SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- The Rockies again are showing confidence that catcher Dom Nuñez can produce offensively in the Majors the way he has in the Minors.

The Rockies sent their two non-roster catchers, Carlos Perez and Brian Serven, to Minor League camp on Sunday morning ahead of their 13-4 victory over the White Sox in Glendale. Manager Bud Black informed the 27-year-old Nuñez, who batted .187 with 10 homers among his 25 extra-base hits last season as a rookie, that he will begin the season as backup to Elias Díaz.

“It was all a learning experience,” Nuñez said. “Like Buddy said, my first year was good to get under my belt, learn from it, go play a little winter ball [in Puerto Rico]. My focus is going to be whatever the team needs to win games.”

Nuñez’s Minor League career shows a much higher on-base percentage than batting average, along with power -- attributes that are valuable and plusses for a catcher who bats left-handed. The Rockies went as far as to release veteran Chris Iannetta, the most offensively productive catcher in team history, to promote Nuñez in 2019.

But Nuñez spent the entire 2020 season at the alternate training site. Last season, Díaz and Nuñez entered as essentially equals, and struggled just the same in the beginning. But the right-handed hitting Díaz caught fire in June, earned most of the playing time and was rewarded with a three-year, $14.5 million contract in November.

Theoretically, the Rockies could have sought a more experienced catcher to put in tandem with Díaz and used Nuñez’s Minor League option for regular time at Triple-A Albuquerque. But, as Black noted, Nuñez’s form can only be sharpened facing the best pitchers.

“We told him, just incremental improvement again this year,” Black said. “I sort of separate Minor League performance from Major League performance. Necessarily, they don’t go hand in hand because of the difference in the quality of the pitching. We hope that he takes a step forward offensively.”

While the ability to damage the baseball and get on base is still there for Nuñez in the Majors, contact has not been, as evidenced by his 108 strikeouts in 306 career plate appearances. More contact that leads to more hits, a higher average or even a runner moved in an important situation is the goal.

And Nuñez, a pull hitter whom the Rockies are trying to teach to use more of the field, will need to have sharp mental skills if his playing time is irregular, which is often the case with the No. 2 catcher.

“It’s an external focus -- where you need to be looking, where you need to have your eyes to execute,” Nuñez said. “My plan is to have a plan every at-bat, every pitch and be fully committed to the plan. It’s going to change maybe mid at-bat, but it’s having the ability not take a step back, look the scoreboard, look at the situation and go from there.”