MESA, Ariz. -- The Rangers need a backup catcher.

Big yawn.

The search will not dominate the spring-training storylines. The backup catcher is never famous.

He will be significant for this team. Whoever the Rangers go with will be used more than the typical reserve catcher.

Robinson Chirinos, the unquestioned starter, has never started more than 88 games in a season. Chirinos did start 42 of the final 55 games last season after the trade of Jonathan Lucroy, but the Rangers will handle him with care.

Manager Jeff Banister said Saturday that he has talked with Chirinos about his workload. Banister would like to avoid using Chirinos in more than four consecutive starts and hold him out for most, if not all, of the 34 day games after night games.

"We want to keep Robinson healthy and productive,'' Banister said.

That means more time than usual for the No. 2 catcher. The Rangers currently have an atypical pool of candidates from which they will choose: Curt Casali, Juan Centeno, Brett Nicholas and Mike Ohlman.

They have limited major league experience. The four catchers have a combined 215 career major league starts.

Experience is important but not the only factor to consider, Banister said. He was in the Pittsburgh organization in 1996, when rookie Keith Osik backed up fellow rookie Jason Kendall. Osik held the job for seven years, never becoming a starter.

Osik provides a model of what Banister wants from the position.

"Keith paid attention to his defense,'' Banister said. "I would think that in our situation, where the backup is going to play more than once a week, the ability to be a defender first ... you'd like for it to be that way, but we're not limited to that."

Nicholas was up first, starting in the 6-1 loss to the Chicago Cubs in the exhibition opener. Nicholas had two hits, including a hit-and-run single. Centeno and Casali also played. Each walked, and Centeno had a throwing error.

"You can go with all the clichés all day, but I'm excited about this opportunity," Nicholas said. "It's the first time I've been in camp where there is an open spot with competition. You have to go out and perform."

The Rangers know Nicholas. He has risen through the system and started 26 games for the big league club in the last two seasons. The bat is his strength.

Nicholas had a passed ball against the Cubs, but his overall defensive work has improved. That coincided with the Rangers' decision to use him primarily at catcher rather than shuttle him between that spot and first base.

"Any time you focus on just one thing, you start mastering that position,'' Nicholas said. "When you bounce around, there's more of a learning curve."

Geno Petralli, a backup catcher for most of his nine seasons with the Rangers, played a major role in Nicholas' rise.

Petralli is a coach with the Rangers' Round Rock affiliate in the Triple-A Pacific Coast League. In 2014, Petralli had a pregame come to Jesus talk with Nicholas.

Petralli told Nicholas that he would be a big leaguer, if he demanded more of himself. It started as a high-decibel discussion that began in the dugout and continued on the field. It ended with them hugging.

Nicholas called it "a career-changing moment.'' Petralli downplayed his role, saying the credit goes to Nicholas for the effort that he has put into his career to put himself in the position of being a possible answer to a real need for the Rangers.