KANSAS CITY -- The Rangers have pulled rookie left-hander Yohander Mendez from Wednesday's start against the Royals and optioned him to Triple-A Round Rock after it was determined he violated team rules.
Austin Bibens-Dirkx has been recalled from Round Rock and will start on Wednesday.
The Rangers did not specify what Mendez did to warrant being disciplined, but it took place Monday night after their 6-3 victory over the Royals and did not happen at Kauffman Stadium. General manager Jon Daniels said Mendez's actions were not serious enough to involve either the police or Major League Baseball but could be addressed internally.
"Part of it is where we are in the development of the club and comes from holding a certain level of standards for veterans and young players alike," Daniels said. "Part of the development of young players is on the maturity side as well. That's kind of where this one falls."
Daniels said other players were involved at a certain level. He did not specify who the players were, but second baseman Rougned Odor was scratched from Tuesday's lineup. Odor was originally supposed to play second with Jurickson Profar starting at third. But Profar was moved to second and Isiah Kiner-Falefa started at third base, with Adrian Beltre at designated hitter.
"I felt like it was a situation with Kiner-Falefa playing third base and Profar at second," manager Jeff Banister said. "The rest of it … I don't have any further comment."
Joey Gallo was also not in the lineup, but Banister made it clear that Tuesday was a regularly scheduled day off for Gallo with nothing else to it.
Mendez was called up last Friday to start against the Rockies. MLB Pipeline ranks him as the No. 7 prospect in the Rangers' farm system, and the plan was to give him an extended look in the Major League rotation. That was still the plan after he allowed six runs in three-plus innings against the Rockies.

But the plan has been put on hold for now. The Rangers were disappointed that Mendez's postgame activities on Monday were not representative of a pitcher who should have been getting ready to start on Wednesday.
"There are steps for every player to take as far as commitment and focus," Banister said. "Both who you are as an individual player and being a team player is part of it. We all learn lessons and don't always get it right. It's part of the process. There are things that happen, but we need to continue to put the team first. There are standards we want to abide by. We want to make sure those standards are held in high regard. That doesn't mean mistakes won't be made."
The Rangers have not placed a timetable on Mendez's return. Daniels said they will have additional conversations with Mendez and put him on a program to follow.
The Rangers followed a similar plan with reliever Keone Kela at the beginning of last season. He clashed with teammates over a perceived lack of effort in a B game at the end of Spring Training, and he was unexpectedly optioned to Round Rock. Kela was there for the first 2 1/2 weeks of the season before being brought back to the big leagues after taking the necessary steps to rectify the situation.
McGuire dealt to Angels
• The Rangers traded pitcher William McGuire to the Angels for cash considerations after he was designated for assignment on Monday. He was claimed off waivers from the Blue Jays on Friday and he appeared in just one game at Round Rock.