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Tigers DET

200874–88 (0.457)
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GM: Dave Dombrowski

Overview

Ranks vs the 30 teams in 2008, or a custom range (defaults to every team-season since 1985, when our data starts).

to

Front Office

PoorAverageGreat
Value
Payroll $M
$132M
Surplus $M
-79
Win %
0.457
TAB
-13.7
WAB
-13.1
Roster composition
Roster fWAR
25.4
Dead money %
40%
Depth Players
5.0
Dead WAR
-4.7

Offense

PoorAverageGreat

Pitching & Defense

PoorAverageGreat

Roster

2008 depth chart — stacked by playing time

C

RIvan Rodriguez⇄82
RBrandon Inge60
RDane Sardinha17
RDusty Ryan15

1B

RMiguel Cabrera143
BCarlos Guillén24
RMarcus Thames9
LJeff Larish8

2B

RPlacido Polanco141
BRamon Santiago21
RRyan Raburn16
BMichael Hollimon2

3B

BCarlos Guillén89
RBrandon Inge51
RRyan Raburn18
RMiguel Cabrera14
RMike Hessman12
LJeff Larish12
BRamon Santiago6
BMichael Hollimon2

SS

REdgar Renteria138
BRamon Santiago33
BMichael Hollimon6

LF

RMarcus Thames73
LMatt Joyce60
RRyan Raburn30
LClete Thomas25
RBrent Clevlen10
RGary Sheffield6
BCarlos Guillén2
RBrandon Inge2

CF

LCurtis Granderson140
LClete Thomas16
RBrandon Inge13
RRyan Raburn6
RBrent Clevlen3

RF

RMagglio Ordonez135
LMatt Joyce25
RRyan Raburn22
RMarcus Thames7
LClete Thomas3
RBrent Clevlen1

DH

RGary Sheffield106
RMarcus Thames14
LJeff Larish12
RMagglio Ordonez10
RMiguel Cabrera6
BCarlos Guillén4
RRyan Raburn3
LMatt Joyce2
LJacque Jones⇄1

Starters

RJustin Verlander3.2 WAR
RArmando Galarraga1.5 WAR
LNate Robertson1.0 WAR
RZach Miner0.9 WAR
LKenny Rogers0.9 WAR
RJeremy Bonderman0.3 WAR
REddie Bonine0.2 WAR
RChris Lambert0.1 WAR
RFreddy Garcia0.0 WAR
LDontrelle Willis-0.6 WAR

Bullpen

★ RTodd Jones18 sv
LBobby Seay13 h
RFreddy Dolsi7 h
LCasey Fossum6 h
RJoel Zumaya5 h
RFernando Rodney5 h
RAquilino Lopez4 h
LClay Rapada2 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 2007)

PlayerfWAR
Miguel Cabrera2.6
Matt Joyce1.6
Armando Galarraga1.5
Edgar Renteria1.1
Dusty Ryan0.6
Eddie Bonine0.2

Key subtractions (gone from 2007)

Player2007 fWAR
Tim Byrdak0.5
Timo Perez0.5
Andrew Miller0.2
Jair Jurrjens0.2
Jordan Tata0.1
Sean Casey0.1

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 2008; everyone else is shown as a 2008 season snapshot.

PlayerPeriodfWARTier Market $MPaid $MSurplus $M$ / WARTierContract
Curtis Granderson 2008 +4.1 +58.7 1.0 +57.7 $0.2M 1.79× –
Justin Verlander 2008 +3.2 +49.3 1.1 +48.2 $0.4M 1.96× Free Agent · 2026–2026 · $13.0M AAV
Placido Polanco 2008 +3.0 +25.7 4.6 +21.1 $1.5M 1.07× –
Armando Galarraga 2008 +1.5 +18.0 0.4 +17.6 $0.3M 1.49× –
Miguel Cabrera 2008 +2.6 +22.4 11.3 +11.1 $4.3M 1.07× –
Ramon Santiago 2008 +1.2 +5.7 0.6 +5.1 $0.5M 0.61× –
Bobby Seay 2008 +1.0 +5.2 0.8 +4.4 $0.8M 0.67× –
Zach Miner 2008 +0.9 +4.7 0.4 +4.3 $0.5M 0.67× –
Nate Robertson 2008 +1.0 +8.3 4.2 +4.1 $4.2M 1.02× –
Aquilino Lopez 2008 +0.6 +3.3 0.4 +2.9 $0.6M 0.67× –
Carlos Guillén 2008 +2.1 +14.0 12.0 +2.0 $5.8M 0.85× –
Fernando Rodney 2008 +0.3 +3.7 1.7 +2.0 $4.9M 1.34× –
Clete Thomas 2008 +0.1 +0.9 0.4 +0.5 $3.0M 0.83× –
Magglio Ordonez 2008 +1.7 +16.2 15.8 +0.5 $9.4M 1.22× –
Jason Grilli↔ 2008 +0.0 +0.1 0.1 +0.1 $2.6M 0.67× –
Gary Glover↔ 2008 -0.0 -0.1 0.4 -0.5 – 0.67× –
Denny Bautista↔ 2008 -0.1 -0.5 0.1 -0.6 – 0.67× –
Yorman Bazardo 2008 -0.0 -0.2 0.4 -0.6 – 0.67× –
Kenny Rogers 2008 +0.9 +7.0 8.0 -1.0 $9.4M 1.02× –
Kyle Farnsworth↔ 2008 -0.1 -0.3 1.6 -1.9 – 0.67× –
Ryan Raburn 2008 -0.4 -2.9 0.4 -3.3 – 0.83× –
Ivan Rodriguez↔ 2008 +1.2 +4.8 8.8 -4.0 $7.6M 0.52× –
Joel Zumaya 2008 -0.4 -3.8 0.4 -4.2 – 1.34× –
Edgar Renteria 2008 +1.1 +5.5 10.0 -4.5 $8.8M 0.61× –
Marcus Thames 2008 -0.6 -4.0 1.3 -5.3 – 0.83× –
Jeremy Bonderman 2008 +0.3 +2.5 8.5 -6.0 $27.3M 1.02× –
Brandon Inge 2008 -0.1 -0.5 6.2 -6.7 – 0.52× –
Jacque Jones↔ 2008 -0.6 -3.4 3.6 -7.0 – 0.69× –
Dontrelle Willis 2008 -0.6 -5.1 7.0 -12.1 – 1.02× –
Todd Jones 2008 -0.5 -5.4 7.0 -12.4 – 1.34× –
Gary Sheffield 2008 -0.2 -1.4 13.3 -14.7 – 0.69× –
Brent Clevlen 2008 +0.1 +0.6 – – – 0.83× –
Casey Fossum 2008 +0.2 +0.9 – – – 0.67× –
Chris Lambert 2008 +0.1 +0.8 – – – 0.67× –
Clay Rapada 2008 +0.2 +0.9 – – – 0.67× –
Dane Sardinha 2008 -0.2 -0.6 – – – 0.52× –
Dusty Ryan 2008 +0.6 +2.4 – – – 0.52× –
Eddie Bonine 2008 +0.2 +1.6 – – – 1.02× –
Francis Beltran 2008 -0.1 -0.8 – – – 0.67× –
Francisco Cruceta 2008 -0.2 -1.2 – – – 0.67× –
Freddy Dolsi 2008 -0.1 -0.4 – – – 0.67× –
Freddy Garcia 2008 +0.0 +0.1 – – – 1.02× –
Jeff Larish 2008 -0.4 -1.8 – – – 0.58× –
Matt Joyce 2008 +1.6 +15.3 – – – 1.22× –
Michael Hollimon 2008 +0.1 +0.5 – – – 0.61× –
Mike Hessman 2008 +0.4 +1.8 – – – 0.58× –
Total—+25.7+248.5131.8+96.8—

Trades

Every graded 2008 deal involving the Tigers — best expected value first. Surplus is realized value in $M; 6 total.

2008 · COL / DET
COL · Daniel O'Dowd +$3.2M
Jason Grilli
DET · Dave Dombrowski −$3.2M
Zach Simons
COL came out ahead by $3.2M
2008 · DET / NYY
DET · Dave Dombrowski +$13.6M
Kyle Farnsworth
NYY · Brian Cashman −$13.6M
Iván Rodríguez
DET came out ahead by $13.6M
2008 · TEX / DET
TEX · Jon Daniels +$31.2M
Guillermo Moscoso, Carlos Melo
DET · Dave Dombrowski −$31.2M
Gerald Laird
TEX came out ahead by $31.2M
2008 · DET / TEX
DET · Dave Dombrowski +$20.0M
Armando Galarraga
TEX · Jon Daniels −$20.0M
Mike Hernandez
DET came out ahead by $20.0M
2008 · DET / PIT
DET · Dave Dombrowski +$0.8M
Kyle Pearson
PIT · Neal Huntington −$0.8M
Denny Bautista
DET came out ahead by $0.8M
2008 · TBR / DET
TBR · Andrew Friedman +$32.0M
Matt Joyce
DET · Dave Dombrowski −$32.0M
Edwin Jackson
TBR came out ahead by $32.0M

Current & Historical Payroll

2008 payroll
$131.8M

What the front office was committed to as of 2008, 2008–2014. 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)

PlayerAgeSvc2008200920102011201220132014
Magglio Ordonez3411.000$15.8M$19.0M$17.8M$10.0MFREE AGENT
Gary Sheffield3920.000$13.3MFREE AGENT
Carlos Guillén3210.000$12.0M$10.0M$13.0M$12.9MFREE AGENT
Edgar Renteria3112.000$10.0MFREE AGENT
Ivan Rodriguez3617.000$8.8MFREE AGENT
Kenny Rogers4319.000$8.0MFREE AGENT
Todd Jones4015.000$7.0MFREE AGENT
Brandon Inge317.000$6.2M$6.3M$6.6M$5.5M$4.9MFREE AGENT
Placido Polanco3210.000$4.6M$4.6MFREE AGENT
Nate Robertson306.000$4.2M$7.0MFREE AGENT
Jacque Jones339.000$3.6MFREE AGENT
Fernando Rodney316.000$1.7M$2.7MFREE AGENT
Kyle Farnsworth329.000$1.6MFREE AGENT
Marcus Thames316.000$1.3M$2.3MFREE AGENT
Bobby Seay307.000$780k$1.3MFREE AGENT
Ramon Santiago286.000$575k$825k$1.2M$1.4M$2.1M$2.1MFREE AGENT
Gary Glover319.000$412kFREE AGENT
Jason Grilli318.000$63kFREE AGENT
Freddy Garcia319.000—FREE AGENT
Casey Fossum307.000—FREE AGENT

Arbitration-eligible (10)

PlayerAgeSvc2008200920102011201220132014
Miguel Cabrera255.000$11.3MFREE AGENT
Jeremy Bonderman255.000$8.5MFREE AGENT
Dontrelle Willis265.000$7.0MFREE AGENT
Justin Verlander253.000$1.1MARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Curtis Granderson274.000$1.0MARB 3FREE AGENT
Aquilino Lopez335.000$400kFREE AGENT
Ryan Raburn274.000$396kARB 3FREE AGENT
Yorman Bazardo233.000$395kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Denny Bautista274.000$124kARB 3FREE AGENT
Mike Hessman305.000—FREE AGENT

Pre-arbitration (16)

PlayerAgeSvc2008200920102011201220132014
Joel Zumaya232.000$420kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Zach Miner262.000$410kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Clete Thomas240.000$390kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Armando Galarraga261.000$390kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Dane Sardinha29–—
Francis Beltran28–—
Francisco Cruceta26–—
Eddie Bonine270.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Michael Hollimon26–—
Dusty Ryan230.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Clay Rapada271.000—Pre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Freddy Dolsi250.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Brent Clevlen24–—
Matt Joyce230.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Jeff Larish250.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Chris Lambert25–—

Graphs

How each 2008 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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