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Tigers DET

198888–74 (0.543)
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GM: Bill Lajoie

Overview

Ranks vs the 30 teams in 1988, or a custom range (defaults to every team-season since 1985, when our data starts).

to

Front Office

PoorAverageGreat
Value
Payroll $M
$14M
Surplus $M
-2
Win %
0.543
TAB
+0.9
WAB
+4.2
Roster composition
Roster fWAR
36.9
Dead money %
21%
Depth Players
8.0
Dead WAR
-3.2

Offense

PoorAverageGreat

Pitching & Defense

PoorAverageGreat

Roster

1988 depth chart — stacked by playing time

C

LMatt Nokes110
RMike Heath75
BChris Bando⇄33

1B

LDarrell Evans65
LDave Bergman64
RRay Knight64
RJim Morrison⇄4
RLuis Salazar4
LBilly Bean2

2B

LLou Whitaker110
BJim Walewander61
BTorey Lovullo9
RLuis Salazar5
RJim Morrison⇄5
RTom Brookens1

3B

RTom Brookens136
RLuis Salazar31
RRay Knight11
BJim Walewander3
BTorey Lovullo3

SS

RAlan Trammell125
RLuis Salazar37
BJim Walewander8
RIvan De Jesus Sr.7
RTom Brookens3
RJim Morrison⇄1

LF

LPat Sheridan92
RLuis Salazar60
RLarry Herndon15
LDave Bergman13
LFred Lynn⇄6
RBilly Beane4
LDwayne Murphy4
RRay Knight2
LScott Lusader2

CF

BGary Pettis126
LDwayne Murphy35
LFred Lynn⇄20
LPat Sheridan9
RLuis Salazar5
LBilly Bean2
LScott Lusader2
RBilly Beane1

RF

RChet Lemon144
LPat Sheridan13
LDwayne Murphy10
RMike Heath9
RLuis Salazar5
LBilly Bean3
LScott Lusader2
RJim Morrison⇄1
RBilly Beane1

DH

LDarrell Evans54
RLarry Herndon46
LDave Bergman23
RRay Knight20
RJim Morrison⇄13
LMatt Nokes2
LFred Lynn⇄1
LDwayne Murphy1

Starters

RJack Morris4.0 WAR
RDoyle Alexander2.6 WAR
LFrank Tanana2.1 WAR
RJeff Robinson1.6 WAR
RWalt Terrell1.5 WAR
LPaul Gibson0.5 WAR
REric King0.4 WAR
RTed Power⇄0.3 WAR
LSteve Searcy-0.2 WAR

Bullpen

★ RMike Henneman22 sv
LWillie Hernandez0 h
LPaul Gibson0 h
RDon Heinkel0 h
RMike Trujillo0 h
RMark Huismann0 h
RTed Power⇄0 h
LSteve Searcy0 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 1987)

PlayerfWAR
Luis Salazar2.1
Dwayne Murphy1.3
Gary Pettis1.0
Torey Lovullo0.6
Paul Gibson0.5
Fred Lynn0.4

Key subtractions (gone from 1987)

Player1987 fWAR
Kirk Gibson4.0
Bill Madlock1.2
Mark Thurmond0.3
Dan Petry0.1
Doug Baker0.1
Dickie Noles0.0

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 1988; everyone else is shown as a 1988 season snapshot.

PlayerPeriodfWARTier Market $MPaid $MSurplus $M$ / WARTierContract
Jack Morris 1988 +4.0 +69.6 2.0 +67.6 $0.5M 2.19× –
Alan Trammell 1988 +5.3 +63.8 1.0 +62.8 $0.2M 1.51× –
Doyle Alexander 1988 +2.6 +40.1 0.5 +39.6 $0.2M 1.96× –
Lou Whitaker 1988 +3.5 +33.8 1.0 +32.8 $0.3M 1.20× –
Chet Lemon 1988 +2.5 +32.3 0.8 +31.5 $0.3M 1.60× –
Frank Tanana 1988 +2.1 +24.7 1.1 +23.6 $0.5M 1.49× –
Matt Nokes 1988 +2.8 +22.5 0.2 +22.4 $0.1M 1.00× –
Luis Salazar 1988 +2.1 +20.7 0.1 +20.6 $0.1M 1.22× –
Jeff Robinson 1988 +1.6 +19.2 0.1 +19.1 $0.1M 1.49× –
Walt Terrell 1988 +1.5 +18.1 0.7 +17.5 $0.4M 1.49× –
Pat Sheridan 1988 +1.6 +15.3 0.3 +15.0 $0.2M 1.22× –
Mike Henneman 1988 +1.3 +14.4 0.1 +14.3 $0.1M 1.34× –
Dwayne Murphy 1988 +1.3 +8.8 0.4 +8.5 $0.3M 0.83× –
Gary Pettis 1988 +1.0 +6.5 0.4 +6.1 $0.4M 0.83× –
Dave Bergman 1988 +1.4 +6.0 0.4 +5.7 $0.3M 0.56× –
Tom Brookens 1988 +1.0 +4.5 0.3 +4.1 $0.4M 0.58× –
Darrell Evans 1988 +1.1 +4.8 0.9 +4.0 $0.8M 0.56× –
Mike Heath 1988 +0.8 +3.4 0.4 +3.0 $0.5M 0.52× –
Paul Gibson 1988 +0.5 +2.7 0.1 +2.7 $0.1M 0.67× –
Ted Power↔ 1988 +0.3 +2.3 0.1 +2.2 $0.3M 1.02× –
Eric King 1988 +0.4 +2.2 0.1 +2.1 $0.3M 0.67× –
Fred Lynn↔ 1988 +0.4 +2.4 0.4 +2.0 $1.0M 0.83× –
Don Heinkel 1988 +0.2 +0.9 0.1 +0.9 $0.4M 0.67× –
Willie Hernandez 1988 +0.1 +0.7 1.2 -0.5 $19.3M 1.34× –
Steve Searcy 1988 -0.2 -1.8 0.1 -1.9 – 1.02× –
Larry Herndon 1988 -0.4 -2.2 0.4 -2.6 – 0.69× –
Jim Morrison↔ 1988 -0.5 -2.7 0.1 -2.8 – 0.69× –
Ray Knight 1988 -0.9 -4.1 0.5 -4.6 – 0.56× –
Billy Bean 1988 +0.0 +0.3 – – – 0.83× –
Billy Beane 1988 -0.1 -0.5 – – – 0.83× –
Ivan De Jesus Sr. 1988 -0.3 -1.5 – – – 0.61× –
Jim Walewander 1988 -0.4 -1.8 – – – 0.56× –
Mark Huismann 1988 +0.2 +0.8 – – – 0.67× –
Mike Trujillo 1988 -0.1 -0.6 – – – 0.67× –
Scott Lusader 1988 -0.3 -1.7 – – – 0.83× –
Torey Lovullo 1988 +0.6 +2.6 – – – 0.56× –
Total—+37.0+406.513.8+395.7—

Trades

Every graded 1988 deal involving the Tigers — best expected value first. Surplus is realized value in $M; 7 total.

1988 · DET / KCR
DET · Bill Lajoie +$0.0M
Ted Power
KCR · John Schuerholz +$0.0M
Rey Palacios, Mark Lee
Even trade
1988 · BAL / DET
BAL · Roland Hemond +$200.0M
Chris Hoiles, Cesar Mejia, Robinson Garces
DET · Bill Lajoie −$200.0M
Fred Lynn
BAL came out ahead by $200.0M
1988 · DET / MIN
DET · Bill Lajoie +$0.8M
Julius McDougal
MIN · Andy MacPhail −$0.8M
Doug Baker
DET came out ahead by $0.8M
1988 · BAL / DET
BAL · Roland Hemond +$2.4M
Mark Thurmond
DET · Bill Lajoie −$2.4M
Ray Knight
BAL came out ahead by $2.4M
1988 · MIN / DET
MIN · Andy MacPhail +$1.6M
Balvino Gálvez
DET · Bill Lajoie −$1.6M
Billy Beane
MIN came out ahead by $1.6M
1988 · DET / MIN
DET · Bill Lajoie +$0.8M
Don Schulze
MIN · Andy MacPhail −$0.8M
Karl Best
DET came out ahead by $0.8M
1988 · SDP / DET
SDP · Jack McKeon +$18.4M
Walt Terrell
DET · Bill Lajoie −$18.4M
Chris Brown, Keith Moreland
SDP came out ahead by $18.4M

Current & Historical Payroll

1988 payroll
$13.6M

What the front office was committed to as of 1988, 1988–1994. 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 (22)

PlayerAgeSvc1988198919901991199219931994
Jack Morris3311.000$2.0M$2.0M$2.1MFREE AGENT
Willie Hernandez3311.000$1.2M$1.3MFREE AGENT
Frank Tanana3415.000$1.1M$925k$1.1M$1.9M$1.7MFREE AGENT
Alan Trammell3011.000$1.0M$1.1M$1.8M$2.2M$2.4M$1.8M$3.0M
Lou Whitaker3111.000$975k$1.0M$1.8M$2.0M$2.2M$3.4M$2.8M
Darrell Evans4119.000$860kFREE AGENT
Chet Lemon3313.000$829k$829k$829kFREE AGENT
Walt Terrell306.000$665kFREE AGENT$441k$1.0M$109k
Ray Knight3514.000$525kFREE AGENT
Doyle Alexander3717.000$500k$1.0MFREE AGENT
Mike Heath3310.000$400k$425k$600kFREE AGENT
Gary Pettis306.000$400k$440kFREE AGENT
Larry Herndon3414.000$375kFREE AGENT
Dwayne Murphy3310.000$375kFREE AGENT
Fred Lynn3614.000$365k$1.6MFREE AGENT
Dave Bergman3513.000$360k$438k$525k$575k$375kFREE AGENT
Tom Brookens349.000$350kFREE AGENT
Pat Sheridan307.000$343k$251kFREE AGENT
Luis Salazar328.000$150kFREE AGENT
Jim Morrison3511.000$89kFREE AGENT
Ted Power337.000$88kFREE AGENT
Ivan De Jesus Sr.3514.000—FREE AGENT

Arbitration-eligible (4)

PlayerAgeSvc1988198919901991199219931994
Matt Nokes243.000$165kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Billy Beane264.000—ARB 3FREE AGENT
Mark Huismann305.000—FREE AGENT
Mike Trujillo283.000—ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT

Pre-arbitration (10)

PlayerAgeSvc1988198919901991199219931994
Eric King242.000$125kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Mike Henneman261.000$115kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Jeff Robinson261.000$95kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Don Heinkel280.000$62kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Paul Gibson280.000$62kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Steve Searcy240.000$62kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Billy Bean241.000—Pre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Torey Lovullo220.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Scott Lusader231.000—Pre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Jim Walewander26–—

Graphs

How each 1988 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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