The Tigers have optioned pitcher Rick Porcello to Triple-A Toledo. "We think it's the best thing for him," president Dave Dombrowski said. "Our goals are such to get him back to be the pitcher that we know he can be -- get his sinker going, get his slider improved. We saw some improvement yesterday, but not to the point we'd like it to be." Dombrowski said Porcello will start for the Mud Hens on Thursday and that there is no time frame for his possible return to the Tigers. "You can work on things at the minor-league level that you can't work on here," Dombrowski said. "The main thing is for him to throw the way he's capable of throwing."