SURPRISE, Ariz. -- The Rangers signed a catcher to a contract extension Tuesday.

It was not Jonathan Lucroy.

While Lucroy may be the high-profile free agent to be, those contract talks require a lot more complex decisions. Instead, the club signed backup Robinson Chirinos, who began each of the last two seasons as the starter, to a deal that could keep him through 2019. And, if Chirinos, 32, has his way, he will stay with the Rangers for the remainder of his playing career and beyond.

Chirinos, who will earn $1.95 million in 2017, will receive $2.25 million in 2018, which would otherwise be his last year of arbitration. The deal includes a club option for 2019 worth $2.375 million and escalators based on plate appearance. There is a $100,000 buyout. It gives the Rangers a cost effective insurance policy as they try to navigate the future between Lucroy and prospect Jose Trevino.

"We feel like we have two starting-caliber catchers," general manager Jon Daniels said. "We often talk about needing more than five starting pitchers to get through a season. You need more than one starting catcher. We've seen that. We are in a great spot right now."

Chirinos spent the last 10 days with the Venezuelan team at the World Baseball Classic. If the Rangers had any questions about proceeding with a deal, their reports from Venezuelan team officials only confirmed their initial thoughts. The Rangers were also impressed with how gracefully Chirinos moved into a backup role when they acquired Lucroy at the trade deadline last year.

"What we heard is that this was a guy who took on a leadership role with that team and guys went to him," Daniels said.

Said Chirinos of the Rangers: "This is my home, not just for baseball. Not just for my career, but I hope after that. I want to coach here, to be part of the organization."

The Rangers remain in regular contact with representatives for other players regarding extensions. Perhaps the most realistic of those targets may be Rougned Odor. A framework of comparable deals exists. Tampa Bay recently signed center fielder Kevin Kiermaier, who has exactly 10 days more major league service than Odor (2 years, 121 days), to a six-year, $53.6 million deal. In 2014, Cleveland signed second baseman Jason Kipnis, then with similar service time to Odor, to a six-year, $52.5 million deal.