Mendez gets a shot. 150 comments

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Yohander Mendez stands near a light pole, awaiting his first start of 2018.

 

The Yohander Mendez era begins today.

Barren of arms in the rotation, and infertile of major-league ready pitching, the Rangers are turning to their number seven prospect, according to MLB Pipeline, for an extended look.

He’s been a September call-up the last two seasons, and was up for the proverbial cup of coffee earlier this year, tossing two-thirds of an inning in relief.

In his ten total major league appearances with the Rangers, Mendez is 0-1 with an ERA of 7.31. He’s given up thirteen earned runs in sixteen total innings. This year at Triple-A Round Rock, in ten starts, Mendez was 0-6 with a matching 5.26 ERA.

But that’s how dire the Rangers pitching system is. And as uninspiring as Mendez’s numbers are and have been, they are brilliant compared to the guy he is replacing in the Rangers rotation, Matt Moore, who has the dubious distinction of being the worst starter in major league baseball two seasons in a row, for two different teams, in two different leagues.

The Rangers had other options, such as Yovani Gallardo, the ever-popular Austin Bibens-Dirkx, or Ariel Jurado. Sure, none of those will instill confidence in a fan or fear in the eyes of an opposing batter, but that is the state of Rangers pitching. Mainly, they tapped Mendez because he is twenty-six, is out of options, and the Rangers need to see if the lefty is worth housing on the roster anymore.

According the manager Jeff Banister, Matt Moore will be moved to the bullpen to work on his delivery.

If he needs delivery work, these companies would be much better options: Dominos, UPS, FedEx, Favors, UberEats, Amazon, the local paper. In fact, here is a list of available delivery jobs currently being posted on Indeed.com.

All of which Matt Moore would be better suited for than work in a major league baseball bullpen.

*****
TODAY’S GAME:

Chad Bettis (4-1, 4.40) vs. Yolhander Mendez (0-0, 0.00)
Game time: 7:05

The Rockies have never faced Mendez.
How the Rangers hit against Bettis.