Nieves thriving in part-time role

PHOENIX -- Wil Nieves knew when he signed with the D-backs that he would not get a lot of playing time as a backup to catcher Miguel Montero.

That might have been difficult for Nieves to accept a couple of years ago, but now with some experience, he's learned to embrace the role and have success in it.

"The older I get, I've learned not to put pressure on myself," Nieves said. "When I was younger, I was trying to prove to everybody that I could be an everyday catcher. So when I would get a chance to play, I would try to make stuff happen and try and go 4-for-4 and by the end of the day I would be 0-for-4. I was just hurting myself."

Nieves has played well in a part-time role this year. Coming into Mondays' first game of a doubleheader against the Rangers, he was hitting .333 in 30 at-bats.

"Now I know what my role is," Nieves said. "I know I'm a backup. I know I can play every day if something happens, but I know right now my job is just to be ready whenever they need me. I'm just having fun out there. I've always been a good hitter when I played every day, so now I've learned how to be a good hitter playing once a week or once every two weeks."