JUPITER, Fla. -- For the first time in over a decade, Curtis Granderson finds himself in an unfamiliar position at the start of Spring Training.

The last time Granderson entered camp without a guaranteed spot on the Opening Day roster was 2006, his third year with the Tigers. Granderson, who turns 38 on March 16, is instead a non-roster invitee who signed a Minor League deal with the Marlins earlier this month. He is competing for one of the final spots on a young, inexperienced roster.

However, Granderson, a three-time All-Star outfielder, isn't fazed by needing to play well in order to earn a roster spot.

“The one thing about this game, you’re always trying to improve and get better and get yourself ready for Opening Day,” Granderson said. “Even if you come in as a contract guy in the middle of a long deal, you’ve been there for a little bit, you’re still trying to get yourself ready and that’s competing with yourself, it’s competing with other guys. Nothing changes.”

Marlins manager Don Mattingly said Granderson will primarily be a platoon hitter who will take most of his at-bats against right-handed pitchers. Granderson platooned for the Blue Jays and Brewers last year and compiled a slash line of .247/.355/.444 against righties with 13 home runs in 375 plate appearances.

Granderson didn’t find as much success against lefties, who limited him to a .174/.296/.261 slash line with 13 strikeouts in 28 plate appearances.

“I’ve seen Curtis before -- he’s hit lefties,” Mattingly said. “He’s got hits off them in the playoffs.”

Granderson is a career .222/.296/.399 hitter against left-handed pitchers, though his lifetime average against left-handed starters (.252) is the same as how he's fared against right-handed starters.

“This game has a way of kind of giving you situations beforehand that kind of prepare you for stuff that may happen down the line,” Granderson said. “So if it ends up being in that situation, it’s something I’ve done recently. I understood that exactly with the Blue Jays and the Brewers.”

A mainstay across various lineups in recent years, Granderson's 123 games last year were his fewest since playing in 61 during an injury-plagued 2013 with the Yankees. His last year in the Bronx aside, Granderson had hit at least 20 home runs every year since 2007 up until last season.

Granderson praised Mattingly and the Marlins for how upfront they’ve been in communicating their plans for him.

“We’re adults here,” Granderson said. “You may say some stuff I may not want to hear, but I’d rather hear it than understand and speculate something different.”

Mattingly made clear Thursday that he has faith in Granderson, who could potentially start in left field this season. Mattingly said he plans to get Granderson at-bats against left-handers this spring and won’t shy away from leaving him in to face a southpaw reliever.

“You don’t want him to be in a position that every time a lefty comes into a game, you take him out,” Mattingly said.

If things don’t work out in Miami, Granderson said he’s already begun thinking about what would be next. Granderson said he’ll pass on going into coaching and likely won’t pursue a broadcasting career because he instead wants to focus on his two charities: GrandKids and Look to the Stars.

“There are a lot of options,” Granderson said. “I consider it an octopus with a bunch of tentacles on it.”

The last time Granderson found himself in this situation, he was a 25-year-old, who, after winning the starting center field job in Detroit, helped the Tigers to a miracle World Series run in '06. Detroit was only three years removed from losing 119 games before Granderson quickly emerged as one of the league’s most dynamic outfielders.

Could something similar happen in Miami this summer? For now, Granderson’s priority is playing for a 16th straight season, though he knows what’s at stake this spring.

“If at the end, they say, ‘Hey, you’re not gonna be on the team,’ I’ll be happy with that because I understand what I needed to do. It just wasn’t in the cards for me,” Granderson said. “Now if they say the reverse, ‘Hey, you’re gonna be on the team,’ I’ll obviously be happy with that as well. But the main thing is my focus and my mindset hasn’t changed.”