SURPRISE, Ariz. -- The Rangers' Opening Day starter and closer were both supposed to pitch in a Triple-A game on Tuesday morning, but that was washed out by rain.

Fortunately, the storms passed and the fields dried enough for Mike Minor and José Leclerc to pitch to Rangers Minor League hitters in a simulated game at Nolan Ryan Field. It wasn’t what they were expecting, but both said the work was beneficial.

“It was good because I got my pitch count up,” Minor said. “I knew today would be tough because of the rain, but I didn’t want to throw in the [batting] cage. I wanted to throw outside to hitters, see what the stuff was doing, have umpires. It was beneficial to get ready for the season.”

Minor pitched five simulated innings, which means he had to get up and down five times. Technically, he allowed four runs (three earned) on five hits and a walk with six strikeouts. But that part was hard to judge, because the Rangers didn’t have outfielders risk playing on the wet ground. Most importantly, Minor got his pitch count up to 80.

“Each week, you feel stronger and stronger as it goes,” Minor said. “You just want to get the ups and downs. That’s the hardest part. If you are out there throwing your pitches, that’s one thing, but if you have to sit down, get cold, get up, get hot, that’s what the starters want. That’s what we need to get ready for the season.”

Leclerc threw two scoreless innings on 39 pitches. He allowed a hit and a walk with four strikeouts

“Really good,” Leclerc said. “I threw every pitch, and they were breaking how I wanted it to break and my fastball was going wherever I wanted to throw it. It was better on the field. It’s better. The cage is not good. I don’t feel like I’m throwing to hitters.”

Revere, Moore among nine sent down

The Rangers sent nine players to Minor League camp, including veteran outfielder Ben Revere and catcher Adam Moore.

Both will continue to work out on the Minor League side while being allowed to look for opportunities with other organizations. Neither player can automatically take their free agency, but the Rangers won’t hold them back if something else arises.

“Hopefully they stay with us,” Rangers manager Chris Woodward said. “They’re tremendous assets for our organization, but if we don’t have any opportunities for them, I don’t think we’ll hold them hostage in that regard. So we’ll let them explore.”

The Rangers also sent out left-handed pitching prospects Taylor Hearn and Brock Burke. Hearn, who was acquired in a trade from the Pirates for Keone Kela last July 31, is being slotted into the Triple-A Nashville rotation, and Burke, picked up from the Rays as part of the three-team Jurickson Profar trade on Dec. 21, will begin the year at Double-A Frisco.

In addition, right-hander Nick Gardewine was optioned to Nashville and Wei-Chieh Huang was sent to Frisco. Pitchers Tim Dillard, Ariel Hernandez and Yoel Espinal have been to returned to Minor League camp, but the Rangers have not decided where they will pitch. Dillard, who lives in Nashville, will likely pitch there.

Rangers beat

• Rangers catchers Jeff Mathis and Isiah Kiner-Falefa both had Tuesday off after splitting Monday’s doubleheader. Mathis is 5-for-13 with three walks in his last six games, while Kiner-Falefa has a seven-game hitting streak with nine hits in his last 15 at-bats.

• Infielder Matt Davidson had another pitching session in the bullpen on Tuesday and is still scheduled to make at least two appearances in a Cactus League game before the end of spring.

• Woodward said the decision whether to have seven or eight relievers on the Opening Day roster remains a heavy topic among Rangers officials.

“Yeah, we talk about it every day,” Woodward said. “We keep going back and forth. I think health will maybe show that one at the end. If everything stays the way it is right now, it will probably be our toughest decision.”

Up next

After an off-day Wednesday, the Rangers have a split-squad doubleheader on Thursday. Right-hander Edinson Volquez pitches against the Royals at 3:05 p.m. CT in Surprise in a game that can be heard on a rangers.com audio webcast. At the same time, Adrian Sampson will start against the Cubs in Mesa, with Rule 5 Draft pick Jason Romano also scheduled to pitch.