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While some players may be looking forward to the offseason and a chance to get a break from baseball after seven-plus months, Cooper Hummel is excited to get to play another month.

The D-backs utilityman will be one of the team's representatives in the Arizona Fall League, which runs from Oct. 3 to Nov. 10.

The league has always served as a "finishing school" for some of the game's top prospects, and while current Major Leaguers have participated before, someone with as much experience in the big leagues as Hummel is far less common.

Hummel was drafted as a catcher by the Brewers in 2016 out of the University of Portland. The soon-to-be 28-year-old transitioned to the outfield a couple of years later and was acquired by the D-backs at the Trade Deadline a year ago, as part of the return for third baseman Eduardo Escobar.

With Carson Kelly getting the bulk of the playing time behind home plate and Daulton Varsho preferring to stay in the outfield, where he has become an elite defender, the D-backs are now looking at Hummel as a backup catcher going forward.

"He's a very dynamic player," D-backs manager Torey Lovullo said. "He can play the outfield, he's a switch-hitter and being able to get behind the plate, it's a whole different valuation, a whole different ballgame. We want him to continue to grow and learn. After this stint in the Fall League and beyond, we've got to continue to evaluate him as a catcher and see where it takes him."

Catcher is Hummel's best opportunity for playing time, given the team's abundance of young outfielders. Varsho, Alek Thomas, Corbin Carroll, Jake McCarthy and Stone Garrett have all played well, while veteran Jordan Luplow is still in the mix.

"I'm totally up for it," Hummel said of participating in the Fall League. "I was surprised when I got asked to go, but it makes complete sense. It's a big benefit for me to get extra reps behind the plate. That's what I need right now. It's only going to help me going into next year. The writing is on the wall [with the outfield], so if I'm gonna benefit the team, and my plan is to help benefit the big league team next year, then it's got to be behind the plate. I love being a catcher. I absolutely love it."

In anticipation of catching becoming more prominent in his career, Hummel spent time this past offseason catching bullpens for pitchers who were working out at the same place he was. That included teammates Taylor Widener and J.B. Bukauskas as well as big leaguers Sean Doolittle, Logan Webb and Walker Buehler.