Parker Meadows and Matt Vierling will both be starting the season on the Tigers’ injured list, while Wenceel Perez is also a bit of a question mark after he received a cortisone shot to deal with a lingering back problem. With so many absences already in the Detroit outfield, the team is getting creative in looking for answers, as manager A.J. Hinch told reporters (including the Detroit Free Press’ Jeff Seidel) that Spencer Torkelson has been getting in some outfield work, and will play right field in the Tigers’ game with the Pirates on Monday.
Hinch made it clear that Torkelson will get “just a sprinkle” of time in right field and “you’re not going to see him out there routinely….but we’d like it to be part of the availability in game work.” Even if the Tigers still view Torkelson as a first base/DH candidate, adding some versatility obviously can’t hurt his overall resume, plus it presents another avenue to get his bat into the lineup.
Torkelson played some outfield during his summer league days and at college at Arizona State, but since being selected first overall in the 2020 draft, Torkelson has played only third and first base as a professional. Nevertheless, Torkelson is “excited for an opportunity” in a new role, and is happy to help the team as much as possible: “We had really key players kind of go down this spring, and…in the time being, we got to find ways to compete and win, and I’ll do whatever it takes.”
Despite his top-prospect status, Torkelson has yet to really get going at the MLB level, as he followed up a promising 2023 campaign with a borderline disastrous 2024. Torkelson hit only .219/.295/.374 over 381 plate appearances, though his offense did pick up after he returned to the Tigers following a Triple-A stint of over two and a half months. After Detroit signed Gleyber Torres this winter and subsequently moved Colt Keith from second to first base, there was speculation that Torkelson might even be a trade chip, as the Tigers seemed to be squeezing him into a part-time DH role at best.
However, Torkelson has been on a tear at the plate this spring, perhaps helping his chances at a more regular turn in a DH role. Torkelson’s case for playing time has been helped by the fact that he is one of relatively few right-handed hitters within a Tigers lineup that tilts heavily to the left, plus the outfield injuries could mean that Kerry Carpenter gets more work in right field than at DH. Torkelson himself now could be considered for the occasional cameo in right field as situations warrant.
It now seems possible we could get the unlikely combination of Torkelson in right field and Javier Baez in center field at some point during a game, which speaks to the depth issues that have been caused by this sudden spate of outfield injuries. Chances are that Detroit will simply lean more on utilitymen Andy Ibanez or Zach McKinstry to fill holes while Meadows and Vierling are out, but finding more versatility on the bench (even from unexpected sources) is now a must
