Lakeland coaches were told by their players that Bender was telling them what pitches were being thrown by his pitchers. Lakeland coaches then informed the Fort Myers coaching staff after the game. This led to Bender spending the final two games of the season in the bullpen, before being kicked out of the organization.

Here’s a Derek Bender home run, #MNTwins fans pic.twitter.com/XClqdEJrZo

— JD Cameron (@J_D_Cameron) July 15, 2024

During the streak, and in the weeks leading up to the end of the Mighty Mussels’ 2024 season, Bender had been telling teammates about how badly he wanted the summer to be over, even “joking” with that they should let a grounder or two slip under their glove, if that’s what it took to bring the season to an end.

While Bender admits he did want the season to end, he told Blum the comments he made to his teammates were not serious. He was not intentionally trying to throw the game, and while he was desperate for a break from baseball, Derek Bender insists he never did what he is being accused of.

Bender: “A lot of us are coming off of college seasons, coming off of a pretty grueling summer schedule. Then you get there and you’re hitting .200, you’re facing some of the best stuff consistently you’ve ever seen. You’re sinking or swimming, and you’re pretty close to sinking.“

Blum: “You were accused of giving away pitches as they were coming up to bat. Did that happen?”

Bender: “No, and I’ll live with this until the day I die. I never gave pitches away. I never tried to give the opposing team an advantage against my own team.”

The Athletic

The Mussels’ losing streak is important to this story because, prior to their end-of-season debacle, the Mighty Mussels were on pace to make the playoffs. A main part of the accusations stem from Bender’s apparent eagerness to end the 2024 baseball season, which couldn’t happen if the team made the playoffs..

Derek Bender pleads his innocence

Bender originally kept his silence because of advice given by his agency. They didn’t want him to make any comments during an ongoing investigation. Bender took that advice up until the moment he decided to do The Athletic interview.

Related: Minnesota Twins Sign Another Lefty to Compete at Spring Training

If found guilty, Bender will be banned from Major League Baseball for life. That’s why he felt like he had to speak up, even if everyone around him advised against it. In fact, the interview he did with The Athletic cost him a spot with the agency that was representing him.

“It’s about gaining control over my life, and this whole situation. I’m not doing this as a last-ditch effort to get back into affiliate ball. It’s more of this is the start of me taking control of my life again. Because I’ve let this completely control me for months now.”

[Bender’s] primary agent, Jake Rosner, said he was unaware the interview had taken place. And after The Athletic reached out to Rosner to request comment, Octagon dropped Bender as a client.

The Athletic

The Twins were originally willing to keep him as long as he apologized. Bender did, but he didn’t feel like he had anything to apologize for. Minnesota Twins GM Jeremy Zoll led an internal investigation that ultimately led to the team terminating Bender on Sept. 12.

MLB, Minnesota Twins supposedly has hard evidence against Bender

No team or former teammate was willing to speak with The Athletic, on the record. Off the record, however, it was noted that the MLB’s investigation has supposedly found evidence that Bender was giving away his pitchers pitches, but as of now, we do not know what that evidence is.

League sources briefed on the investigation say the inquiry has uncovered evidence against Bender. More than a dozen people have spoken to investigators, including multiple with direct knowledge of the alleged conduct. Notably, there was no video broadcast of the game, despite the other five games in that series being aired. If the league finds he violated the rules, he’d be looking at a permanent ban, with the opportunity to apply for reinstatement after a year.

The Athletic

In 19 games in Fort Myers, he hit .200 with two homers, eight RBIs and five walks. He will be playing independent ball this summer for the Brockton Rox of the Frontier League. He has no ill-will towards the Twins, but he doesn’t feel like they ever had his back throughout the process.

Related: Minnesota Twins Flamethrower Has a New Pitch

This stint with the Rox is a chance at redemption. Bender wants to prove to GMs like Zoll that all he cares about is winning. It might involve a move to first base, as most pitchers will likely be hesitant to throw to him now, but that’s fine with him. He just wants to play. We’ll see if that will ever happen with an MLB affiliate.

Derek Bender turns out to be a loser for the Minnesota Twins

This might be the only time you’ve ever heard of Derek Bender, and it will probably be the last time, at least in the context of professional baseball. A 2024 6th round pick, the Twins gave the Coastal Carolina catcher nearly $300k of their signing bonus pool just a few months ago.

Then… according to reports and personal sources, the professional catcher tanked his career by telling opposing hitters, in a game on September 6, what pitches his pitcher was throwing. ESPN’s Jeff Passan dropped the damning report Thursday night, after the Twins released him Bender.

Bender, a sixth-round draft pick out of Coastal Carolina in July, was playing for the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels, the Twins’ Single-A affiliate. In the second game of a Sept. 6 doubleheader, Bender told multiple hitters for the Lakeland Flying Tigers, a Detroit farm team, the specific pitches being thrown by starter Ross Dunn, sources said.

Jeff Passan on the release of Derek Bender (ESPN)

Ross Dunn is a 10th round pick from the 2023 draft class for Minnesota. This was his first season pitching at the professional level and Bender’s incompetence forced the second shortest start of his career.

It’s like going into a test and being fed the answers. With Bender’s help, the Lakeland Flying Tigers put up 4 runs on 5 hits, in just 1 2/3 innings. This happened while the Mighty Mussels were literally in contention with Lakeland for the final playoff spot.

Related: Minnesota Twins Could Soon Have Baseball’s Best Prospect

The Minnesota Twins took Derek Bender in the sixth round of the 2024 Major League Baseball draft due to his .942 OPS with Coastal Carolina. After not selecting a single catcher during the 2023 draft, they took multiple in 2024. Clearly, Bender was one they should have passed on.

Apparently, Bender had played enough baseball, this season. After dominating at Coastal Carolina, he’s struggled in the Twins organization, since being drafted. In 19 games, he posted a .200 batting average and .606 OPS. It’s hard to believe he will get another professional baseball job, after this.

Fort Myers should have angst towards Derek Bender’s actions

With the 188th overall pick in the sixth round of the MLB draft, the Minnesota Twins have selected @CoastalBaseball slugger Derek Bender.

Possibly the most memorable player I’ve ever covered.pic.twitter.com/vyv5sHtJln

— Mojo Hill (@mojohill22) July 15, 2024

Multiple sources with ties to the Mighty Mussels had no idea about Bender’s episode. There’s a lot of frustration, and even some distaste, coming from those inside the single-A clubhouse.

Related: Minnesota Twins System Explodes in MLB Pipeline Update

A catcher tipping pitchers to the other team is unfathomable, and difficult to comprehend. Multiple teammates were straight-dumbfounded at the entire situation. It remains to be seen what happens for Derek Bender from here on out. It seems unlikely that any professional baseball organization could ever employ him again.