LAKELAND, Fla. -- Four years have passed since Keston Hiura's promising rookie season with the Brewers in 2019. He has hit .205 in 200 Major League games since then, with more than twice as many strikeouts (273) as hits (128), and he did not play in the big leagues last year. Historically, he has not fit the Tigers¡¯ profile of hitters who control the strike zone.

So why did the 27-year-old arrive at Tigertown on Monday morning, having signed a Minor League contract with a non-roster invite to Major League camp? Because there¡¯s enough intrigue about his offensive potential, and the adjustments he made in Triple-A last year, for a team seeking offensive depth to take a look.

¡°They¡¯re in a position where they want to compete,¡± said Hiura, the 59th player in Tigers camp. ¡°They gave me a call and said, ¡®Hey, we think you can help us in multiple ways.¡¯ Obviously if I can swing that bat well, there¡¯s an opportunity for me.¡±

Hiura batted .308 with 23 home runs, 77 RBIs and a .960 OPS last year in 85 games with Triple-A Nashville. His 24.5 percent strikeout rate was a drastic drop from his 36 percent career rate in the Majors. It was not enough to earn a callup from the Brewers, but it helped Hiura learn about his hitting process.

¡°Throughout my whole baseball career, I kind of just went up there and swung the bat, tried to hit the ball hard and whatever happened, happened,¡± he said. ¡°And for the longest time, it worked. But I think when things start to go bad, you start to look back at old swings, swings that made you successful. But I didn¡¯t really have a foundation of what to go back on. I just went up there and swung. Once I learned a little bit more and gained an understanding of what makes my swing successful, it was easier to get back in the rhythm of things and make adjustments.¡±

A knee injury that cost Hiura about six weeks in the offseason hurt his chances for a promotion, too.

¡°The goal is always to be in the big leagues. Sometimes the ball doesn¡¯t roll that way,¡± Hiura said. ¡°I felt like I did everything in my control to put myself in that position to contribute at the big league level, but it just didn¡¯t happen to work out.¡±

Hiura worked out at first base Monday. He also played some in left field last year, but that¡¯s unlikely to be a regular position for him should he make the club, given the Tigers¡¯ outfield depth.

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Hiura already has some knowledge of the Tigers. He worked out with Tarik Skubal in Arizona the last couple years and with Alex Faedo last offseason.

¡°Everyone¡¯s on the younger side. That¡¯s what can make this team very successful, kind of growing together and figuring everything out from there,¡± Hiura said.

Time for a speech

Manager A.J. Hinch delivered his annual speech to the players before their first full-squad workout. This time, he acknowledged his club's high expectations, but kept his focus on the process.

¡°I know our guys are prepared. I know the work they¡¯ve done. I wanted to thank them for that on the front end,¡± Hinch said. ¡°And then I challenged them [to do] the work that needs to get done to talk the way that we want to talk. The attention on our team has been great. The enthusiasm, the optimism is great. We¡¯ve got to be laser-focused on building that. ¡­

¡°The message from me was I believe in them, and I believe we can get where we want to get to. But we¡¯ve got to pave the way there. We can¡¯t just get to the end without doing the work on the front end.¡±

Quick hits

? Heavy rain all weekend limited most of Monday¡¯s workouts to the main stadium field and an artificial-turf back field. The Tigers expect to have all fields available Tuesday, when hitters are scheduled to face pitchers.

? All players have reported to camp on time.