GM: Dave Dombrowski (since 2003)
| Player | Age | Service | G | fWAR | Salary $M | Surplus $M |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carlos Guillén | 30 | FA-elig | 153 | 5.8 | 5.0 | +6.5 |
| Jeremy Bonderman | 23 | arb | 34 | 5.5 | 2.3 | +8.6 |
| Brandon Inge | 29 | arb | 159 | 4.2 | 3.0 | +5.3 |
| Curtis Granderson | 25 | pre-arb | 159 | 4.0 | 0.3 | +7.6 |
| Ivan Rodriguez | 34 | FA-elig | 136 | 2.9 | 10.6 | -4.8 |
| Justin Verlander | 23 | pre-arb | 30 | 2.8 | 1.0 | +4.5 |
| Nate Robertson | 28 | arb | 32 | 2.2 | 0.4 | +3.9 |
| Kenny Rogers | 41 | FA-elig | 34 | 2.1 | 8.0 | -3.9 |
| Joel Zumaya | 21 | pre-arb | 62 | 2.0 | 0.3 | +3.5 |
| Marcus Thames | 29 | arb | 110 | 1.7 | 0.3 | +3.0 |
| Magglio Ordonez | 32 | FA-elig | 155 | 1.2 | 16.2 | -13.8 |
| Chris Shelton | 26 | pre-arb | 115 | 1.1 | 0.4 | +1.8 |
| Zach Miner | 24 | – | 27 | 1.1 | – | – |
| Wilfredo Ledezma | 25 | – | 24 | 1.0 | – | – |
| Todd Jones | 38 | FA-elig | 62 | 1.0 | 5.8 | -3.8 |
| Placido Polanco | 30 | FA-elig | 110 | 0.9 | 4.6 | -2.9 |
| Omar Infante | 24 | arb | 78 | 0.8 | 0.4 | +1.2 |
| Vance Wilson | 33 | FA-elig | 56 | 0.5 | 0.8 | +0.3 |
| Fernando Rodney | 29 | arb | 63 | 0.5 | 0.4 | +0.6 |
| Jamie Walker | 34 | FA-elig | 56 | 0.5 | 1.2 | -0.3 |
| Brent Clevlen | 22 | – | 31 | 0.4 | – | – |
| Alexis Gomez | 27 | – | 62 | 0.3 | – | – |
| Craig Monroe | 29 | arb | 147 | 0.1 | 2.8 | -2.7 |
| Roman Colon | 26 | – | 20 | 0.1 | – | – |
| Jordan Tata | 24 | pre-arb | 8 | 0.0 | 0.3 | -0.2 |
| Chad Durbin | 28 | – | 3 | 0.0 | – | – |
| Kevin Hooper | 29 | – | 8 | 0.0 | – | – |
| Colby Lewis | 26 | – | 2 | -0.0 | – | – |
| Bobby Seay | 28 | arb | 14 | -0.0 | 0.4 | -0.4 |
| Jason Grilli | 29 | FA-elig | 51 | -0.0 | 0.3 | -0.4 |
| Mike Rabelo | 26 | – | 1 | -0.0 | – | – |
| Mike Maroth | 28 | arb | 13 | -0.1 | 2.3 | -2.4 |
| Chris Spurling↔ MIL | 29 | arb | 9 | -0.1 | 0.4 | -0.5 |
| Andrew Miller | 21 | – | 8 | -0.1 | – | – |
| Ramon Santiago | 26 | arb | 43 | -0.1 | 0.4 | -0.5 |
| Matt Stairs↔ KCR | 38 | FA-elig | 14 | -0.1 | 0.2 | -0.3 |
| Jack Hannahan | 26 | – | 3 | -0.2 | – | – |
| Neifi Perez↔ CHC | 33 | FA-elig | 21 | -0.4 | 0.5 | -1.3 |
| Dmitri Young | 32 | FA-elig | 48 | -0.5 | 8.0 | -8.9 |
| Sean Casey↔ PIT | 31 | FA-elig | 53 | -0.7 | 4.0 | -5.4 |
40 players appeared (WAR is complete); salary & surplus are on record for 29 of them (72%). Players without a salary show "–" — no single historical salary source is fully complete (especially 2020–2022).
WAR = FanGraphs (fWAR). Green = produced more value than paid (bargain); red = paid more than produced. Service: pre-arb (<3 yr) / arb (3–6) / FA-eligible (6+). Click headers to sort.
| Player | Year | WAR for DET |
|---|---|---|
| Max Scherzer | 2009 | 22.2 |
| Carlos Guillén | 2004 | 18.3 |
| Ian Kinsler | 2013 | 16.3 |
| Jeremy Bonderman | 2002 | 15.8 |
| Damion Easley | 1996 | 15.4 |
| Austin Jackson | 2009 | 14.8 |
| Mickey Tettleton | 1991 | 14.4 |
| Chet Lemon | 1981 | 14.2 |
| Player | Year traded | WAR elsewhere |
|---|---|---|
| John Smoltz | 1987 | 81.6 |
| Luis Gonzalez | 1998 | 33.8 |
| Chris Hoiles | 1988 | 24.8 |
| Howard Johnson | 1984 | 22.8 |
| Justin Verlander | 2017 | 19.7 |
| Rick Porcello | 2014 | 13.1 |
| Robbie Ray | 2014 | 11.8 |
| Matt Joyce | 2008 | 10.7 |