ANAHEIM -- Right-hander Nick Gardewine thought he might had been in trouble when Double-A Frisco pitching coach Brian Shouse summoned him to manager Joe Mikulik's office following the team's game Sunday.
Instead, Gardewine, who turned 24 last Tuesday, was getting his first Major League callup.
The Rangers purchased his contract from Frisco to take the place of Matt Bush, who was placed on the disabled list Monday with a sprained MCL in his right knee.
"I'm just along for the ride," Gardewine said. "I was trying to do everything I could in Frisco to get to where I'm at now."
Gardewine has spent the entire season at Frisco and was 1-2 with a 2.41 ERA in 30 appearances, while averaging 13.4 strikeouts per nine innings. He was a seventh-round selection out of Kaskaskia Community College in the 2013 Draft.
Rangers manager Jeff Banister didn't foresee the roles of the team's relievers to change much in Bush's absence.
"It'll be similar to what we've been doing," Banister said. "We'll get Gardewine out there to see what he's got"
Gardewine has also impressed by striking out 18 and walking just two over his last nine relief outings. He credited Double-A catcher Jose Trevino, ranked as the team's No. 13 prospect, according to MLBPipeline.com, for contributing to his success. He joins Ricardo Rodriguez as the latest Rangers reliever to make the jump from Double-A for his first callup.
"[Rodriguez] actually played his first year in the [United States] the same year I got drafted," Gardewine said. "We've been pretty good friends ever since then."
Rangers still view Profar as shortstop
Though he's showed versatility to play multiple positions in both the infield and the outfield, the Rangers hold high regard for Jurickson Profar's ability to play shortstop. That was part of the reason the team elected to instead recall Ryan Rua on Monday to provide an extra outfielder with Joey Gallo in concussion protocol and Carlos Gomez still on the disabled list.
Profar remained with Triple-A Round Rock and has hit .296/.390/.452 with seven homers and 44 RBIs in 78 games, making 70 appearances at shortstop.
"I don't think we ever considered him not a shortstop," Banister said. "He's a shortstop that has the ability to play other positions and we had a need for him to play another position."
Profar has appeared at shortstop in just 15 of his last 120 regular-season games in the Majors. He's also appeared at third base, first base, second base and left field.
Worth noting
• Jake Diekman made his second rehab appearance with Double-A Frisco on Sunday and threw 10 pitches.
• Entering Monday's series opener, the Rangers led the Majors with 6.22 runs per game in August. Their +38 run margin (112 for, 74 against) led the Majors.
• The Rangers' 34 home runs in August were second-most in the Majors and their 194 home runs this season trailed just the Astros for the Major League lead.