GM: Dave Dombrowski (since 2003)
| Player | Age | Service | G | fWAR | Salary $M | Surplus $M |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Curtis Granderson | 27 | arb | 141 | 4.1 | 1.0 | +8.2 |
| Justin Verlander | 25 | arb | 33 | 3.2 | 1.1 | +6.0 |
| Placido Polanco | 32 | FA-elig | 141 | 3.0 | 4.6 | +2.2 |
| Miguel Cabrera | 25 | arb | 160 | 2.6 | 11.3 | -5.4 |
| Carlos Guillén | 32 | FA-elig | 113 | 2.1 | 12.0 | -7.3 |
| Magglio Ordonez | 34 | FA-elig | 146 | 1.7 | 15.8 | -12.0 |
| Matt Joyce | 23 | – | 92 | 1.6 | – | – |
| Armando Galarraga | 26 | – | 30 | 1.5 | – | – |
| Ramon Santiago | 28 | FA-elig | 58 | 1.2 | 0.6 | +2.0 |
| Ivan Rodriguez↔ NYY | 36 | FA-elig | 82 | 1.2 | 8.8 | -6.2 |
| Edgar Renteria | 31 | FA-elig | 138 | 1.1 | 10.0 | -7.4 |
| Nate Robertson | 30 | FA-elig | 32 | 1.0 | 4.2 | -1.9 |
| Bobby Seay | 30 | FA-elig | 60 | 1.0 | 0.8 | +1.4 |
| Zach Miner | 26 | pre-arb | 45 | 0.9 | 0.4 | +1.6 |
| Kenny Rogers | 43 | FA-elig | 30 | 0.9 | 8.0 | -6.1 |
| Aquilino Lopez | 33 | arb | 48 | 0.6 | 0.4 | +1.0 |
| Dusty Ryan | 23 | – | 15 | 0.6 | – | – |
| Mike Hessman | 30 | – | 12 | 0.4 | – | – |
| Fernando Rodney | 31 | FA-elig | 38 | 0.3 | 1.7 | -0.9 |
| Jeremy Bonderman | 25 | arb | 12 | 0.3 | 8.5 | -7.8 |
| Eddie Bonine | 27 | – | 5 | 0.2 | – | – |
| Clay Rapada | 27 | – | 25 | 0.2 | – | – |
| Casey Fossum | 30 | – | 31 | 0.2 | – | – |
| Chris Lambert | 25 | – | 8 | 0.1 | – | – |
| Clete Thomas | 24 | pre-arb | 40 | 0.1 | 0.4 | -0.1 |
| Michael Hollimon | 26 | – | 11 | 0.1 | – | – |
| Brent Clevlen | 24 | – | 11 | 0.1 | – | – |
| Jason Grilli↔ COL | 31 | FA-elig | 9 | 0.0 | 0.1 | -0.0 |
| Freddy Garcia | 31 | – | 3 | 0.0 | – | – |
| Gary Glover↔ TBR | 31 | FA-elig | 18 | -0.0 | 0.4 | -0.5 |
| Yorman Bazardo | 23 | arb | 3 | -0.0 | 0.4 | -0.5 |
| Kyle Farnsworth↔ NYY | 32 | FA-elig | 16 | -0.1 | 1.6 | -1.7 |
| Freddy Dolsi | 25 | – | 42 | -0.1 | – | – |
| Denny Bautista↔ PIT | 27 | arb | 16 | -0.1 | 0.1 | -0.3 |
| Brandon Inge | 31 | FA-elig | 113 | -0.1 | 6.2 | -6.5 |
| Francis Beltran | 28 | – | 11 | -0.1 | – | – |
| Dane Sardinha | 29 | – | 17 | -0.2 | – | – |
| Francisco Cruceta | 26 | – | 13 | -0.2 | – | – |
| Gary Sheffield | 39 | FA-elig | 114 | -0.2 | 13.3 | -13.9 |
| Joel Zumaya | 23 | pre-arb | 21 | -0.4 | 0.4 | -1.2 |
| Jeff Larish | 25 | – | 42 | -0.4 | – | – |
| Ryan Raburn | 27 | arb | 92 | -0.4 | 0.4 | -1.4 |
| Todd Jones | 40 | FA-elig | 45 | -0.5 | 7.0 | -8.1 |
| Marcus Thames | 31 | FA-elig | 103 | -0.6 | 1.3 | -2.6 |
| Jacque Jones↔ MIA | 33 | FA-elig | 24 | -0.6 | 3.6 | -5.0 |
| Dontrelle Willis | 26 | arb | 8 | -0.6 | 7.0 | -8.4 |
46 players appeared (WAR is complete); salary & surplus are on record for 30 of them (65%). 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 |