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Tigers DET

200986–77 (0.528)
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GM: Dave Dombrowski

Overview

Ranks vs the 30 teams in 2009, or a custom range (defaults to every team-season since 1985, when our data starts).

to

Front Office

PoorAverageGreat
Value
Payroll $M
$124M
Surplus $M
-47
Win %
0.528
TAB
-6.2
WAB
-0.4
Roster composition
Roster fWAR
31.9
Dead money %
48%
Depth Players
6.0
Dead WAR
-5.8

Offense

PoorAverageGreat

Pitching & Defense

PoorAverageGreat

Roster

2009 depth chart — stacked by playing time

C

RGerald Laird135
LAlex Avila25
RDane Sardinha12
RDusty Ryan12
RMatt Treanor4

1B

RMiguel Cabrera153
LJeff Larish11
RRyan Raburn10
BCarlos Guillén2
RMarcus Thames2
LDon Kelly2
RGerald Laird1
LAubrey Huff⇄1

2B

RPlacido Polanco151
BRamon Santiago29
LDon Kelly1

3B

RBrandon Inge161
RRyan Raburn6
LDon Kelly4
RBrent Dlugach2
BRamon Santiago2
LJeff Larish1

SS

RAdam Everett116
BRamon Santiago69
RBrent Dlugach2

LF

RRyan Raburn70
BCarlos Guillén42
LClete Thomas23
RMarcus Thames20
LDon Kelly18
RWilkin Ramirez3

CF

LCurtis Granderson160
LClete Thomas7
RRyan Raburn7

RF

RMagglio Ordonez104
LClete Thomas87
RRyan Raburn14
LDon Kelly2
RWilkin Ramirez2

DH

RMarcus Thames54
LAubrey Huff⇄47
BCarlos Guillén34
RMagglio Ordonez24
LJeff Larish15
RMiguel Cabrera6
RWilkin Ramirez5
RRyan Raburn5
LDon Kelly3
RBrent Dlugach1

Starters

RJustin Verlander8.4 WAR
REdwin Jackson3.6 WAR
RRick Porcello1.8 WAR
LLuke French⇄0.6 WAR
RArmando Galarraga0.5 WAR
LNate Robertson0.5 WAR
RZach Miner0.4 WAR
RAlfredo Figaro-0.0 WAR
LDontrelle Willis-0.1 WAR
REddie Bonine-0.1 WAR
RJeremy Bonderman-0.4 WAR
LJarrod Washburn⇄-0.4 WAR

Bullpen

★ RFernando Rodney37 sv
LBobby Seay28 h
RBrandon Lyon15 h
RJoel Zumaya7 h
RRyan Perry6 h
LFu-Te Ni3 h
REddie Bonine0 h
RCasey Fien0 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 2008)

PlayerfWAR
Edwin Jackson3.6
Rick Porcello1.8
Brandon Lyon0.8
Adam Everett0.7
Alex Avila0.7
Luke French0.6

Key subtractions (gone from 2008)

Player2008 fWAR
Matt Joyce1.6
Ivan Rodriguez1.2
Edgar Renteria1.1
Kenny Rogers0.9
Aquilino Lopez0.6
Mike Hessman0.4

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 2009; everyone else is shown as a 2009 season snapshot.

PlayerPeriodfWARTier Market $MPaid $MSurplus $M$ / WARTierContract
Justin Verlander 2009 +8.4 +167.7 3.7 +164.1 $0.4M 2.50× Free Agent · 2026–2026 · $13.0M AAV
Edwin Jackson 2009 +3.6 +63.9 2.2 +61.7 $0.6M 2.19× –
Miguel Cabrera 2009 +5.0 +55.3 14.4 +40.9 $2.9M 1.37× –
Curtis Granderson 2009 +3.0 +38.3 3.5 +34.8 $1.2M 1.60× –
Placido Polanco 2009 +2.9 +24.6 4.6 +20.0 $1.6M 1.07× –
Rick Porcello 2009 +1.8 +21.3 2.1 +19.2 $1.2M 1.49× –
Ryan Raburn 2009 +1.5 +15.0 0.4 +14.6 $0.3M 1.22× –
Clete Thomas 2009 +1.2 +8.2 0.4 +7.8 $0.3M 0.83× –
Brandon Inge 2009 +2.0 +13.7 6.3 +7.4 $3.1M 0.85× –
Brandon Lyon 2009 +0.8 +8.6 4.2 +4.4 $5.3M 1.34× –
Armando Galarraga 2009 +0.5 +4.4 0.4 +4.0 $0.8M 1.02× –
Zach Miner 2009 +0.4 +4.2 0.4 +3.7 $1.1M 1.34× –
Bobby Seay 2009 +0.8 +4.2 1.3 +2.9 $1.6M 0.67× –
Adam Everett 2009 +0.7 +3.5 1.0 +2.5 $1.4M 0.61× –
Alex Avila 2009 +0.7 +2.9 0.4 +2.5 $0.6M 0.52× –
Fu-Te Ni 2009 +0.4 +1.9 0.4 +1.5 $1.1M 0.67× –
Ramon Santiago 2009 +0.5 +2.3 0.8 +1.5 $1.7M 0.61× –
Josh Anderson↔ 2009 +0.2 +1.4 0.3 +1.1 $1.2M 0.83× –
Freddy Dolsi 2009 +0.3 +1.4 0.4 +1.0 $1.6M 0.67× –
Jeff Larish 2009 +0.2 +1.4 0.4 +1.0 $1.6M 0.69× –
Fernando Rodney 2009 +0.3 +3.6 2.7 +0.9 $8.0M 1.34× –
Ryan Perry 2009 +0.2 +1.0 0.4 +0.6 $2.0M 0.67× –
Wilkin Ramirez 2009 +0.2 +0.8 0.4 +0.4 $2.7M 0.69× –
Don Kelly 2009 +0.0 +0.2 0.4 -0.2 $14.9M 0.83× –
Alfredo Figaro 2009 -0.0 -0.0 0.4 -0.4 – 1.02× –
Juan Rincon↔ 2009 -0.1 -0.3 0.2 -0.4 – 0.67× –
Casey Fien 2009 -0.0 -0.2 0.4 -0.6 – 0.67× –
Brent Dlugach 2009 -0.1 -0.3 0.4 -0.7 – 0.58× –
Clay Rapada 2009 -0.1 -0.5 0.4 -0.9 – 0.67× –
Eddie Bonine 2009 -0.1 -0.6 0.4 -1.0 – 0.67× –
Dusty Ryan 2009 -0.2 -1.0 0.4 -1.4 – 0.52× –
Marcus Thames 2009 +0.0 +0.0 2.3 -2.3 $1437.7M 0.69× –
Matt Treanor 2009 -0.4 -1.5 0.8 -2.3 – 0.52× –
Joel Zumaya 2009 -0.2 -2.4 0.7 -3.1 – 1.34× –
Nate Robertson 2009 +0.5 +2.5 7.0 -4.5 $15.0M 0.67× –
Jarrod Washburn↔ 2009 -0.4 -3.7 2.8 -6.5 – 1.02× –
Aubrey Huff↔ 2009 -0.9 -4.9 2.1 -7.0 – 0.69× –
Gerald Laird 2009 -1.6 -6.8 2.8 -9.6 – 0.52× –
Carlos Guillén 2009 -0.2 -1.0 10.0 -11.0 – 0.83× –
Dontrelle Willis 2009 -0.1 -1.0 10.0 -11.0 – 1.02× –
Magglio Ordonez 2009 +0.9 +5.7 19.0 -13.3 $22.2M 0.83× –
Jeremy Bonderman 2009 -0.4 -1.9 12.5 -14.4 – 0.67× –
Chris Lambert↔ 2009 -0.3 -1.7 – – – 0.67× –
Dane Sardinha 2009 -0.7 -2.9 – – – 0.52× –
Luke French↔ 2009 +0.6 +5.2 – – – 1.02× –
Total—+31.8+432.5124.1+307.9—

Trades

Every graded 2009 deal involving the Tigers — best expected value first. Surplus is realized value in $M; 5 total.

2009 · DET / ATL
DET · Dave Dombrowski +$0.0M
Josh Anderson
ATL · Frank Wren +$0.0M
Rudy Darrow
Even trade
2009 · ARI / DET
ARI · Josh Byrnes +$0.0M
James Skelton
DET · Dave Dombrowski +$0.0M
Brooks Brown
Even trade
2009 · BAL / DET
BAL · Andy MacPhail +$20.0M
Brett Jacobson
DET · Dave Dombrowski −$20.0M
Aubrey Huff
BAL came out ahead by $20.0M
2009 · SEA / DET
SEA · Jack Zduriencik +$19.2M
Mauricio Robles, Luke French
DET · Dave Dombrowski −$19.2M
Jarrod Washburn
SEA came out ahead by $19.2M
2009 · DET / NYY / ARI
DET · Dave Dombrowski +$381.6M
Phil Coke, Austin Jackson, Max Scherzer, Daniel Schlereth
NYY · Brian Cashman −$152.8M
Curtis Granderson
ARI · Josh Byrnes −$228.8M
Edwin Jackson, Ian Kennedy
DET came out ahead by $381.6M 3-team

Current & Historical Payroll

2009 payroll
$124.1M

What the front office was committed to as of 2009, 2009–2015. 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 (19)

PlayerAgeSvc2009201020112012201320142015
Magglio Ordonez3512.000$19.0M$17.8M$10.0MFREE AGENT
Miguel Cabrera266.000$14.4M$20.0M$20.0M$21.0M$21.0M$22.0M$22.0M
Jeremy Bonderman266.000$12.5M$12.5MFREE AGENT
Dontrelle Willis276.000$10.0M$7.5MFREE AGENT
Carlos Guillén3311.000$10.0M$13.0M$12.9MFREE AGENT
Nate Robertson317.000$7.0MFREE AGENT
Brandon Inge328.000$6.3M$6.6M$5.5M$4.9MFREE AGENT
Placido Polanco3311.000$4.6MFREE AGENT
Brandon Lyon298.000$4.2MFREE AGENT
Jarrod Washburn3411.000$2.8MFREE AGENT
Gerald Laird296.000$2.8M$4.0MFREE AGENT$1.0M
Fernando Rodney327.000$2.7MFREE AGENT
Marcus Thames327.000$2.3MFREE AGENT
Edwin Jackson256.000$2.2MFREE AGENT
Aubrey Huff329.000$2.1MFREE AGENT
Bobby Seay318.000$1.3MFREE AGENT
Adam Everett328.000$1.0M$1.6MFREE AGENT
Ramon Santiago297.000$825k$1.2M$1.4M$2.1M$2.1MFREE AGENT
Juan Rincon308.000$159kFREE AGENT

Arbitration-eligible (6)

PlayerAgeSvc2009201020112012201320142015
Justin Verlander264.000$3.7MARB 3FREE AGENT
Curtis Granderson285.000$3.5MFREE AGENT
Matt Treanor335.000$750kFREE AGENT
Joel Zumaya243.000$735kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Zach Miner273.000$438kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Ryan Raburn285.000$410kFREE AGENT

Pre-arbitration (20)

PlayerAgeSvc2009201020112012201320142015
Rick Porcello200.000$2.1MPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Armando Galarraga272.000$435kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Freddy Dolsi261.000$407kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Clay Rapada282.000$405kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Jeff Larish261.000$403kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Clete Thomas251.000$403kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Brent Dlugach260.000$400kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Don Kelly292.000$400kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Eddie Bonine281.000$400kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Dusty Ryan241.000$400kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Ryan Perry220.000$400kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Wilkin Ramirez230.000$400kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Alfredo Figaro240.000$400kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Alex Avila220.000$400kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Fu-Te Ni260.000$400kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Casey Fien250.000$400kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Josh Anderson262.000$251kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Dane Sardinha30–—
Luke French23–—
Chris Lambert26–—

Graphs

How each 2009 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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