CHICAGO -- They are running out of words.

The Rangers bosses believe Rougned Odor is open to coaching and willing to work on his offensive flaws. They are certain his skills haven't evaporated. But there are only so many ways they can say this and then watch Odor pop out -- or strike out -- on another pitch out of the strike zone before something changes.

On Saturday, GM Jon Daniels and manager Chris Woodward offered the best they could in terms of endorsements for the struggling second baseman, then watched him swing at a pitch above the strike zone, then pop out on another off the plate. That was just his first at-bat.

It extended his most recent hitless stretch to 14 at-bats, dropped his batting average to .199 and his season OPS to .694. And it does nothing to stop questions about how long the Rangers are willing to wait on the process to produce results.

"I know unequivocally how much he cares and how much work he's put in," Daniels said. "I genuinely think he's trying. We've seen spurts where he has been more successful than others. It's grinded on him both mentally and physically. Ultimately, going forward, big ups and downs don't work from a team standpoint, not when you are in the lineup every day."

"He's been open to a lot of things lately," Woodward said. "I know there is going to be some struggle. He's frustrated because he's missed on some pitches in the zone. I just want him to know truly what is his best approach."

About the frustration, Odor met with Rangers Peak Performance coach Josiah Igono before Saturday's game.

Put simply, the Rangers appear to be giving him one last opportunity to salvage something from this season before they take the next step. The next step would be opening up his spot in the lineup to competition. Given the fact the team has three more years and $35 million committed to Odor, it is not a step they consider lightly.

"The contract aside, he has talent and has demonstrated that it plays at this level," Daniels said. "But we are entering a period where we have some guys who overlap from a positional standpoint. That's just a reality. It's not intended to be a motivator or a punishment. It's just where we are. We expect to have more competition at several positions."

To that point, the Rangers went out and acquired Nick Solak, a hitter whose best position happens to be second base. After Solak's call-up, he started at second in place of Odor twice in his first week. Solak has done nothing but hit since arriving.

The same description could be applied to Danny Santana over the course of the full year. And Santana remains in the Rangers' plans for 2020. Triple-A infielder Eli White might also have gotten a call-up for September had he hit a wall, quite literally, playing the outfield recently. The resulting shoulder injury is expected to end his season.

The point is, the walls are closing on Odor if he can't consistently transition the adjustments he's been charged with making in his game. In short, the Rangers are trying to eliminate some movement from his swing, which shows up most significantly in his big leg kick, and to keep his head a little straighter and still, which should help with his pitch recognition.

And if pitch recognition goes up, his chase rate should come down. Odor is striking out more frequently than ever in his career because he can't hit the high fastball and can't lay off it. At two-strikes, if not before, it's an automatic that he's going to get one. Consider his second at-bat Saturday: Ivan Nova threw three pitches in a four-pitch sequence there. Odor actually laid off them to run the count full, then was frozen by a cutter for a called third strike. It was the 19th consecutive start in which he's struck out at least once. He is averaging a strikeout every 3.16 plate appearances this season, the second-worst rate in the majors.

The Rangers don't want to rob him of his power to make the changes but are willing to make some sacrifices in that area. Given that Odor rose to prominence on the strength of a 30-homer season, being willing to give up some of that can be a frightening prospect.

"Can we minimize the movement without him feeling like he has lost his power?" hitting instructor Luis Ortiz said. "There is a trade-off between movement and accuracy and a trade-off between speed and accuracy. We want to find a happy medium. If you try to break a long-time habit, there is going to be some time delay. Just because you know what to do, doesn't mean you can do it immediately."

"I want to be the best," Odor said at the outset of this series in Chicago. "I know what I'm doing right now isn't getting results. And I know you aren't going to feel comfortable immediately, but it's going to come. I've been feeling good the last couple of weeks. I'm going to keep doing what they tell me."

Unfortunately, for Odor, he keeps getting the same results.

Twitter: @Evan_P_Grant