Royals Acquire RHP Luis Mendoza From Rangers

Today, the Royals acquired RHP Luis Mendoza from the Texas Rangers for cash considerations.

Mendoza has made 32 appearances (14 starts) for the Rangers, going 4-8 with a dreadful 7.73 ERA, although advanced metrics (FIP and xFIP) say he’s been a 5.00 ERA-quality pitcher in the big leagues.

Mendoza saw a good amount of action in 2008, throwing 63 1/3 innings, but he posted an 8.67 ERA that year.

Mendoza has a career 4.58 minor league ERA, and hasn’t posted a sub-4.50 ERA at any level beyond Low-A, so there’s not much statistically to recommend him for more big-league duty. Still, it’s not like the Royals gave up much for him.

Mendoza relies on a sinking fastball to get outs, and has a 50 percent groundball rate in his big league career, which is well above average. The sinker travels in the low 90’s, and Mendoza also throws a slider, curve, and changeup.

He’s likely to head to Triple-A as insurance for a fairly weak Kansas City staff.