Nick Piecoro

azcentral sports

The Diamondbacks signed veteran free-agent catcher Jeff Mathis earlier this month and claimed another catcher, Juan Graterol, off waivers last week, but General Manager Mike Hazen said the club remains on the lookout for help at the position.

“We probably still have some more work to do in that area,” Hazen said.

Hazen made it sound like a minor addition would be the more likely route, but that the club continues to keep tabs on adding a frontline starter, and that includes maintaining contact with four-time All-Star Matt Wieters, the biggest name out there among free-agent catchers.

“Anyone still left on the market makes sense in some circumstances,” Hazen said. “Matt’s a really good player and a good leader. We’ve kept up on everybody on the catching market.”

Wieters, 30, hit .243 with a .711 OPS last season for the Baltimore Orioles, with whom he has spent his entire career. He owns a .256/.318/.421 line in his eight-year career. He doesn’t grade out well in pitch-framing metrics, but he is good at controlling the running game. He threw out 35 percent of attempted base-stealers last season.

The Orioles appeared to cut ties with Wieters by signing Welington Castillo, whom the Diamondbacks non-tendered earlier in the month.

As it stands, the Diamondbacks have Mathis and Chris Herrmann penciled in to split time behind the plate, and Hazen said adding another part-time player in a “three-way system” is the “likely scenario.” Graterol, 27, whom Hazen said the club likes for his receiving, game-calling and leadership skills, will also be “in the mix” for playing time; he has minor-league options remaining.

“If we found more of a long-term replacement for the position it could morph into something different,” he said. “(If that happens) it’s a better bet that comes via the trade market than the free-agent market.”

The Diamondbacks are said to have inquired on a pair of catchers in the Boston organization, Christian Vazquez and Blake Swihart, but sources say the Red Sox are unlikely to deal either.

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Trade coming?

Slugger Peter O’Brien, whom the club designated for assignment last week to clear space for Graterol, has drawn interest from rival clubs and is likely to be traded, Hazen said.

“I think we’re at the stage of our roster where we have a lot of really good players,” Hazen said. “These are hard decisions to make when it comes down to taking guys off. I think in Peter’s case, one of the things we need to strive to do is improve our defensive versatility and flexibility.”

O’Brien has been unable to find a permanent defensive home throughout his professional career, seeing time at catcher, third base, first base, left field and right field. Though he has significant power potential, he likely has been held back by his defensive limitations.

Hazen said O’Brien has received interest not only from clubs in the American League, in which he could see time at designated hitter, but also from NL teams.

Still hunting

The Diamondbacks continue to search for help in the bullpen, and Hazen said the club is hoping to add another arm on a one-year deal.

He said the Diamondbacks were reluctant to go to two years on free-agent right-hander Daniel Hudson, who departed to take a two-year, $11 million deal with the Pittsburgh Pirates last week.

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But Hazen said the reluctance isn’t necessarily specific to Hudson.

“Until we sort of get our arms around what’s exactly in the bullpen on the whole,” Hazen said, “it’s hard to start committing down the road too far. …

“We just have a lot of young guys in our bullpen and if you start boxing them out and you start seeing growth, then you go into next offseason asking, ‘Why did we block this spot off from this guy?’”

The Diamondbacks already have added closer Fernando Rodney on a one-year deal worth a guaranteed $2.75 million. Rodney can earn up to $6.75 million if he reaches appearance and games-finished thresholds.

Short hop

The Diamondbacks have signed right-hander Keyvius Sampson and outfielders Oswaldo Arcia and Reymond Fuentes to minor-league deals. Sampson, a starter for most of his career, is expected to compete for a bullpen spot in spring training.

Reach Piecoro at (602) 444-8680 or nick.piecoro@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on Twitter @nickpiecoro.