Yohander Mendez needs help to get back on the track that the Texas Rangers believe can carry him to a permanent stay in the major leagues, and the plan the Rangers announced Friday is about that and not further disciplining a young pitcher.
Mendez was sent to High A Down East, where he will start Monday one week after he drank himself into a stupor after a Rangers win at Kansas City. His actions that night ran afoul of team rules and resulted in an immediate demotion to Triple A Round Rock.
But assistant general manager Jayce Tinger insisted that Mendez's new development plan is not another penalty for his misdeeds, which did not involved police intervention.