SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- When it looks like you're going to have three catchers on your Opening Day roster and none of them is designated as the full-time starter, the question then becomes whether or not they will be paired up with a specific starting pitcher.
Jeff Mathis, Chris Iannetta and Chris Herrmann figure to be at Chase Field for the April 2 opener, but who will catch Zack Greinke that day? Well, stay tuned.
Mathis, who is regarded as the better pitch-framer, was behind the plate for Greinke's first spring start Friday, but that might not always be the case.
"We're still defining all those roles," D-backs manager Torey Lovullo said. "We're not exactly sure how that will play out."
Lovullo said that the topic of catching matchups has come up often during his morning meetings with the baseball operations staff.
Pitchers will have some input into the decision.
"I've said from Day One what these players say matter," Lovullo said. "It matters to me, it matters to the organization, so we're going to use that as one of the key components. But there are some analytics now that are showing tendencies and habits and matchups that are better than others, and we're going to utilize all that. Is it going to be the only driving factor for why somebody is going to be catching? No, obviously not. We're going to combine a lot of different things for those moments."