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Rangers manager Chris Woodward acknowledged the possibility of dropping Odor from the second spot in the batting order, Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News reports.
Odor, who went 0-for-4 during Wednesday's game, is 2-for-24 with 12 strikeouts in the five games since returning from the injured list. The struggles have mounted so much that Woodward pinch hit for Odor with Hunter Pence in the ninth inning of Wednesday's loss to the Pirates. "I was honest with him," Woodward said after the game about lifting Odor. "I said, 'hopefully in the near future, I'll never have to do that again.' But [Pittsburgh closer Felipe] Vazquez is incredibly tough on lefties, and Hunter is swinging a hot bat." It was the first time the Rangers pinch hit for Odor in more than five years. The manager feels Odor may be putting pressure on himself after a slow start -- he's batting just .136 over 17 games -- implying that a drop in the batting order would relieve some of that pressure.
