LAKELAND, Fla. -- The Tigers moved within one pitcher of setting their Opening Day 25-man roster on Wednesday by shedding seven players from camp, including center fielder Nook Logan and right-hander Roman Colon.

Logan, Colon, utility infielder Don Kelly and right-handed reliever Mark Woodyard were optioned to Triple-A Toledo. Non-roster invitees Alexis Gomez, Mike Hessman and Hector Mercado were reassigned to Minor League camp.

With those moves, manager Jim Leyland set the 13 positional players on his roster. Ramon Santiago made the team as a second utility infielder, while Marcus Thames won the fourth outfielder competition by beating out Gomez and Logan.

The latter was more of a surprise. Though Thames has hit well this spring -- batting .298 with four home runs and seven RBIs -- he's not a center fielder, instead limited to the corner spots. That was expected to be a hindrance compared to Logan and Gomez, who can conceivably play any of the three spots.

Because left fielder Craig Monroe can shift over to center or start some games there, it wasn't as big an issue to Leyland as first thought. Monroe's flexibility allowed Leyland to keep a power bat he wanted to have on his bench.

It's a turnabout from last year, when Thames' solid spring went for naught once then-manager Alan Trammell kept Bobby Higginson on his roster. Thames was called up less than two weeks later and hit a grand slam in his first game back, but struggled from there.

Thames has generally struggled in a bench role with a lack of at-bats.

"I just want this guy to get a chance," Leyland said. "I know he hasn't done it in that situation, but he's one of ours. I think he's earned the right to at least get another shot to see if he can do it. I really like him a lot. I have respect for him."

Colon, too, was a surprise. He came into camp as a candidate for the fifth starter spot that eventually went to Justin Verlander. At worst, though, he appeared likely to make the roster in a long relief role. One reason that didn't happen is that Leyland sees more potential in him as a starter.

"It's not good news for him today," Leyland said, "but I believe this: I want him to go down and start. I think that when his slider gets a little better and he uses his changeup more, I think he's got the potential to be a guy that we'd be looking for, maybe in the not-too-distant future. That's not music to his ears today, but I believe that."

Colon went 1-0 with a 3.63 ERA in seven spring appearances, allowing 20 hits in 17 1/3 innings with five walks and 10 strikeouts.

Logan's omission from the roster was a slight surprise based on the potential role he had going into Spring Training. His struggles in camp, including a three-error game and a .207 average, put him behind in the competition for the center field job. Even a respectable spring, however, probably wouldn't have helped against Curtis Granderson's .389 average, five homers, 10 RBIs, 11 walks and seven stolen bases.

Once Granderson won the starting job flat-out, Logan was likely headed to Toledo.

"To start out with, I don't want Granderson looking over his shoulder knowing that there's another center fielder sitting right there," Leyland said. "I want to give Granderson the benefit of the doubt. In my opinion, he won the job, and I don't want him looking over his shoulder if he goes 0-for-4 and strikes out three times, and that's certainly going to happen. I want to try to get him to settle in and see what happens."

No additional pitchers were named to the team on Wednesday, but Leyland said he's basically made up his mind about who to take. The extra couple days are intended to help sort out some options, including possible trades. Detroit has three spots still open in the bullpen and four pitchers still without roles: Jason Grilli, Chris Spurling, Franklyn German and Bobby Seay.

It's expected that that final move won't happen until Friday after clearing up procedural matters. That likely means either German or Grilli will be moved. Both are out of options and would have to clear waivers to be sent to the Minors, which would explain why moving one of them would take extra time.