Oliver, Turner among Tigers' 18 roster cuts

Oliver, Turner among Tigers' 18 roster cuts
Garcia, Douglas also in group optioned or assigned to Minors
By Jason Beck / MLB.com | 03/15/11 1:20 PM ET

LAKELAND, Fla. -- The Tigers made their first round of roster cuts a big one, trimming 18 players from their Spring Training camp on Tuesday. Top pitching prospects Andy Oliver and Jacob Turner were among them, as were highly regarded position players Avisail Garcia and Brandon Douglas.

Oliver was optioned to Triple-A Toledo, where he spent the final six weeks of last season and showed progress with his secondary pitches. He'll try to continue that under new Mud Hens manager Phil Nevin, Oliver's manager for part of last season at Double-A Erie, while waiting to see if the Tigers need starting help as the season rolls along.

Turner, meanwhile, will begin his second pro season at Erie. He split last year between Class A West Michigan and Lakeland. The move mirrors Oliver's step up last year, and puts the 19-year-old in position for a potential callup this season if the Tigers need help.

Joining Oliver at Toledo will be fellow pitchers Duane Below, Lester Oliveros, Jose Ortega and infielders Audy Ciriaco, Cale Iorg and Ryan Strieby. Turner was the only player on the 40-man roster optioned to Erie.

Ten non-roster invitees, including Ben Guez and Garcia, were assigned to Minor League camp, where they'll get their classification assignments later. They include pitchers John Bale and Chris Oxspring; catchers Rob Brantly, Bryan Holaday, Patrick Leyland, John Murrian and Omir Santos.

Among the players still in camp are pitchers Brayan Villarreal, Adam Wilk, Brendan Wise and Charlie Furbush, infielder Argenis Diaz and outfielder Andy Dirks.

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. Read Beck's Blog and follow him on Twitter @beckjason. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.