BALTIMORE -- The Rangers called up left-hander Yohander Méndez from Triple-A Nashville on Thursday. They will now try to see what they can salvage from a pitcher who was once a top prospect but is no longer ranked among the club’s top 30 by MLB Pipeline.

Mendez missed most of the season after suffering a sprained ligament in his left elbow during Spring Training. He ended up pitching in 12 games in the Minor Leagues with the Rookie-level Arizona League Rangers, Double-A Frisco and Triple-A Nashville.

Mendez had a combined 4.91 ERA, but some of the other numbers intrigue the Rangers, including 27 strikeouts in 18 1/3 innings and an opponents' batting average of .200.

“I’m doing well,” Mendez said. “There was one game in Iowa where I gave up a grand slam, but all my pitches are working good. We’ll see.”

Over Mendez's last three appearances, he did not allow a hit or walk while striking out eight in 4 1/3 innings. He has been a starter for almost all of his Minor League career, but he was used in relief during his rehab work.

“I’d like to see him in multiple-inning stints, two or three innings,” manager Chris Woodward said. “His stuff looks good, he is throwing hard. It’s intriguing because he has a really good arm and with the [shorter outings], the stuff plays up better. He has always had the plus changeup, but his fastball is in the mid-90s consistently.”

The Rangers took the same approach with right-hander Jonathan Hernandez and Brett Martin. Both had been starters for most of their Minor League careers but are finding more success lately as multiple-inning relievers out of the bullpen.

Mendez would prefer to start, but he has been passed in the Rangers' pecking order by rookie left-handers Joe Palumbo, Brock Burke and Kolby Allard. The good news for Mendez is another technicality may give him one more option for next season. But the Rangers still have to decide if he is worth keeping on the 40-man when other prospects, including pitchers Joe Barlow and Demarcus Evans and outfielder Leody Taveras, become Rule 5 Draft eligible this December.

“I need to pitch good,” Mendez said. “For me, it has been hard. We had a lot of opportunities this season, and I lost a lot of time rehabbing. They have decisions to make, but this is my career. I have to come here and do the best I can.”

Woodward said multiple-inning relievers are becoming more valuable in baseball. One reason is starters aren’t going as long as they have in the past, and next year there will be a change in the rules. Relievers must either pitch to a minimum of three batters or finish the inning. The age of specialization will be over.

That’s why Mendez may be more valuable as a reliever than as a starter.

“That’s a question we’ll ask after we see how he does against these good teams in [fewer] innings,” Woodward said. “Because if it plays up really well, why mess with a good thing.”

Rangers beat

• Outfielder Nomar Mazara was out of the lineup for third straight game with soreness in his left oblique muscle. He has been able to start just one game since being activated off the injured list.

• Outfielder Hunter Pence did not join the Rangers in Baltimore. He remains sidelined with a strained lower back and has not been cleared for baseball activities.

• Lance Lynn’s seven strikeouts Wednesday give him 208 for the season. That is now the eighth-highest total for a single season in club history. Next up are Bobby Witt (1990) and Yu Darvish (2012), who both had 221 strikeouts.