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Tigers DET

198687–75 (0.537)
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GM: Bill Lajoie

Overview

Ranks vs the 30 teams in 1986, or a custom range (defaults to every team-season since 1985, when our data starts).

to

Front Office

PoorAverageGreat
Value
Payroll $M
$12M
Surplus $M
+1
Win %
0.537
TAB
+7.9
WAB
+4.0
Roster composition
Roster fWAR
43.1
Dead money %
22%
Depth Players
10.0
Dead WAR
-2.1

Offense

PoorAverageGreat

Pitching & Defense

PoorAverageGreat

Roster

1986 depth chart — stacked by playing time

C

RLance Parrish85
LDwight Lowry55
RMike Heath⇄30
LMatt Nokes7
RDave Engle3
RBrian Harper2

1B

LDarrell Evans105
LDave Bergman41
RDave Engle23
LHarry Spilman⇄14
LMike Laga⇄14
RTim Tolman3
RBrian Harper2
LDwight Lowry1

2B

LLou Whitaker141
RTom Brookens31
BDoug Baker2

3B

RDarnell Coles133
RTom Brookens35
LDarrell Evans2
RMike Heath⇄1
BScotti Madison1

SS

RAlan Trammell149
RTom Brookens14
BDoug Baker10
RDarnell Coles2

LF

RLarry Herndon83
BDave Collins76
LBruce Fields14
LPat Sheridan11
LJohnny Grubb10
RDave Engle2
LDave Bergman1

CF

RChet Lemon124
LPat Sheridan51
BDave Collins10
LKirk Gibson1
RTom Brookens1

RF

LKirk Gibson114
LPat Sheridan32
RBrian Harper11
BDave Collins11
LJohnny Grubb10
RTim Tolman4
RTom Brookens3
RDave Engle2
RDarnell Coles2
LDave Bergman1
LDwight Lowry1

DH

LJohnny Grubb46
LDarrell Evans40
BDave Collins23
RTom Brookens11
LHarry Spilman⇄10
RDarnell Coles7
RTim Tolman7
RLance Parrish5
RDave Engle5
LKirk Gibson4
RAlan Trammell1
RBrian Harper1
BScotti Madison1
LMike Laga⇄1

Starters

RJack Morris4.0 WAR
LFrank Tanana2.3 WAR
REric King1.5 WAR
RRandy O'Neal0.9 WAR
RWalt Terrell0.6 WAR
RDan Petry0.4 WAR
RBryan Kelly0.0 WAR
LMark Thurmond⇄0.0 WAR
LDave LaPoint⇄-0.1 WAR

Bullpen

★ LWillie Hernandez24 sv
RBill Campbell0 h
LMark Thurmond⇄0 h
RJim Slaton⇄0 h
LChuck Cary0 h
LBill Scherrer0 h
RBryan Kelly0 h
RJohn Pacella0 h

Each position shows its top 3 by games (top = starter) — click "+more" for the rest. The letter is bats/throws; ⇄ marks a player traded mid-season. Starters are ranked by WAR, bullpen by holds; ★ marks the closer (most save chances). MLB Stats API.

Key additions (new vs 1985)

PlayerfWAR
Darnell Coles2.6
Eric King1.5
Dave Collins1.4
Dwight Lowry1.4
Bill Campbell0.4
Mike Heath0.3

Key subtractions (gone from 1985)

Player1985 fWAR
Juan Berenguer0.9
Mickey Mahler0.6
Doug Bair0.4
Milt Wilcox0.2
Barbaro Garbey0.2
Bob Stoddard-0.1

Contract Value

WAR translated into tier-adjusted market value, then compared with what the player was paid by Tigers. Guaranteed contracts from the 2015-present contract-data period use the known contract period through 1986; everyone else is shown as a 1986 season snapshot.

PlayerPeriodfWARTier Market $MPaid $MSurplus $M$ / WARTierContract
Jack Morris 1986 +4.0 +69.6 0.9 +68.7 $0.2M 2.19× –
Alan Trammell 1986 +5.7 +68.7 0.6 +68.1 $0.1M 1.51× –
Kirk Gibson 1986 +3.6 +52.3 1.2 +51.1 $0.3M 1.79× –
Lou Whitaker 1986 +4.5 +43.8 0.7 +43.1 $0.1M 1.20× –
Chet Lemon 1986 +3.0 +38.9 0.7 +38.2 $0.2M 1.60× –
Darrell Evans 1986 +3.8 +36.5 0.8 +35.7 $0.2M 1.20× –
Frank Tanana 1986 +2.3 +27.7 0.7 +27.0 $0.3M 1.49× –
Johnny Grubb 1986 +2.6 +27.2 0.2 +27.0 $0.1M 1.33× –
Lance Parrish 1986 +3.4 +26.8 0.8 +26.0 $0.3M 1.00× –
Darnell Coles 1986 +2.6 +22.8 0.1 +22.7 $0.0M 1.12× –
Eric King 1986 +1.5 +11.8 0.1 +11.7 $0.0M 0.98× –
Dave Collins 1986 +1.4 +9.6 0.7 +8.9 $0.5M 0.83× –
Willie Hernandez 1986 +0.8 +8.8 1.0 +7.9 $1.2M 1.34× –
Larry Herndon 1986 +1.0 +6.9 0.7 +6.2 $0.7M 0.83× –
Dwight Lowry 1986 +1.4 +5.8 0.1 +5.8 $0.0M 0.52× –
Randy O'Neal 1986 +0.9 +4.7 0.1 +4.6 $0.1M 0.67× –
Walt Terrell 1986 +0.6 +4.6 0.3 +4.3 $0.5M 1.02× –
Dan Petry 1986 +0.4 +3.7 0.9 +2.8 $1.9M 1.02× –
Bill Campbell 1986 +0.4 +2.3 0.2 +2.1 $0.5M 0.67× –
Pat Sheridan 1986 +0.2 +1.5 0.1 +1.3 $0.7M 0.83× –
Mike Heath↔ 1986 +0.3 +1.1 0.2 +0.9 $0.6M 0.52× –
Harry Spilman↔ 1986 +0.1 +0.5 0.0 +0.5 $0.2M 0.69× –
Mike Laga↔ 1986 +0.1 +0.5 0.0 +0.5 $0.3M 0.69× –
Mark Thurmond↔ 1986 +0.0 +0.0 0.2 -0.1 $32.6M 0.67× –
Dave Bergman 1986 +0.0 +0.0 0.3 -0.3 $449.9M 0.56× –
Jim Slaton↔ 1986 -0.1 -0.6 0.2 -0.9 – 0.67× –
Dave LaPoint↔ 1986 -0.1 -1.2 0.2 -1.4 – 1.02× –
Tom Brookens 1986 +0.1 +0.3 0.3 +0.0 $4.5M 0.58× –
Bill Scherrer 1986 -0.4 -2.0 – – – 0.67× –
Brian Harper 1986 -0.4 -2.4 – – – 0.83× –
Bruce Fields 1986 -0.1 -0.8 – – – 0.83× –
Bryan Kelly 1986 +0.0 +0.2 – – – 1.02× –
Chuck Cary 1986 +0.1 +0.5 – – – 0.67× –
Dave Engle 1986 +0.0 +0.1 – – – 0.56× –
Doug Baker 1986 -0.3 -1.6 – – – 0.61× –
Jack Lazorko 1986 +0.0 +0.2 – – – 0.67× –
John Pacella 1986 -0.2 -0.8 – – – 0.67× –
Matt Nokes 1986 +0.2 +0.9 – – – 0.52× –
Scotti Madison 1986 -0.3 -1.4 – – – 0.58× –
Tim Tolman 1986 -0.2 -1.0 – – – 0.69× –
Total—+42.9+466.512.3+462.4—

Trades

Every graded 1986 deal involving the Tigers — best expected value first. Surplus is realized value in $M; 3 total.

1986 · STL / DET
STL · Dal Maxvill +$23.2M
Ken Hill, Mike Laga
DET · Bill Lajoie −$23.2M
Mike Heath
STL came out ahead by $23.2M
1986 · DET / MIN
DET · Bill Lajoie +$4.8M
Dave Engle
MIN · Andy MacPhail −$4.8M
Chris Pittaro, Alejandro Sánchez
DET came out ahead by $4.8M
1986 · DET / SDP
DET · Bill Lajoie +$0.8M
Mark Thurmond
SDP · Jack McKeon −$0.8M
Dave LaPoint
DET came out ahead by $0.8M

Current & Historical Payroll

1986 payroll
$12.2M

What the front office was committed to as of 1986, 1986–1992. Pre-2015 has no contract-terms data — forward italic $ are realized actuals (hindsight, not commitments known then). Control labels (ARB/FA) are point-in-time.

current $ guaranteed $ actual $ (hindsight) arbitration (proj) pre-arb (proj) free agent

Guaranteed / signed (21)

PlayerAgeSvc1986198719881989199019911992
Kirk Gibson297.000$1.2M$1.3MFREE AGENT
Willie Hernandez319.000$960k$1.1M$1.2M$1.3MFREE AGENT
Jack Morris319.000$875k$1.9M$2.0M$2.0M$2.1MFREE AGENT
Dan Petry277.000$875k$975kFREE AGENT$475k$276k
Lance Parrish309.000$850kFREE AGENT
Darrell Evans3917.000$793k$525k$860kFREE AGENT
Dave Collins3311.000$700kFREE AGENT
Chet Lemon3111.000$699k$699k$829k$829k$829kFREE AGENT
Larry Herndon3212.000$688k$225k$375kFREE AGENT
Lou Whitaker299.000$670k$420k$975k$1.0M$1.8M$2.0M$2.2M
Frank Tanana3213.000$662k$662k$1.1M$925k$1.1M$1.9M$1.7M
Alan Trammell289.000$567k$617k$1.0M$1.1M$1.8M$2.2M$2.4M
Tom Brookens327.000$325k$360k$350kFREE AGENT
Dave Bergman3311.000$317k$332k$360k$438k$525k$575k$375k
Johnny Grubb3714.000$250k$365kFREE AGENT
Jim Slaton3615.000$244kFREE AGENT
Dave LaPoint266.000$220kFREE AGENT
Bill Campbell3713.000$200kFREE AGENT
Mike Heath318.000$168k$650k$400k$425k$600kFREE AGENT
Harry Spilman318.000$18kFREE AGENT
Brian Harper267.000—FREE AGENT

Arbitration-eligible (7)

PlayerAgeSvc1986198719881989199019911992
Walt Terrell284.000$260kARB 3FREE AGENT
Mark Thurmond293.000$157kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Pat Sheridan285.000$150kFREE AGENT
Darnell Coles243.000$75kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Mike Laga264.000$33kARB 3FREE AGENT
Dave Engle295.000—FREE AGENT
Bill Scherrer284.000—ARB 3FREE AGENT

Pre-arbitration (12)

PlayerAgeSvc1986198719881989199019911992
Randy O'Neal252.000$80kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Dwight Lowry282.000$62kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Eric King220.000$60kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Doug Baker252.000—ARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Chuck Cary261.000—Pre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Bruce Fields250.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Bryan Kelly27–—
Jack Lazorko302.000—ARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Scotti Madison261.000—Pre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Matt Nokes221.000—Pre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
John Pacella29–—
Tim Tolman30–—

Graphs

How each 1986 acquisition stacked onto Tigers's playoff-odds curve. The side table is ranked by PPA.

Rosternomics — front-office performance, roster value, and transaction history. Follow @rosternomics on X.
Decision-maker records extend to 1933; resource-controlled WAR and payroll metrics cover 1985–2026. Data sources include FanGraphs, Baseball-Reference, the Chadwick Bureau register, the Lahman Database, prospect rankings from Baseball America, MLB Pipeline, and FanGraphs, and public payroll records. Transaction and trade data was obtained free of charge from and is copyrighted by Retrosheet. Executive birth/death data via Wikidata (CC0).
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