Rangers put Guzman (hamstring) on injured list

ANAHEIM -- The Rangers have placed first baseman Ronald Guzmán on the 10-day injured list with a Grade 2 strained right hamstring, and the initial prognosis is he could be sidelined for three to four weeks.

Infielder Patrick Wisdom was called up from Triple-A Nashville and will split time with Logan Forsythe at first while Guzman is out. Both players have limited experience at first base.

Wisdom, who was acquired from the Cardinals in the offseason, has been a third baseman for most of his career. Forsythe, who made the team as the utility infielder, has been mainly used at second and third base. Forsythe started at first base on Sunday.

Forsythe, in his ninth season in the big leagues, has a career batting average of .248 along with a .328 on-base percentage and a .372 slugging percentage. He was 3-for-10 with two walks this season, going into Sunday’s game with the Angels.

“It’s important we get Logan some at-bats,” manager Chris Woodward said. “He has had some really good at-bats and hasn’t had a chance to play on a daily basis. If anything, at the beginning, I’m going to get Logan some more at-bats. Wisdom will play, no question. I’m not saying either one will be the everyday first baseman.”

Wisdom, a right-handed power hitter, played in 32 games for the Cardinals last season and hit .260 with a .362 on-base percentage and a .520 slugging percentage. He also had four home runs in 50 at-bats. In 2017, he hit a Minor League career high of 31 homers at Triple-A Memphis.

“We called him because we want him to help us,” Woodward said. “We like what we saw in Spring Training. I love the kid. He is a winner. He’ll do anything it takes to help us win. From a swing standpoint, he improved and got better. I’m curious to see where he is right now.”

Woodward said the Rangers discussed the possibility of moving Joey Gallo back to first base so they could call up Willie Calhoun from Nashville. Gallo played 95 games at first base from 2016-18, but the Rangers decided to keep him in the outfield.

“Joey is open 100 percent to anything we suggest,” Woodward said. “We discussed it, and I talked to Joey about it. Joey was awesome, saying, ‘I’ll do whatever it takes for the team.’ But I took that off his plate. We made that decision as an organization to keep him in one place.”

Woodward said the Rangers could revisit that decision if Guzman has a setback and is out longer than expected.

“Circumstances change, but right now we’re not going to do it,” Woodward said. “It’s was too important to keep Joey where he is at right now.”

The Rangers also went with Wisdom over Matt Davidson, who has more Major League experience. One factor is Wisdom is on the 40-man roster and Davidson is not, and that would have forced the Rangers to make a corresponding move. But Woodward said there was more to it than that.

“There was a debate on who was the best fit,” Woodward said. “The guy on the roster represented the easiest one. If it were the reverse, Davidson was on the roster, we may have gone with Wisdom. Can’t say one way or the other.”

Guzman injured the hamstring Saturday in the third inning against the Angels. He hit a double off the right-field wall and outfielder Peter Bourjos fell as the ball caromed away. Guzman tried to accelerate to go for a triple, and that’s when he felt the hamstring tighten up on him.

“It’s unfortunate because he was in a pretty good place from a swing standpoint,” Woodward said. “Hopefully, when he comes back, he’ll feel the same. It hurts. Just because where he was at, especially at the bottom of the lineup, there was a lot of impact there. He was really starting to get some things. He was in a good place. … It really stinks.”

Guzman said he has never had any trouble with his hamstrings before.

“When I was talking to [trainer Jacob Newburn], he said, 'This usually happens to the fast guys.'” Guzman said. “It’s disappointing, but I’ll try to come back as soon as I can.”