About Yohander Méndez

Yohander Manuel Méndez Ortega (born January 17, 1995) is a Venezuelan professional baseball pitcher for the Uni-President Lions of the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL). He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers, and in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Yomiuri Giants. He made his MLB debut in 2016.

Professional career
Texas Rangers
Méndez signed with the Texas Rangers as an international free agent on June 1, 2012 out of Venezuela for $1.5 million. Méndez made his professional debut in 2012 with the Dominican Summer League Rangers, posting a 2–1 record with a 1.99 ERA in 45+1⁄3 innings. In 2013 he made his stateside debut with the Low–A Spokane Indians, posting a 1–2 record with a 3.78 ERA in 33+1⁄3 innings. Méndez split the 2014 season between the rookie–level Arizona League Rangers and Single–A Hickory Crawdads, posting a combined 3–1 record with a 2.70 ERA in 36+2⁄3 innings. Méndez spent the entire 2015 season with the Hickory Crawdads, posting a 3–3 with a 2.44 ERA in 66+1⁄3 innings. On November 20, 2015, the Rangers added him to their 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 draft. Méndez split the 2016 minor league season between the High–A High Desert Mavericks, Double–A Frisco RoughRiders, and Triple–A 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.