LAKELAND, Fla. -- Tigers manager Jim Leyland isn't getting that gut feeling.

It was around this time last Spring Training that Leyland's gut feeling was turning bad. The veteran skipper didn't know it would be a last-place season, of course, but with so many issues and so many questions, he wasn't getting a good vibe for the way the season would unfold.

As the Tigers prepared to unwind for Thursday's first off-day of this Spring Training, Leyland didn't have that bad feeling.

But he isn't getting the feeling of an easy Spring Training, either.

"We've got a big job on our hands here before this is over," Leyland said Wednesday morning.

Most of the questions Detroit had going into camp remain unanswered, not that most get solved three weeks before Opening Day anyway. But many of the questions answered have actually spawned more questions. The case of Rick Porcello and his rotation bid is only one, albeit the biggest.

"We've got some very important issues," Leyland said. "I would say probably 85 percent of it is in the pitching department, and the other 15 percent is in the position department."

Leyland didn't go into detail about the roster decisions, but they've been out there for a while.

Porcello has gone from rotation long shot to the best performer among the starting pitchers in camp so far. While he's still answering the question of facing Major League pressure, he has arguably proven he has Major League stuff.

Yet his candidacy has also progressed to this point because Nate Robertson and Dontrelle Willis have had mixed results and, more importantly, mixed command to this point. Their situations aren't any more clear than they were when pitchers and catchers began formal workouts a month ago.

If Porcello were to make the team, the question of what to do with Robertson or Willis would become a focal point. One question that does seem clearer now, though, is that the idea of trading excess starting pitching seems outdated. Leyland said there's "absolutely nothing going" on the trade front in general, though it's a little early for that anyway.

Leyland isn't making any public evaluations on the rotation front. All he's saying is that he's watching.

"We have issues," Leyland said of his roster questions. "I don't think they're bad issues. They're actually good issues. Let's find out. Let's find out who the guys are, who steps up, who in the end makes the most sense for our team. We have a very tough Spring Training."

Leyland has also seen Spring Training struggles from Justin Verlander and Edwin Jackson, though he isn't worried about those. They become important in the context of getting deeper into games and taking some stress off of a bullpen whose middle-inning specialists are unclear at this point. Leyland expects them to eat innings in the end.

Maybe a little less clear than a few weeks ago are the health issues of Jeremy Bonderman and Joel Zumaya. Both came into Spring Training throwing well and without setbacks in their injury rehabs, but both had precautionary exams over the past week and a half because of shoulder issues.

Both have been given a clean bill of health, but they have yet to pitch in game situations since. That'll come Saturday morning, when the Tigers line up a simulated game on the practice fields behind Joker Marchant Stadium.

"That doesn't sound like much, but that's a huge day for me," Leyland said. "The anxiety of waiting for that day is huge for me. That's huge stuff."

A healthy Bonderman is the difference between Leyland filling one rotation spot or two, and the trickle effect goes down to the bullpen. A healthy Zumaya is the difference between having a late-inning group in place with recently impressive Fernando Rodney and Brandon Lyon, or having one primary setup man with others picking up opportunities.

Judging on Spring Training results and execution, the Tigers might actually have some depth building on the relief side. Beyond Bobby Seay's solid outings, Juan Rincon has six innings of two-hit scoreless ball and, more importantly, a quality slider and a fastball with movement again. Casey Fien has been an efficient strike-pounding blessing in a stretch of deep counts and rising pitch totals for Detroit pitchers.

Rule 5 Draft pick Kyle Bloom and his breaking ball will go lefty-on-lefty for six hitters in Saturday's simulated game. Scott Williamson rebounded from Sunday's bad outing with two impressive innings Wednesday. Freddy Dolsi has held off runs and cut his walks to one over 5 2/3 innings so far, including last week's exhibition against Team Venezuela.

There's enough depth that Leyland can afford to list first-round Draft pick Ryan Perry as a "long shot" after 4 2/3 scoreless innings, five strikeouts and power fastballs. A healthy Zumaya allows the Tigers to pick and choose their depth in the middle innings rather than needing help in the later ones. A converted starter, on the other hand, could take up a long role or a second lefty spot.

"We've got so much to follow with our pitching, it's kept it very, very interesting," Leyland said. "It keeps you on your toes every minute of every day."

On the positional side, the last spot on the roster has become a showcase of sorts. Lefty infield slugger Jeff Larish is arguably one of the Tigers' best hitters in spring games so far, but Brent Clevlen has quietly demonstrated his progress in hitting for contact. With regulars away at the World Baseball Classic, Ryan Raburn, meanwhile, has taken advantage of an open outfield spot and taken a ton of repetitions in center, trying to demonstrate he can be a quality backup there.

Then there's young Clete Thomas, who could be throwing in games within the next week or so in his return from Tommy John elbow ligament replacement surgery. Once he does, Detroit has a short time to judge where he fits.

By then, though, the Tigers could have their regular outfielders back from the Classic. And Leyland says he'll have some fundamental work to cram into the final two weeks of camp, a quiet concern for him.

"I do worry about those guys in the Classic a little bit, to be honest with you," he said. "They already know how to do it, but you still have to do it."

Add it up, and there are a bunch of issues facing Leyland over the next few weeks. There were a bunch of issues facing him last year, too. But these aren't the same type of issues, and he isn't getting that same bad feeling.

"We're going to have to put it all together at the end, but I like our team a lot, to be honest with you," he said. "If Bonderman and Zumaya and some of those guys aren't healthy, I won't like it as much."