Daniel Mengden

Daniel Joseph Mengden (born February 19, 1993) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the CTBC Brothers of the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL). He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athletics and Kansas City Royals, and in the KBO League for the Kia Tigers.

College career
After graduating from Westside High School in Houston, Texas, Mengden played college baseball at Texas A&M University from 2012 to 2014. During his three years, he appeared in 54 games with 36 starts. He went 15–17 with a 3.21 earned run average (ERA) and 230 strikeouts.

Houston Astros
Mengden was drafted by the Houston Astros in the fourth round of the 2014 MLB draft. He made his professional debut with the Gulf Coast Astros and was later promoted to the Tri-City ValleyCats.

In 2015, he started the season with the Quad Cities River Bandits and was promoted to the Lancaster JetHawks after recording a 1.16 ERA.

Oakland Athletics
Prior to the 2015 trade deadline, the Astros traded Mengden and Jacob Nottingham to the Oakland Athletics for Scott Kazmir. In 2016, he began the season with the Double-A Midland RockHounds, but was promoted to the Triple-A Nashville Sounds on May 1. With Nashville, he had a 3–1 record with a 1.39 ERA in seven starts. On June 11, 2016, he made his MLB debut, against the Cincinnati Reds. He won his first MLB game in the Battle of the Bay against the San Francisco Giants on June 27, 2016.

He'd remain in the rotation for the remainder of the 2016 season, finishing with 14 starts for the A's. Mengden recorded 2 wins and 9 losses with 71 K's in 72 innings. In 2017, Mengden spent the majority of the season in the minors, only pitching 7 starts for Oakland. In 2018, he was 7-6 with an ERA of 4.05 in 22 games (17 starts).

In 2019, he did not replicate his success as he had done the previous season, going 5-2 with an ERA of 4.83 in 13 games (9 starts). During the off-season, Mengden underwent two intestinal surgeries and an arthroscopic elbow surgery. On September 20, 2020, Mengden was designated for assignment by the Athletics. On October 9, 2020, Mengden elected free agency.

While playing for the A's he was noted for his Rollie Fingers style handlebar mustache.

Kia Tigers
On December 25, 2020, Mengden signed a one-year, $725,000 guaranteed contract plus $275,000 possible performance incentives with the Kia Tigers of the KBO League. He became a free agent following the season.

Kansas City Royals
On March 8, 2022, Mengden signed a minor league deal with the Kansas City Royals. Mengden was selected to the 40-man roster on June 13 after Joel Payamps was placed on the COVID-19 injured list. He cleared waivers and was sent outright to the Triple–A Omaha Storm Chasers on July 2.

On September 1, Mengden was selected back to the major league roster to make a spot start against the Chicago White Sox. He went $2 2⁄3$ innings and allowed 3 runs on 5 hits with 2 strikeouts, taking the loss. Mengden was designated for assignment by the Royals the following day. He was again sent outright to Triple–A Omaha on September 4. He elected free agency on October 6.

On March 29, 2023, Mengden re-signed with the Royals on a minor league deal. In 6 games (3 starts) for Omaha, Mengden struggled to a 7.36 ERA with 14 strikeouts across $14 2⁄3$ innings of work. He was released by the Royals organization on June 27.

Washington Nationals
On July 2, 2023, Mengden signed a minor league contract with the Washington Nationals organization. In 22 games for the Triple–A Rochester Red Wings, he recorded a 7.20 ERA with 30 strikeouts across 35.0 innings of work. Mengden elected free agency following the season on November 6.

CTBC Brothers
On January 17, 2024, Mengden signed with the CTBC Brothers of the Chinese Professional Baseball League.

Personal life
Daniel is the oldest son of Beth and Joe Mengden, and has four siblings: an older sister, Victoria; and younger siblings, Michael and Gabrielle. Mengden was home schooled through eighth grade, at which time his parents ultimately decided to place him in public high school in order to further his baseball career. Victoria is a highschool math teacher and his younger siblings are professional dancers; Michael with the Cincinnati Ballet and Gabrielle with Oklahoma City Ballet. Daniel married Danielle Bishop on November 7, 2020, in Houston, Texas.