LAKELAND, Fla. >> Last spring, right-hander Matt Manning came to camp with fire in his eyes. He knew he was facing a fierce fight to win a rotation spot and he was locked and loaded. He was uncharacteristically terse and combative with the media, impatient with just about anybody and anything that wasn’t germane to his work or his mission.

He was coiled for the fight.

Flash forward a year. There was a different jersey number hanging in his locker and, even though he’s facing a tougher path to a rotation spot, it was a much calmer and introspective Manning standing in front of it.

“I think I just put a lot of things into perspective,” he said. “Like, it really doesn’t matter if I’m pitching in the Bronx or on a back field in Lakeland. I just want to pitch to my highest potential every time I step on the mound.”

Few games teach perspective and humility like baseball. Manning, the No. 9 overall pick of the draft in 2016, got to the big leagues in 2021 and made 45 starts over three seasons, battling through various freaky injuries — breaking the same foot twice on comebackers, for example.

But 2024 ended up a totally broken year for him. He didn’t win the camp battle and started at Triple-A Toledo. He made five spot starts with the Tigers, the last being May 19. He ended up spending the rest of the season in Toledo, missing significant time due to a lat strain.

While he toiled in Toledo, he watched a fleet of pitchers get called up: Bryan Sammons, Keider Montero, Brant Hurter, Ty Madden, Mason Englert, Jackson Jobe. It had to be tough on his psyche.

It led to some soul-searching for sure.

“I don’t think it motivated me at all,” he said. “It just turned me into a better version of myself. At the end of the day, I am very thankful for what happened to me last year because it did put a roadblock on me and I had to find out who I am as a person.

“It was like, why am I even here if it’s all about pitching in the big leagues, you know? Finding some perspective in life and putting baseball in its right place, that was huge for me.”Baseball is a craft, a profession, a job, not his identity.

That’s not always an easy concept to grasp, especially for a 27-year-old athlete who has been on the star track since he was in high school.

And don’t be fooled by the new perspective — the competitive fire still burns. By no means is he conceding anything in this camp.

“I have a lot to build,” he said.

“I don’t think I’ve thrown my best stuff yet.

“What is going to be best for me is taking the stuff down in the bullpens and live BPs and taking it consistently into the game. If I can do that, I can lock in my mindset.

“If I can show some more maturity and confidence when I’m on the mound, that’s going to go a long way.”

As much as he seems at peace with his identity off the field, he’s still in search of who he is as a pitcher. He rose through the system on the strength of an elite fastball.

In 2023, he had a plus-7 run value on his four-seamer, per Statcast.

But it was a struggle to find consistency with his secondary pitches and with the fastball itself. The velocity on the heater would fluctuate wildly through a game, from 89-90 mph up to 95-96.

“Right now, that’s where I’ve kind of hit a hiccup,” Manning said. “I’ve primarily relied on my fastball. I know I have a good one and at this point, the whole league knows I have a good fastball. If I can start mixing in a little bit and find different ways to get people out, that’s going to be huge for me.”

He threw the four-seamer 48% of the time last season and a sweeper 34% of the time. He mixed a curveball and a few splitters to lefties and sliders to righties. He has made some changes to his repertoire, but he’s not divulging what they are.

As for the number change, talk about piling on.

“A guy came in and he wanted (No. 25) and it’s like, whatever,” Manning said. “I didn’t think I’d ever switch my number with this team.”

As he was saying this, MLB Network was showing highlights of Gleyber Torres, signed by the Tigers as a free agent from New York. That’s the guy who asked for and got Manning’s No. 25.

But Manning managed to find a silver lining.

He was offered No. 15, the same number his father, Rich Manning, wore as a member of the NBA’s Vancouver Grizzlies.

“That made it easier,” Matt Manning said.