BRADENTON, Fla. -- Ryan Carpenter’s scoreless Spring Training was not enough to crash Detroit's Opening Day roster as a lefty reliever. The Tigers optioned the left-hander to Triple-A Toledo, where he’s expected to serve as starting-pitching depth.

Also sent out were infielders Harold Castro and Pete Kozma, along with catcher Hector Sanchez. All were assigned to Minor League camp, where they’ll likely end up joining Carpenter with the Mud Hens.

Carpenter posted a 1-2 record and a 7.25 ERA in six appearances for the Tigers last year, five of them starts. Detroit kept him on the 40-man roster through the offseason with an aim towards pitching depth, but Carpenter impressed this spring with 11 scoreless innings on four hits, walking one and striking out eight.

Castro and Kozma both appeared for the Tigers last season -- Kozma as a fill-in shortstop for the injured Jose Iglesias, and Castro as a September callup.

The 25-year-old Castro went 3-for-10 in six games at shortstop and second base. The 30-year-old Kozma batted .217 (15-for-69) with four doubles, a triple, a home run and eight RBIs in 27 games for Detroit, but his strength, as always, was his defense.

The moves leave the Tigers with 32 players in Major League camp. They’ll have to cut down to 25 by Opening Day next Thursday. One of those moves will involve putting Michael Fulmer on the injured list.

Boyd stretches out pitch count

Matthew Boyd was expected to stretch out his pitch count in his next-to-last start of the spring. He not only threw 91 pitches over 4 2/3 innings in Tuesday’s 3-1 loss to the Pirates, he then threw more pitches in the bullpen after talking with pitching coach Rick Anderson.

“I think I'm stretched out,” he said.

Boyd allowed three runs (two earned) on seven hits and two walks, but he struck out seven. He got out of the fourth inning with help from a diving catch by Minor League callup Cam Gibson, his second highlight catch in as many days. This one turned a Lonnie Chisenhall liner into an inning-ending double play.

“I was happy about that. That’s nice of him to pick me up,” Boyd said.

The outing was probably Boyd’s last on the Major League side. His turn comes back around on Sunday, when the Tigers face the Jays -- the same team Detroit face in a week and a half to open the regular season. If Jordan Zimmermann pitches Opening Day in Toronto as expected, Boyd would seemingly be on track to pitch the second game.

Quick hits

• Despite Fulmer’s right elbow injury, the Tigers did get some good news on the injury front. Reliever Drew VerHagen returned to action on Tuesday with one scoreless inning on one hit and two strikeouts. It marked his first outing since March 6, when he felt tightness around his right shoulder, similar to the thoracic-outlet symptoms he battled a few years ago.

• Josh Lester’s sixth appearance with the Tigers this spring created some confusion, because it happened with him wearing bullpen catcher Jeremy Carrell’s jersey. Lester’s jersey was left back in Lakeland, forcing Detroit to scramble to find a replacement to fit his 6-foot-3, 225-pound frame.

Up next

The Tigers are on the road again on Wednesday to Clearwater, where Spencer Turnbull will make one more start in his bid for a rotation spot in a 1:05 p.m. ET game against the Phillies. The game will be broadcast on MLB.TV.