CLEARWATER, Fla. -- Spencer Torkelson is about to gain an entirely new perspective on the game.

In this case, it’s a view from right field, where the 25-year-old will play on Monday against the Pirates in Lakeland.

“I 1,000% welcome it,” Torkelson said Saturday morning in Lakeland. “We’ve had some really key players go down this spring. I don’t know when they’re going to return, but for the time being, we still have to find ways to compete and win. I’ll do whatever it takes.”

Injuries to Parker Meadows and Matt Vierling have depleted the Tigers’ outfield depth this spring. Javier Báez has done some work in center field, so now, the Tigers will see if Torkelson can add another aspect to his game, too.

With less than two weeks until Opening Day, manager A.J. Hinch made it clear this is not a “major move” to turn Torkelson into a full-time outfielder, but rather a way to make him more versatile. Torkelson has been working on the back fields and in some simulated games, but Monday will “bring it a little bit more forward-facing,” according to Hinch.

“There are a lot of scenarios where we want to make the best decision in a game, and the defensive portion of that is a big deal,” Hinch said. “We've asked almost everybody on our roster to do something else, and this is time for Tork to move around just enough.”

Torkelson played some left field during his freshman year at Arizona State and manned right field in a collegiate summer league, both back in 2018. He played both first and third base in the Minors, but he has made all 349 of his defensive starts in the Majors at first base -- and has also served as a designated hitter seven times.

“It’s definitely new,” Torkelson said. “Playing college league outfield is a little different than playing big league-level outfield. But I’m excited for the opportunity.”

Bench coach George Lombard, a former big league outfielder himself, has been working with Torkelson, while teammates Riley Greene and Meadows have been helping him out, too.

“No ego; learn from the best and compete,” Torkelson said. “Just go out there, be an athlete and attack balls -- that’s my mindset. We’ll learn the mechanics as we go.”

The idea of giving Torkelson some reps in the outfield was discussed internally during the offseason, Hinch said, but the Tigers wanted him to focus his time on his offense after a 2024 season that saw him hit 10 home runs with 37 RBIs and a .669 OPS in 92 games.

Torkelson has excelled at the plate this spring, hitting four homers with a .930 OPS in 13 games as he battles for a spot on the Opening Day roster.

“With Tork coming in and having to fight for his position, it's a slippery slope asking him to do both,” Hinch said. “I'm not saying that he's made [the team], but he's obviously had a very good spring. We were entirely focused this winter on some adjustments on the hitting side, and it probably wasn't the right time. Now, the way he's hit, swung the bat and connected his at-bats this spring, we’ll sprinkle in the outfield. You’re not going to see him out there routinely.

“We would like it to be routine at the plate.”

The decision to play Torkelson in right field has more to do with the area of the outfield in Detroit than his arm strength, which is typically a factor for right fielders. The sight lines are another key, as Torkelson’s work at first base has given him a view exclusively from the right side of the field since he arrived in the Majors.

“Second baseman, first baseman -- I don't have any data to support whether that's an absolute -- but player feedback is, generally speaking, the guys on that side of the field are used to seeing the game from that perspective,” Hinch said. “The spin of the ball, the flight -- it’s just an extension of that position.”

Versatility matters. Hinch used Vierling at first base for three innings in an elimination situation during Game 4 of the AL Division Series last October despite Vierling having played only two innings at first base in his two seasons with the Tigers.

“[That’s] just one example of some things that happen with how we're trying to maximize at the margins,” Hinch said. “It reminds you that, when you have a roster that is versatile and you have a roster that is interchangeable, you can make a lot of decisions based off that.”

Hinch is tempering his initial expectations, but he’s intrigued to see how Torkelson handles this new opportunity.

“We'll see what it looks like,” Hinch said. “It doesn't have to be perfect, but we'd like it to be part of the availability in-game.”