SURPRISE, Ariz. -- The Rangers have set the order of their starting rotation and have moved Edinson Volquez up into the No. 2 spot between Opening Day starter Mike Minor and No. 3 starter Lance Lynn.

They will be followed by left-hander Drew Smyly and right-hander Shelby Miller. Volquez, Smyly and Miller are all coming back from Tommy John surgery and the Rangers didn’t want them pitching on three consecutive days.

“It just allows us to break up the three,” Rangers manager Chris Woodward said. “If they all have a dead-arm game -- Murphy's Law hits -- and they all have a four-inning outing, it doesn't put us in such a bind if it's only two. But hopefully they don't. They've all felt great; hopefully they all just continue to feel that way.”

Smyly and Miller were on the mound Thursday. Smyly started the Rangers' 7-3 win over the Indians and went four innings, allowing three runs on eight hits. He walked two and struck out four.

Miller pitched in a Minor League intra-squad game on the back fields. He went five innings and allowed a run on five hits, did not walk a batter and struck out five. He threw 77 pitches.

Jason Hammel, trying to win a job as a long reliever, started the split-squad game against the White Sox. He allowed five runs over 4 1/3 innings in the Rangers' 12-2 loss.

Rangers expect Calhoun to play Friday

Willie Calhoun was supposed to play in Thursday’s game against the White Sox, but was given the day off to absorb the disappointment of being sent to the Minor Leagues to open the season.

Calhoun was told by manager Chris Woodward on Thursday morning. He spent some time afterward sitting out on the outfield berm in the main stadium. He was joined by Rangers coach Jayce Tingler and Josiah Igono, who is the director of peak performance.

“He’s angry. I get it,” Woodward said. “We’ll let him cool off. It’s unfortunate. Maybe tomorrow he’ll come back with a more clear understanding of why. He doesn’t have to be happy about it. At some point you have to say, 'OK this is what it is, I’ve got to go down and take care of business.'”

The Rangers are scheduled to play the Cubs in Mesa on Friday.

“He is obviously frustrated ... take a day,” Woodward said. “We’ll see about tomorrow. We are going to discuss this. I hope he wants to play.”

Gallo to get Minors at-bats

Joey Gallo is expected to play in a Minor League game Friday and test his strained right groin. Gallo is expected to get extra at-bats, as needed, as he plays for the first time in a week.

“It feels really good,” Gallo said. “I have been pain free ... knock on wood.”

The Rangers are on hold until they are completely sure Gallo will be ready for Opening Day. Until then, they won’t know if they are taking seven or eight relievers with them from camp.

If Gallo is still having any issues, they will likely go with seven relievers and bring Danny Santana as an extra outfielder. If Gallo is fully recovered by Opening Day, the Rangers will likely go with eight relievers.

“We are going to wait and see,” general manager Jon Daniels said. “That may be the last call we make.”

Rangers beat

Assistant hitting coach Callix Crabbe has undergone surgery to repair his ulnar nerve in the right elbow. The surgery was done by Dr. Keith Meister in Arlington and Crabbe is expected to resume his duties when the Rangers return home next week.

Rougned Odor hit his fourth home run of the spring Thursday and it was another opposite-field home run off Indians pitcher Jared Robinson. Three of Odor’s four home runs have been to the opposite field.

“That was an 0-2 breaking ball, pretty impressive,” Woodward said.

If Rule 5 Draft pick Jordan Romano clears waivers, he has to be offered back to the Blue Jays for $50,000. Daniels said that he expects the Blue Jays to take Romano back, but left open the possibility of working out a deal that would keep the right-handed reliever in Texas.

Up next

Right-hander Zach McAllister will start for the Rangers against the Cubs at 3:05 p.m. CT Friday in Mesa. It could be a big start for McAllister. He signed as a free agent with the Rangers over the winter, but has yet to be told that he'll be on the Opening Day roster.