Notes: Odor 'frustrated' early; Goody to IL

ARLINGTON -- Rougned Odor is still the Rangers' starting second baseman. He was just given a “mental break” on Wednesday against the Mariners.

Odor sat despite being 6-for-13 with a home run in his career against Seattle starter Taijuan Walker. Texas manager Chris Woodward was more concerned that Odor was hitting .116/.191/.209 through his first 12 games.

“It has been affecting him quite a bit,” Woodward said. “I can tell in his conversations with me, just his demeanor. You don’t see Rougie get down very often, but he was pretty frustrated. I just basically told him, 'Get with the hitting coaches and let’s figure this thing out.'”

Derek Dietrich started at second base after being signed as a free agent earlier this week. Dietrich can play multiple positions, including first, second and third. He is a left-handed hitter, just like Odor, and considered to be adequate defensively.

So, it would seem to be a stretch that Dietrich could take over at second base for an extended period. But anything is possible, and many things are being improvised under the current conditions.

“I probably foresee [Dietrich] playing more first base, honestly,” Woodward said. “I wanted to get out Rougie out, just for his peace of mind, so he can kind of have a couple of days to work through some things. Obviously, we need more production from Rougie, and he knows that. That's why we're trying to kind of give him the opportunity to seek that out and figure it out.”

But if Dietrich shows something against right-handed pitching, Woodward said he’ll start finding ways to get him in the lineup.

“I'm not saying he's going to play every day,” Woodward said. “But if the quality of at-bats is productive, we need that right now.”

Solak in center
The Rangers have found a position for Nick Solak. He was in center field for the seventh straight game on Wednesday and is expected to stay there while Danny Santana is sidelined with a right forearm strain.

“Yeah, I would say right now,” Woodward said. “The way he is hitting, he deserves to be in the lineup, whether it’s second base, center field, first base, potentially third base. But as of right now, [center field] until Danny comes back.”

Santana is close to returning from the injured list, but Woodward said he will likely start out at designated hitter, first base or second base until he builds up arm strength. When Santana’s throwing arm is back to full strength, the Rangers will revisit playing him in center field.

This is the first time that Solak has played center field, and Woodward said his defense has been adequate so far.

“He obviously hasn’t played a ton of center field,” Woodward said. “But I think he’s done fine. There have been a couple of balls he misread, but overall, he has been fine.”

Chirinos has sore ankle
Catcher Robinson Chirinos is dealing with some soreness in his left ankle. That’s why Jeff Mathis was in the lineup for the second straight day on Wednesday. The Rangers are off on Thursday, and Woodward said Chirinos should be ready on Friday, when they open a three-game series at Colorado.

“We’re trying to make sure he is healthy,” Woodward said. “He’s been catching quite a bit. The three days off will get him a chance to heal up.”

Jose Trevino, who is at Texas' alternate training site, is expected to travel to Colorado as part of the taxi squad.

Goody goes on injured list
The Rangers placed right-hander Nick Goody on the injured list with lower back spasms. Right-hander Jimmy Herget has been recalled from the alternate training site to replace him on the active roster.

Goody reported back spasms after an appearance against Oakland last Thursday. Texas shut him down for four days, and Goody showed enough improvement to pitch both Monday and Tuesday against Seattle.

Goody threw 23 pitches on Tuesday, then had more back spasms on Wednesday. Herget was recalled after spending 24 hours at the alternate training site. He was sent down Tuesday to make room for left-hander Wes Benjamin.

Rangers beat
? The Rangers added top pitching prospects Cole Winn and Ricky Vanasco to their alternate training site. Winn is Texas' No. 4 prospect per MLB Pipeline, and Vanasco is the club's No. 18 prospect.

? This was not the first time that the Rangers pursued Dietrich as a free agent. They had interest in him after the 2018 season, but after he had spent six years with the Marlins, he signed with the Reds. Texas also had interest last month, when Dietrich opted out of his Minor League contract with Cincinnati. He signed with the Cubs, and the Rangers followed up after he became a free agent this past Saturday.

? Joey Gallo reached base four times in Tuesday’s 4-2 win over the Mariners on two walks and two hit-by-pitches. He is the third Rangers player to reach base four times in a game without a hit or recording an at-bat. The others were Jeff Burroughs, who walked four times on Sept. 22, 1974, and Mark Teixeira, who walked five times on Sept. 23, 2004.