Banister finds ‘The Opener’ intriguing. How soon might the Rangers experiment with it?

The Texas Rangers were still pondering their Saturday starter into Friday afternoon and were unlikely to make any announcements until after their game against the Los Angeles Angels.

But don’t be surprised if the Rangers become the next team to try the concept dubbed “The Opener” by MLB Network analytics guru/studio host Brian Kenny.

Manager Jeff Banister suggested that a reliever might start Saturday after back stiffness forced the Rangers to scratch Mike Minor from Friday’s start and to push Drew Hutchinson up from Saturday.

Martin Perez has enough rest to make the start, and he very well could. But curiosity might get the best of Banister, who said that certain Rangers starters would benefit if a reliever took on the top of the order in the first inning.

“There are different trends in baseball that play out very well for teams,” Banister said. “We’ve looked into some situations. There are some other parts to that that could be beneficial for some of our guys, whether it’s The Opener [that] in theory would allow the next guy to get through a lineup a little deeper so he doesn’t have to face the top of the lineup a third time.”

The Tampa Bay Rays were the first to experiment with the concept, and right-hander Sergio Romo has made five starts. The first two times he did it, May 19-20, were against the Angels.

The Rays have used several other relievers in the role, including righty Ryne Stanek 19 times over 28 2/3 innings. Stanek, who had a 2.51 ERA as a starter and a .167 average against, was scheduled for his 20th start of the Friday.

The Rangers could start a reliever who matches up well against the top of the Angels’ lineup before switching to Perez in the second inning.

“I’m intrigued by the concept, for sure,” Banister said. “When you look at the personnel we have right now, it’s something we probably should look at and think about.”