Hickory Crawdads
On July 31, 2010, Méndez was traded, along with Chris McGuiness, to the Texas Rangers in exchange for Jarrod Saltalamacchia. He finished the season in Low-A with the Spokane Indians. In 2011, Méndez spent the season in Single-A with the Hickory Crawdads, registering a 9-1 record and 3.31 ERA in 26 games.