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.