ARLINGTON -- Mike Minor will be a free agent after this season, and the Rangers have given him a good reason to want to stay in Texas.

Minor has only pitched three times at Globe Life Field, but he's more than happy to extol the virtues of pitching indoors in Texas.

“I think it is very attractive,” Minor said. “The stadium kind of speaks for itself, being air-conditioned, being indoors. There are other stadiums that are outdoors and are nice but now that Texas is indoors, I feel it is going to be way more on the radar.”

“I have had countless guys come over and tell me how bad it is to play in Texas in previous years. Asking us, how do we do that all the time? How do we take batting practice? How do guys take ground balls? Now that we have the indoor stadium, that’s not an issue.”

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The old ballpark had a strong reputation for being favorable to hitters. The Rangers have yet to play a real game at Globe Life Field, but early returns suggest it could be a pitchers' park.

“It kind of flies a little bit down the lines and stuff like that,” Minor said. “But in the gaps and in center, it doesn't really go anywhere. So it’s not really going to change a whole lot how I pitch.

“Like I said, the roof, with it being air-conditioned, is obviously a plus. I feel like I'm not overheated out there, not sweating as much. I don't get as tired, I guess.”

Minor threw 84 pitches over six simulated innings on Tuesday night. He allowed five hits, walked one and struck out 11. He'll have one more start before pitching against the Rockies on July 25 in the second game of the season.

Chirinos may miss Opening Day

Rangers manager Chris Woodward said catcher Robinson Chirinos may not be ready for Opening Day after rolling his ankle during Monday’s intrasquad game. Woodward said Chirinos was “better than we anticipated” when he reported to Globe Life Field on Tuesday, but the Rangers aren’t sure how long he'll be sidelined.

“Encouraging to see him walking around,” Woodward said. “Not a lot of swelling. I guess we’ll take it day by day, but there is a slight chance he may be ready for the start of the season or may be down for the beginning. But it is encouraging. It could have been a lot worse.”

The Rangers have six other catchers in camp. Jeff Mathis and Jose Trevino are on the 40-man roster, and Nick Ciuffo, Blake Swihart and Tim Federowicz are on Minor League contracts. Sam Huff, the Rangers' No. 2 prospect, is also in camp.

Outfielder Willie Calhoun left Monday’s game with tightness in his left hip flexor. He underwent an MRI and the Rangers are waiting on the results.

“He is still tender today,” Woodward said “If you talk to him, he doesn’t think he’ll be out that long. We believe there is a strain in there."

Rangers beat

• The injuries were part of why Woodward changed the format of Tuesday’s workout. Instead of an intrasquad game, the Rangers went through more of a “live batting practice” mode.

“It was kind of a mix of everything and the landscape of things,” Woodward said. “We had a day off the other day. I felt that was needed. Guys were grinding pretty hard. There is always a fine line, especially in this scenario. We want to get off to a good start, so we don’t want to move too slow, but we don’t want to move too fast and risk injury.”

• Right-hander Jonathan Hernandez was among seven relievers who threw on Tuesday. He went the equivalent of three innings and 50 pitches, allowing four hits and a walk while striking out three.

• Right-hander Derek Law threw two innings, while Cody Allen, Jimmy Herget, Luis Garcia and Demarcus Evans each pitched one. Left-hander Taylor Hearn allowed three hits among the five batters he faced.

• Adolis García had a home run off Law with a blast that reached the second deck in left field.