LAKELAND, Fla. — Kerry Carpenter, a left-handed hitter, wants more opportunities to hit against left-handed pitchers this season after being limited to right-handed pitchers since making his MLB debut in August 2022.

The Detroit Tigers are open to expanding Carpenter’s role on offense, but won’t abandon their best strategy for scoring runs.

“I think the goal is to put ourselves in the best position to score the most runs,” manager A.J. Hinch said Saturday morning, referencing left-handed hitters Carpenter, Colt Keith, Jace Jung and Parker Meadows, “and they’re going to get opportunities, and probably more opportunities moving forward, but more doesn’t mean every one. We have an open mind as to how to best use our roster, but I stand behind that my job is to use the roster the best way I can.”

Here’s the big news: Carpenter is going to ask Hinch to play him against every left-handed starter and reliever in spring training games, and when he’s not in games, he wants to be able to walk to the backfields to take swings against left-handers from his own team.

“That’s my plan,” Carpenter said.

He hopes to become an everyday player.

Carpenter already crushes right-handed pitchers, so his value would skyrocket — from a Joc Pederson-caliber player to a Yordan Alvarez-caliber player — if he can hit left-handers.

“I believe that I can do it,” Carpenter said Saturday afternoon, “because I had a lot of success against lefties in the minor leagues. Certain guys are tough, but I know I can do it. It’s just getting the opportunity and taking advantage of it.”

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Carpenter was one of the best players in baseball against right-handed pitching in 2024. His .994 OPS ranked fifth among position players with at least 250 plate appearances against right-handers, trailing only Aaron Judge (1.132), Shohei Ohtani (1.128), Bobby Witt Jr. (1.012) and Juan Soto (.999).

He hit .305 with 17 home runs and a .994 OPS in 264 plate appearances against righties.

But he hit .107 with one home run and a .408 OPS against lefties.

Over his three-year MLB career, Carpenter has received 734 plate appearances against right-handed pitchers and 134 plate appearances against lefties. The results: a .290 average, 40 homers and an .897 OPS against righties versus a .202 average, four homers and a .588 OPS against lefties.

Simply put, Carpenter has performed significantly better against righties, which is why he sits against left-handed starters and gets pulled against lefty relievers.

“We know he’s a massive threat, whether he’s in the box or coming off the bench,” Hinch said. “When I make those moves, maybe I’ve done a poor job of trying to convince you guys it’s about the guy coming off the bench, and I think that is going to continue to be the case as we try to adapt to how teams are approaching us.”

The right-handed hitters off the bench: Andy Ibáñez hit .292 with an .802 OPS against lefties; Justyn-Henry Malloy hit .250 with an .893 OPS against lefties; Spencer Torkelson hit .235 with a .798 OPS against lefties.

“Just because I pinch-hit for him doesn’t mean I don’t trust him,” Hinch said of Carpenter.

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In 2024, Hinch made strategic pinch-hit moves when opposing teams brought in a left-handed reliever to face Carpenter in the later innings. This forced Hinch to replace Carpenter with a right-handed hitter off the bench, such as Ibáñez.

In 2025, Hinch wonders if opposing teams will start using left-handed relievers against Carpenter as early as the fourth or fifth inning. This would force him to either let Carpenter face a lefty or remove him from the game much earlier than usual.

“Are they going to bring in pitchers in the fourth and fifth trying to chase Carp out of the game? Maybe,” Hinch said. “But I go back to Andy Ibáñez getting a base hit off (Houston Astros left-handed reliever Josh) Hader and crushing lefties. That role is still going to be available to him.”

The pinch-hit strategy worked for the Tigers in 2024, but Hinch plans to keep an open mind to giving Carpenter (and other left-handed hitters) more opportunities against lefty pitchers.

It’s exactly what Carpenter wants.

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He needs to prove he can be successful against lefties.

Until then, his value is limited as a platoon player.

“Getting the at-bats here in spring training is going to help in just seeing it as much as I possibly can right now,” said Carpenter, who will be eligible for salary arbitration for the first time after the 2025 season, “and the results are going to be what they are. Coming to peace with that is all I can do.”

Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.

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