The Rangers may be about to try to solve an age-old philosophical question: Can a team already short of starting pitchers in the majors and the minors afford to shed a starting pitcher?

When it comes to Matt Moore, they may not have a choice.

Manager Jeff Banister didn't even offer a tepid defense of Moore making another start for the Rangers the next time his turn comes up on Sunday. Moore has the highest ERA in the majors (7.88) among the 119 pitchers with at least 50 innings. It is more than a half run higher than the next-closest: Alex Cobb (7.23) of Baltimore.

"That decision hasn't been finalized yet," Banister said of Moore, who lasted just three innings against Houston on Sunday. "We have to decide what is best for Matt and what's best for us."

The Rangers are already down one starter due to the knee strain suffered by Doug Fister last week. They are likely to replace Fister with either Yovanni Gallardo or Austin Bibens-Dirkx, two veterans currently at Triple-A Round Rock. They will pitch Mike Minor on Saturday. Their choices Sunday: Either Tuesday starter Bartolo Colon on four days of rest, Moore or another minor leaguer.

Gallardo, 32, was released by Cincinnati the first week of the season. He has a 3.21 ERA over his last five Triple-A starts and has pitched into the sixth inning in four of them. The Rangers did an excellent job of managing his innings during a successful 2015 season. He has a 5.81 MLB era since. He could hold a tiebreaker over Bibens-Dirkx - or anybody else - as he could trigger an opt-out clause in his contract on Friday if not added to the roster.

Bibens-Dirkx, 33, allowed eight earned runs over 11 innings in two starts for the Rangers earlier this season. Bibens-Dirkx, however, has as many starts of more than six innings in the majors this season as Moore.

Moore has put an extreme load on the bullpen with his short starts. In Moore's 12 starts, he has 55 innings pitched; Chavez has 16.2, averaging more than an inning per outing.

The Rangers are simply running out of ways to avoid cutting ties with Moore. They moved him out of the rotation for a turn earlier this year, then sent him to the DL later with what was termed a sore-knee, but was admittedly about allowing him to work on his delivery.

Briefly: Shin-Soo Choo singled on the third inning to reach base for the 27th straight game. ... RF Nomar Mazara was scratched from the starting lineup with flu-like symptoms... In his second game on a week-long rehab assignment, SS Elvis Andrus was 1 for 4 Tuesday with Double-A Frisco as the DH against Midland of the Oakland organization. He is expected to play seven innings at shortstop Wednesday for Frisco ... In its All-Star voting updates, MLB lists the top 15 vote-getters in the outfield and the top five at all other positions. The only Ranger to appear in this week's update: 3B Adrian Beltre, who was fourth among AL third basemen with 121,403 votes.