Tigers — Front Office

Overview

Ranks vs the 30 teams in 1987, or a custom range (defaults to every team-season since 1985, when our data starts).

Front Office

PoorAverageGreat

Value

Payroll $M

$13M

Surplus $M

Win %

0.605

TAB

+12.3

WAB

+13.8

Roster composition

Roster fWAR

48.7

Dead money %

29%

Depth Players

10.0

Dead WAR

-2.7

Offense

PoorAverageGreat

Pitching & Defense

PoorAverageGreat

Roster

1987 depth chart — stacked by playing time

C

LMatt Nokes109

RMike Heath67

LDwight Lowry12

ROrlando Mercado⇄10

1B

LDarrell Evans105

LDave Bergman65

RBill Madlock⇄23

RMike Heath4

LDwight Lowry1

RJim Morrison⇄1

2B

LLou Whitaker148

BJim Walewander24

RTom Brookens11

RJim Morrison⇄3

BDoug Baker1

RMike Heath1

3B

RTom Brookens122

RDarnell Coles⇄51

RJim Morrison⇄24

RBill Madlock⇄17

BJim Walewander17

LDarrell Evans7

RMike Heath4

LMatt Nokes2

LJohnny Grubb1

BDoug Baker1

SS

RAlan Trammell149

RTom Brookens17

BDoug Baker6

RJim Morrison⇄5

BJim Walewander3

RMike Heath2

LF

LKirk Gibson119

RLarry Herndon32

LJohnny Grubb21

LScott Lusader6

LBilly Bean5

RMike Heath4

LDave Bergman3

LMatt Nokes3

RTim Tolman2

RJim Morrison⇄1

CF

RChet Lemon145

LPat Sheridan26

LBilly Bean17

LScott Lusader3

LKirk Gibson2

RMike Heath1

RF

LPat Sheridan124

RLarry Herndon26

RMike Heath20

LScott Lusader16

LJohnny Grubb10

RTim Tolman5

LDave Bergman4

LBilly Bean3

LMatt Nokes1

RJim Morrison⇄1

DH

RBill Madlock⇄64

LDarrell Evans38

RLarry Herndon18

LMatt Nokes16

RTerry Harper⇄8

LJohnny Grubb7

LKirk Gibson4

RDarnell Coles⇄2

RJim Morrison⇄1

Starters

RJack Morris4.1 WAR

LFrank Tanana4.1 WAR

RWalt Terrell3.2 WAR

RDoyle Alexander⇄2.5 WAR

RJeff Robinson1.7 WAR

REric King0.6 WAR

RDan Petry0.1 WAR

RNate Snell-0.0 WAR

Bullpen

★ REric King9 sv

RMike Henneman0 h

LMark Thurmond0 h

LWillie Hernandez0 h

RNate Snell0 h

RBryan Kelly0 h

RDickie Noles⇄0 h

LMorris Madden0 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 1986)

Player	fWAR
Doyle Alexander	2.5
Mike Henneman	1.9
Jeff Robinson	1.7
Bill Madlock	1.2
Billy Bean	0.6
Scott Lusader	0.4

Key subtractions (gone from 1986)

Player	1986 fWAR
Lance Parrish	3.4
Dave Collins	1.4
Randy O'Neal	0.9
Bill Campbell	0.4
Mike Laga	0.1
Harry Spilman	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 1987; everyone else is shown as a 1987 season snapshot.

Player	Period	fWAR	Tier Market $M	Paid $M	Surplus $M	$ / WAR	Tier	Contract
Alan Trammell	1987	+7.7	+92.5	0.6	+91.8	$0.1M	1.51×	–
Frank Tanana	1987	+4.1	+71.8	0.7	+71.1	$0.2M	2.19×	–
Jack Morris	1987	+4.1	+71.5	1.9	+69.7	$0.5M	2.19×	–
Kirk Gibson	1987	+4.0	+57.3	1.3	+56.0	$0.3M	1.79×	–
Chet Lemon	1987	+3.8	+54.4	0.7	+53.7	$0.2M	1.79×	–
Walt Terrell	1987	+3.2	+50.7	0.6	+50.1	$0.2M	1.96×	–
Darrell Evans	1987	+4.6	+43.7	0.5	+43.2	$0.1M	1.20×	–
Mike Henneman	1987	+1.9	+29.7	0.1	+29.7	$0.0M	1.95×	–
Doyle Alexander↔	1987	+2.5	+29.5	0.3	+29.2	$0.1M	1.49×	–
Matt Nokes	1987	+3.4	+27.3	0.1	+27.3	$0.0M	1.00×	–
Lou Whitaker	1987	+3.1	+27.0	0.4	+26.6	$0.1M	1.07×	–
Jeff Robinson	1987	+1.7	+20.7	0.1	+20.7	$0.0M	1.49×	–
Larry Herndon	1987	+1.7	+16.7	0.2	+16.5	$0.1M	1.22×	–
Mike Heath	1987	+1.5	+9.1	0.7	+8.5	$0.4M	0.76×	–
Bill Madlock↔	1987	+1.2	+6.6	0.7	+5.9	$0.6M	0.69×	–
Eric King	1987	+0.6	+6.0	0.1	+5.9	$0.2M	1.34×	–
Mark Thurmond	1987	+0.3	+3.1	0.4	+2.8	$1.3M	1.34×	–
Dave Bergman	1987	+0.6	+2.8	0.3	+2.5	$0.5M	0.56×	–
Pat Sheridan	1987	+0.1	+0.9	0.2	+0.7	$1.4M	0.83×	–
Dickie Noles↔	1987	+0.0	+0.1	0.0	+0.1	$0.3M	0.67×	–
Tom Brookens	1987	-0.1	-0.6	0.4	-0.9	–	0.58×	–
Johnny Grubb	1987	-0.1	-0.8	0.4	-1.2	–	0.83×	–
Jim Morrison↔	1987	-0.3	-1.2	0.1	-1.3	–	0.58×	–
Terry Harper↔	1987	-0.3	-1.5	0.2	-1.7	–	0.69×	–
Willie Hernandez	1987	-0.1	-1.3	1.1	-2.4	–	1.34×	–
Darnell Coles↔	1987	-1.0	-5.8	0.1	-5.9	–	0.69×	–
Dan Petry	1987	+0.1	+1.0	1.0	-0.0	$8.3M	1.02×	–
Billy Bean	1987	+0.6	+3.8	–	–	–	0.83×	–
Bryan Kelly	1987	-0.1	-0.4	–	–	–	0.67×	–
Doug Baker	1987	+0.1	+0.4	–	–	–	0.61×	–
Dwight Lowry	1987	-0.2	-0.9	–	–	–	0.52×	–
Jim Walewander	1987	+0.0	+0.1	–	–	–	0.56×	–
Morris Madden	1987	-0.1	-0.4	–	–	–	0.67×	–
Nate Snell	1987	-0.0	-0.0	–	–	–	0.67×	–
Orlando Mercado↔	1987	-0.3	-1.2	–	–	–	0.52×	–
Scott Lusader	1987	+0.4	+2.7	–	–	–	0.83×	–
Tim Tolman	1987	-0.1	-0.7	–	–	–	0.83×	–
Total	—	+48.6	+614.6	13.2	+598.6	—

Trades

Every graded 1987 deal involving the Tigers — best expected value first. Surplus is realized value in $M; 10 total.

1987 · ATL / DET

ATL · Bobby Cox +$505.6M

John Smoltz

DET · Bill Lajoie −$505.6M

Doyle Alexander

ATL came out ahead by $505.6M

1987 · DET / ANA

DET · Bill Lajoie +$55.2M

Gary Pettis

ANA · Mike Port −$55.2M

Dan Petry

DET came out ahead by $55.2M

1987 · DET / SEA

DET · Bill Lajoie +$0.0M

Karl Best

SEA · Dick Balderson +$0.0M

Bryan Kelly

Even trade

1987 · DET / PIT

DET · Bill Lajoie +$5.6M

Shawn Holman, Pete Rice

PIT · Syd Thrift −$5.6M

Terry Harper

DET came out ahead by $5.6M

1987 · LAD / DET

LAD · Al Campanis +$0.0M

Orlando Mercado

DET · Bill Lajoie +$0.0M

Balvino Gálvez

Even trade

1987 · TEX / DET

TEX · Tom Grieve +$2.4M

Dario Guzman

DET · Bill Lajoie −$2.4M

Orlando Mercado

TEX came out ahead by $2.4M

1987 · DET / SEA

DET · Bill Lajoie +$2.4M

Stan Clarke

SEA · Dick Balderson −$2.4M

Bruce Fields

DET came out ahead by $2.4M

1987 · CHC / DET

CHC · Dallas Green +$0.8M

cash / PTBNL

DET · Bill Lajoie −$0.8M

Dickie Noles

CHC came out ahead by $0.8M

1987 · PIT / DET

PIT · Syd Thrift +$4.0M

Darnell Coles, Morris Madden

DET · Bill Lajoie −$4.0M

Jim Morrison

PIT came out ahead by $4.0M

1987 · ATL / DET

ATL · Bobby Cox +$3.2M

Randy O'Neal, Chuck Cary

DET · Bill Lajoie −$3.2M

Terry Harper, Freddy Tiburcio

ATL came out ahead by $3.2M

Current & Historical Payroll

1987 payroll

$12.9M

What the front office was committed to as of 1987, 1987–1993. 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 (20)

Player	Age	Svc	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993
Jack Morris	32	10.000	$1.9M	$2.0M	$2.0M	$2.1M	FREE AGENT
Kirk Gibson	30	8.000	$1.3M	FREE AGENT					$1.1M
Willie Hernandez	32	10.000	$1.1M	$1.2M	$1.3M	FREE AGENT
Dan Petry	28	8.000	$975k	FREE AGENT		$475k	$276k
Chet Lemon	32	12.000	$699k	$829k	$829k	$829k	FREE AGENT
Bill Madlock	36	14.000	$685k	FREE AGENT
Frank Tanana	33	14.000	$662k	$1.1M	$925k	$1.1M	$1.9M	$1.7M	FREE AGENT
Mike Heath	32	9.000	$650k	$400k	$425k	$600k	FREE AGENT
Alan Trammell	29	10.000	$617k	$1.0M	$1.1M	$1.8M	$2.2M	$2.4M	$1.8M
Darrell Evans	40	18.000	$525k	$860k	FREE AGENT
Lou Whitaker	30	10.000	$420k	$975k	$1.0M	$1.8M	$2.0M	$2.2M	$3.4M
Johnny Grubb	38	15.000	$365k	FREE AGENT
Tom Brookens	33	8.000	$360k	$350k	FREE AGENT
Dave Bergman	34	12.000	$332k	$360k	$438k	$525k	$575k	$375k	FREE AGENT
Doyle Alexander	36	16.000	$265k	$500k	$1.0M	FREE AGENT
Larry Herndon	33	13.000	$225k	$375k	FREE AGENT
Terry Harper	31	7.000	$197k	FREE AGENT
Pat Sheridan	29	6.000	$190k	$343k	$251k	FREE AGENT
Jim Morrison	34	10.000	$83k	$189k	FREE AGENT
Dickie Noles	30	8.000	$7k	FREE AGENT

Arbitration-eligible (5)

Player	Age	Svc	1987	1988	1989	1990
Walt Terrell	29	5.000	$600k	FREE AGENT
Mark Thurmond	30	4.000	$370k	ARB 3	FREE AGENT
Darnell Coles	25	4.000	$97k	ARB 3	FREE AGENT
Doug Baker	26	3.000	—	ARB 2	ARB 3	FREE AGENT
Dwight Lowry	29	3.000	—	ARB 2	ARB 3	FREE AGENT

Pre-arbitration (12)

Player	Age	Svc	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993
Eric King	23	1.000	$100k	Pre-Arb	ARB 1	ARB 2	ARB 3	FREE AGENT
Matt Nokes	23	2.000	$68k	ARB 1	ARB 2	ARB 3	FREE AGENT
Mike Henneman	25	0.000	$62k	Pre-Arb	Pre-Arb	ARB 1	ARB 2	ARB 3	FREE AGENT
Jeff Robinson	25	0.000	$62k	Pre-Arb	Pre-Arb	ARB 1	ARB 2	ARB 3	FREE AGENT
Billy Bean	23	0.000	—	Pre-Arb	Pre-Arb	ARB 1	ARB 2	ARB 3	FREE AGENT
Bryan Kelly	28	–	—
Scott Lusader	22	0.000	—	Pre-Arb	Pre-Arb	ARB 1	ARB 2	ARB 3	FREE AGENT
Morris Madden	26	–	—
Orlando Mercado	25	–	—
Nate Snell	34	–	—
Tim Tolman	31	–	—
Jim Walewander	25	–	—

Graphs

Regime	Seasons	Win %	Playoff %	Pennant %	WS %
WINDOW	290	52.2	31.4	4.8	1.0
CONTEND	308	56.8	64.9	19.2	10.1
FORCED-SPEND	262	48.0	10.3	1.5	1.5
REBUILD	328	43.3	1.2	0.3	0.3

How each 1987 acquisition stacked onto Tigers's playoff-odds curve. The side table is ranked by PPA.

East

Central

West

East

Central

West

East

Central

West

East

Central

West

Tigers DET

Overview

Front Office

Offense

Pitching & Defense

Roster

1987 depth chart — stacked by playing time

C

1B

2B

3B

SS

LF

CF

RF

DH

Starters

Bullpen

Key additions (new vs 1986)

Key subtractions (gone from 1986)

Contract Value

Trades

Current & Historical Payroll

Guaranteed / signed (20)

Arbitration-eligible (5)

Pre-arbitration (12)

Graphs

What each regime is worth — every settled team-season since 1985

Tigers DET

Overview

Front Office

Offense All positionsC1B2B3BSSOF (LF/CF/RF)LFCFRFINF (1B/2B/3B/SS)Middle infield (2B/SS)C/DH

Pitching & Defense ALL SP RP

Roster

1987 depth chart — stacked by playing time

C

1B

2B

3B

SS

LF

CF

RF

DH

Starters

Bullpen

Key additions (new vs 1986)

Key subtractions (gone from 1986)

Contract Value

Trades

Current & Historical Payroll

Guaranteed / signed (20)

Arbitration-eligible (5)

Pre-arbitration (12)

Graphs

What each regime is worth — every settled team-season since 1985

Offense

Pitching & Defense