Yohander Méndez

Yohander Manuel Méndez Ortega (born January 17, 1995) is a Venezuelan professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He made his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut in 2016 for the Texas Rangers.

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Méndez and the second or maternal family name is Ortega.
Yohander Méndez
Free agent
Pitcher
Born: (1995-01-17) January 17, 1995
Valencia, Venezuela
Bats: Left Throws: Left
MLB debut
September 5, 2016, for the Texas Rangers
MLB statistics
(through 2019 season)
Win–loss record3–3
Earned run average6.23
Strikeouts33
Teams

Professional career

Méndez signed with the Texas Rangers as an international free agent in July 2011 out of Venezuela for $1.5MM.[1] Mendez made his professional debut in 2012 with the DSL Rangers, posting a 2–1 record with a 1.99 ERA in 45.1 innings. In 2013 he made his stateside debut with the Spokane Indians, posting a 1–2 record with a 3.78 ERA in 33.1 innings. Mendez split the 2014 season between he AZL Rangers and Hickory Crawdads, posting a combined 3–1 record with a 2.70 ERA in 36.2 innings. Mendez spent the entire 2015 season with the Hickory Crawdads, posting a 3–3 with a 2.44 ERA in 66.1 innings. The Rangers added him to their 40-man roster after the 2015 season.[2] Mendez split the 2016 minor league season between the High Desert Mavericks, Frisco RoughRiders, and the Round Rock Express. He posted a combined 12–3 record with a 2.19 ERA in 111 innings. After the trade deadline of the 2016 season, Mendez became the team's no. 2 prospect after the Rangers dealt Luis Ortiz and Lewis Brinson to the Brewers for catcher Jonathan Lucroy.[3]

Méndez was promoted to the Major Leagues during September call-ups on September 2, 2016 after having an ERA of 2.19 as a starter in the minors.[4] He made his Major League debut on September 5 coming out of the bullpen allowing five earned runs while pitching one inning against the Seattle Mariners.[5] He appeared in just two games that September, throwing 3 innings with a 18.00 ERA.

Mendez split the 2017 season between the Frisco RoughRiders and the Rangers. In 24 games (24 starts) with Frisco he posted a 7–8 with a 3.79 ERA in 137.2 innings. In 7 relief outings for the Rangers, he posted a 0–1 record with a 5.11 ERA in 12.1 innings.

Mendez opened the 2018 season with the Round Rock Express. He was on the Rangers active roster when on June 19, he was optioned back to AAA for violating an unspecified team rule after a game in Kansas City the night prior.[6] Mendez was demoted down to the Down East Wood Ducks on June 25, for what the organization called a "reset" on his development.[7] Mendez worked his way back up through AA and AAA, before being recalled to the major league roster on September 2. Mendez posted a combined 2–10 record with a 4.71 ERA in 122.1 innings between the Down East Wood Ducks, Frisco Roughriders, and the Round Rock Express. In 8 games (5 starts) with the Rangers in 2018, Mendez posted a 2–2 record with a 5.53 ERA in 27.2 innings. During the 2018 offseason the Rangers announced that they were given a 4th minor league option on Mendez that would allow them to option him to the minor leagues during the 2019 season.[8] On March 19, 2019, the team announced that Mendez would not need season ending surgery, instead he would be available by midseason.[9] Mendez was placed on the 60-day injured list to open the 2019 season.[10] He returned to Texas on September 5, and finished the season going 1–0 with a 5.79 ERA over ​4 2⁄3 innings. He became a free agent on November 2, 2020.

See also

References
  1. "Yohander Mendez". The Baseball Cube. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
  2. T.R. Sullivan (November 20, 2015). "Rangers set 40-man roster ahead of deadline". MLB.com. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
  3. Bob Nightengale (August 1, 2016). "Aggressive Rangers biggest winners at MLB trade deadline". USA Today. Retrieved 2016-09-05.
  4. "Texas Rangers: Rising pitching prospect among Rangers' first round of September call-ups". The Dallas Morning News. September 1, 2016. Retrieved 2016-09-04.
  5. "Robinson Cano's 32nd homer leads Mariners over Rangers 14–6". FoxSports.com. September 5, 2016. Retrieved 2016-09-05.
  6. Adam J. Morris (June 19, 2018). "Yohander Mendez sent down for violating team rules, per reports". Lone Star Ball. SB Nation. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
  7. Adam J. Morris (June 22, 2018). "Yohander Mendez to high-A, Alex Speas to have Tommy John surgery". Lone Star Ball. SB Nation. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
  8. Adam J. Morris (November 26, 2018). "Yohander Mendez has a fourth option". Lone Star Ball. SB Nation. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
  9. Associated Press (March 19, 2019). "Rangers' Mendez avoids surgery on injured elbow". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
  10. RotoWire Staff (July 26, 2019). "Rangers' Yohander Mendez: Begins rehab stint". CBSSports.com. Retrieved July 27, 2019.
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