ANAHEIM, Calif. - Let there be no doubts the Rangers have extraordinary confidence in their newest callup: Outfielder Nomar Mazara.

The still 20-year-old will be the regular right fielder in Shin-Soo Choo's absence, manager Jeff Banister announced Sunday before Mazara had taken a major league at-bat. He will hit second in his major league debut, though its uncertain if that will be a long-term spot as the Rangers are giving Rougned Odor, another No. 2 hole option, the day off Sunday.

"He controls the strike zone and he can be patient when he needs to," Banister said of Mazara. "I like the on-base possibility. He profiles - potentially - in a similar way to what we had there [Choo]. We lost a left-handed hitting No. 2 hitter. I like the balance of our lineup that way. I don't think the number two spot is all that daunting to a hitter."

Said Mazara: "I think I'm ready [for the majors]. I felt pretty comfortable in spring training. I said that when the time came, I'd be ready for it. This is baseball, I'm just going to go out and have fun and try to do what the team needs me to do."

Choo will be out four to six weeks with a significant Grade 2 calf strain.

Mazara, who becomes the youngest player in the majors, will be given a chance over Ryan Rua to play every day.

"He will face right- and left-handed pitching," Banister said. "How that plays out, we will see, but he showed in spring, he's quite capable of hitting left-handed pitching. We will give him the opportunity to do that."

It has been a hectic 16 hours for Mazara. When the Rangers found out the severity of Choo's injury last night, Mazara was removed from the Round Rock game before the bottom of the ninth in Des Moines. Manager Jason Wood told him after the game he'd be called up.

He then caught a 6 a.m. CT flight from Des Moines to Denver and landed at Los Angeles International Airport shortly after 9 a.m. PT. He and catcher Brett Nicholas, who was also eventually added to the roster, arrived at the clubhouse shortly after 10 a.m. PT.

A few other notes from a busy morning in the Rangers clubhouse:

1) The Rangers placed some calls around the league to find a veteran catcher, but came up empty handed and purchased the contract of Nicholas from Triple-A. He will back up Bryan Holaday, though the Rangers will be careful not to overexpose Holaday. Robinson Chirinos, expected to miss 10-12 weeks with a fractured right forearm, was moved to the 60 day DL to make room for Nicholas.

2) SS Elvis Andrus reported no lingering effects after being spiked on the middle finger of his left hand while trying to slide head first into home. He did not require stitches.

3) OF Justin Ruggiano cleared waivers and accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A Round Rock. The club could have re-purchased his contract to replace Choo, but opted not to do so. One complication: Because he's no longer on the 40-man roster, the Rangers would have had to create a new 40-man roster spot for him.

4) 2B Rougned Odor is getting a day off, but there is no injury concern. Hanser Alberto is playing second. Odor is 3 for 13 in his career against slow-baller Jered Weaver. It's possible the Rangers do not want to risk messing up Odor's timing, which appears to be coming around.