MINNEAPOLIS -- The Rangers skipped Mike Minor's final scheduled start of the first half on Sunday to use the All-Star break to give him extra rest. Rookie left-hander Joe Palumbo was recalled from Triple-A Nashville for the finale in Minneapolis, though the Rangers used José Leclerc as an opener in front of him.

Minor is not injured. He is still scheduled to start the third game of the second half, next Saturday against the Astros. Texas is just concerned that Minor’s workload is starting to pile up, and manager Chris Woodward said this is the right time to give him a break.

“We all felt his workload has been the biggest of his career,” Woodward said. “We love that he is able to handle it up to this point, but we also wanted for him to be fully charged for the second half. If we don’t give this to him now, we won’t be able to do it later. If we are in the thick of things, there is no way we can do it later. We felt we can do it now and get away with it.”

Minor has thrown 117 innings over 18 starts so far this season. He had a career-high 204 2/3 innings over 32 starts with the Braves in 2013, and he is on pace to slightly exceed that this year. He is also averaging 15.9 pitches per inning this season, as opposed to 15.3 in 2013.

“We talked about it, and we basically felt like if we’re going to make a run in the second half, we both felt like now was the time to take a setback and breather,” Minor said. “The pitch count’s been high, innings have been high. For me, it still sucks not going out there, not taking the ball. But I guess it is what it is.”

Minor was selected to the American League All-Star team but was declared ineligible because the Rangers were planning to start him on Sunday. He was replaced by Indians pitcher Shane Bieber on Friday. Minor will still not pitch in the All-Star Game, although he plans to attend the festivities.

Woodward said pitching in the All-Star Game would defeat the purpose of the Rangers' plans.

“If he was going to pitch, he was going to pitch for us, not in the All-Star Game,” Woodward said.

Minor admitted it’s a weird situation.

“It’s not fun to think about,” Minor said. “When you think about the season and the collective effort of the team, it’s the best situation. First one, would have been exciting to get out there and compete against those guys. Gives me more motivation to go back and try to pitch in one next year.”

Palumbo will be making his third appearance for the Rangers. He made a spot start in a doubleheader against the Athletics on June 8 and then was recalled on June 19 to pitch against the Indians. That was supposed to be the beginning of an extended look at Palumbo, but the Rangers pulled the plug after he allowed seven runs in two-plus innings.

Woodward said this will likely be just a spot appearance for him. Palumbo pitched five scoreless innings on Monday for Nashville against Oklahoma City, allowing two hits and three walks while striking out 10.

“I wouldn’t say pull the plug,” Woodward said. “We were trying to take care of the kid. He pitched really well his last start. I don’t have a lack of confidence in the guy, I’m excited to see what he does. Also got to keep in mind he is young and there are certain things he needs to do to pitch at this level. He’s ready to go. He pitched well his last time, hopefully it will carry over.”

Payano called up

The Rangers called up right-hander Pedro Payano from Nashville on Saturday and optioned left-hander Locke St. John. The Rangers are going with seven relievers and Woodward said they needed a fresh arm in the bullpen after Adrian Sampson pitched just 3 1/3 innings on Friday.

Payano is a combined 5-3 with a 3.91 ERA in 14 starts and one relief appearance for Double-A Frisco and Nashville this season. Opponents are hitting .202 off him and he is averaging 10.6 strikeouts per nine innings.

“Payano is throwing well, both in Double-A and Triple-A,” Woodward said. “We definitely needed an arm, preferably a right-handed arm, especially against [the Twins]. They are pretty good against lefties.”

Rangers beat

• To make room for Payano on the 40-man roster, Texas designated infielder Patrick Wisdom for assignment. He was hitting .199 with 12 home runs, 34 RBIs and a .389 slugging percentage at Nashville.

• Starter Lance Lynn isn’t too upset he is being passed over as a replacement for the AL All-Star team. He is scheduled to pitch the first game against the Astros after the break.

“I am going on vacation,” Lynn said.

• Woodward said the Rangers will use a four-man rotation immediately after the break because they have days off before and after a two-game series against the D-backs on July 16-17. That means Sampson or Ariel Jurado could be used out of the bullpen.