GM: Dave Dombrowski (since 2003)
| Player | Age | Service | G | fWAR | Salary $M | Surplus $M |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Justin Verlander | 27 | arb | 33 | 6.6 | 6.8 | +8.5 |
| Miguel Cabrera | 27 | FA-elig | 150 | 6.0 | 20.0 | -6.1 |
| Austin Jackson | 23 | pre-arb | 151 | 4.1 | 0.4 | +9.0 |
| Max Scherzer | 25 | pre-arb | 31 | 4.0 | 1.5 | +7.8 |
| Magglio Ordonez | 36 | FA-elig | 84 | 2.4 | 17.8 | -12.3 |
| Johnny Damon | 36 | FA-elig | 145 | 2.3 | 8.0 | -2.6 |
| Ryan Raburn | 29 | FA-elig | 113 | 2.3 | 0.4 | +4.9 |
| Ramon Santiago | 30 | FA-elig | 112 | 2.0 | 1.2 | +3.4 |
| Rick Porcello | 21 | pre-arb | 27 | 1.9 | 1.9 | +2.6 |
| Brandon Inge | 33 | FA-elig | 144 | 1.9 | 6.6 | -2.3 |
| Don Kelly | 30 | arb | 119 | 1.3 | 0.4 | +2.7 |
| Casper Wells | 25 | – | 36 | 1.3 | – | – |
| Joel Zumaya | 25 | arb | 31 | 1.1 | 0.9 | +1.7 |
| Phil Coke | 27 | pre-arb | 74 | 1.1 | 0.4 | +2.2 |
| Will Rhymes | 27 | – | 54 | 1.0 | – | – |
| Jeremy Bonderman | 27 | FA-elig | 30 | 0.9 | 12.5 | -10.5 |
| Brennan Boesch | 25 | – | 133 | 0.7 | – | – |
| Armando Galarraga | 28 | – | 25 | 0.6 | – | – |
| Jose Valverde | 32 | FA-elig | 60 | 0.6 | 6.9 | -5.5 |
| Jhonny Peralta↔ CLE | 28 | FA-elig | 57 | 0.6 | 1.9 | -0.6 |
| Danny Worth | 24 | – | 39 | 0.5 | – | – |
| Dontrelle Willis↔ ARI | 28 | FA-elig | 10 | 0.4 | 7.5 | -6.5 |
| Alex Avila | 23 | pre-arb | 104 | 0.3 | 0.4 | +0.3 |
| Robbie Weinhardt | 24 | – | 28 | 0.3 | – | – |
| Ryan Perry | 23 | pre-arb | 60 | 0.3 | 0.4 | +0.2 |
| Carlos Guillén | 34 | FA-elig | 68 | 0.2 | 13.0 | -12.6 |
| Brad Thomas | 32 | FA-elig | 49 | 0.2 | 1.0 | -0.6 |
| Jeff Frazier | 27 | – | 9 | 0.1 | – | – |
| Alfredo Figaro | 25 | – | 8 | 0.1 | – | – |
| Daniel Schlereth | 24 | – | 18 | 0.0 | – | – |
| Eddie Bonine | 29 | pre-arb | 47 | 0.0 | 0.4 | -0.4 |
| Andy Oliver | 22 | – | 5 | -0.0 | – | – |
| Max St. Pierre | 30 | – | 6 | -0.0 | – | – |
| Jay Sborz | 25 | – | 1 | -0.0 | – | – |
| Fu-Te Ni | 27 | pre-arb | 22 | -0.0 | 0.4 | -0.5 |
| Jeff Larish↔ OAK | 27 | – | 3 | -0.1 | – | – |
| Casey Fien | 26 | – | 2 | -0.1 | – | – |
| Adam Everett | 33 | FA-elig | 31 | -0.3 | 1.6 | -2.2 |
| Enrique Gonzalez | 27 | – | 18 | -0.3 | – | – |
| Scott Sizemore | 25 | pre-arb | 48 | -0.3 | 0.4 | -1.2 |
| Gerald Laird | 30 | FA-elig | 89 | -2.3 | 4.0 | -9.1 |
41 players appeared (WAR is complete); salary & surplus are on record for 26 of them (63%). 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 |