Tigers roster: Danny Worth sent to minors; Tyler Collins virtual lock

Danny Worth, what more could you have done? Tyler Collins, congratulations on making The Show. The Tigers made a handful of roster moves on Tuesday morning, including assigning utility infielder Worth to minor league camp, optioning second baseman/shortstop Hernan Perez to Triple-A Toledo and purchasing the contract of recently-acquired shortstop Alex Gonzalez. With that, 13 position players remain in camp, so barring any deals in the next five days -- and this is the Tigers, so you can't bar that door too tightly -- we know what the roster looks like.

And if you're Collins, it looks pretty good. Drafted in 2011, the left-handed hitting outfielder earned his first big league contract with a .256/.333/.628 line this spring, good for a .961 OPS. In three minor-league seasons he has hit .272/.350/.449 (.799). The 23-year-old had 21 home runs and 29 doubles with Double-A Erie last year. Collins' opportunity arose when left fielder Andy Dirks had surgery performed on his back earlier this month, a procedure that came with a three-month recovery time. Knowing that left fielder Rajai Davis struggles against right-handed hitting, the Tigers had to find some kind of platoon partner to put in the outfield. It's too early to say how closely Ausmus will stick to the platoon, but Collins should have plenty of opportunity to play in the meantime.

With every good story though comes a bad one. For the second year in a row, Worth did all that you could ask of him at spring training and it still wasn't enough. He hit .302/.392/.505 (.927 OPS) in 19 Grapefruit League games. Up until the Tigers sent utility infielder Steve Lombardozzi to Baltimore in exchange for Gonzalez, it looked like Worth might make the team. Apparently the Tigers are no brighter on him this year. Being left on the outside while a player who barely played shortstop in the past year and can't hit at all is acquired and given a roster spot hardly seems fair -- and it doesn't appear to be in the best interest of the Tigers either, frankly. Worth was sent to minor-league camp rather than assigned a team because he is not a member of the 40-man roster.

Perez, like fellow young infielder Eugenio Suarez before him, showed he could play in the field but did little with the bat. That both need more work in the minors comes as little surprise.

Projected Tigers Opening Day positional roster (13)

*barring trades / other last-minute moves

Catchers (2)

Starter - Alex Avila
Backup - Bryan Holaday

Infielders (5)

1B: Miguel Cabrera
2B: Ian Kinsler
3B: Nick Castellanos
SS: Alex Gonzalez
Util: Andrew Romine

Outfielders (5)

LF: Rajai Davis
CF: Austin Jackson
RF: Torii Hunter
Util: Tyler Collins
Util: Don Kelly

Designated hitter (1)

Victor Martinez

Projected Tigers Opening Day pitching roster (12)

*barring trades / other last-minute moves

Starters (5)

RH Justin Verlander
RH Max Scherzer
RH Anibal Sanchez
RH Rick Porcello
LH Drew Smyly 

LH relief (2)

Ian Krol
Phil Coke

RH relief (5)

Evan Reed
Luke Putkonen
Al Alburquerque
Joba Chamberlain
Joe Nathan