Norris entered Monday's game against the Giants at AT&T Park with the second-most innings caught (202 2/3) behind Salvador Perez -- who else? -- of the Royals (212 2/3).
"Derek is on pace to catch more games than he's ever caught in his life. I'm not sure we want to go in that direction," said Padres manager Bud Black. "Derek is going to play a lot. But you feel good when Austin Hedges is in there."
Norris, who said in Spring Training that he wants to catch in upwards of 120 games, has never caught more than 93 games in a single season as he did with the A's in 2014.