Yohander Méndez, who had a tough 2018 due to personal issues, has been diagnosed with a sprained ligament in his left elbow and is expected to miss at least the first three months of the season.
“I felt it on the last pitch,” Mendez said according the texasrangers.com. “It was something weird. That’s why I stopped pitching. It was tight but I feel better today.”
The good news is that it will not require Tommy John surgery, and Mendez should be back at some point during the season. I am not sure if he will be on the major league roster when he returnes or not. I guess it depends on how the rotation is going in June.
The Rangers sent five players to minor league camp Tuesday including Matt Davidson. They want Davidson to focus on hitting and not so much on pitching, so the two way player experiment seems to be over at the moment. They also sent catchers Jett Bandy and Jose Trevino and infielders Chase d’Arnaud and Nolan Fontana back to Minor League camp. Trevino is a great prospect and he will continue to improve at the minor league level. As expected, that leaves Jeff Mathis and Isiah Kiner-Falefa as the Rangers two catchers going into the season.
Will Hunter Pence make the Rangers? My gut says he will. While there is not a starting spot for him anywhere in the roster, he is a great all around human and he would be a good prescience in the clubhouse for the Rangers. I don’t believe the Rangers will release him before the season starts, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him get a good bit of playing time in 2019.
The season starts in just 10 days.
