Rosternomics
TS

Tal Smith

Born Sep 27, 1933 · Framingham, MA · age 92

General manager for the Astros and Yankees (1965–2007).

1 seasons with salary-era data across 4 stints. All figures are franchise-level outcomes during the tenure, not solely attributable to one executive.

Titles0
Pennants0
Playoffs0
Record73–89
Win %0.451
-9.7WAB — wins above budget115th/195 execs
-10.7Talent above budget — roster-construction alpha (talent your budget bought above expectation)117th/195 execs
0.26Acquisition leverage — playoff pts each bought win added, given the roster it joined (did you buy where wins matter?)159th/195 execs
-21.0WAR surplus (era-neutral, win-equiv)82nd/195 execs
-45Roster surplus $M100th/195 execs

How the roster was sourced

Share of gross-positive acquired fWAR by channel (vs. league average).

Build channels — net fWAR

Acquired minus surrendered / signed minus walked.

Home-grown (draft/intl)+82.9
Trade+32.4
Free agency+1.6
Rule 5 / minor draft-0.4
Sourcing mix: 67% draft · 4% FA · 29% trade · 0% R5

Tenure breakdown

TeamRoleYearsSzns WAB WAB/yr TAB WAR surp HG Trade FA R5 AcqLev W-L% POPenWS Surp $M
Astros GM 2007–2007 1 -9.7 -9.72 -10.7 -21.0 +60.5 -2.7 +1.6 -0.4 0.26 0.451 -45
Astros GM 1976–1980 0 +0.0 +0.0 +0.0 +22.5 +20.5 +0.0 +0.0
Yankees GM 1975–1975 0 +0.0 +0.0 +0.0 +0.0 +14.7 +0.0 +0.0
Astros GM 1965–1967 0 +0.0 +0.0 +0.0 +0.0 +0.0 +0.0 +0.0
Career total (1985+ data) 1 -9.7 -10.7 -21.0 +82.9 +32.4 +1.6 -0.4 0.26 0.451 -45

Players acquired — 34 players, by realized fWAR for the franchise (scroll for more)

PlayerPosTeam How Year fWAR
José Altuve 2B HOU Intl FA 2007 +60.5
Bill Doran 2B HOU Draft 1979 +16.6
Willie Randolph 2B NYY Trade 1975 +14.7
Bob Knepper P HOU Trade 1980 +7.0
Dave Smith P HOU Draft 1976 +6.9
Denny Walling 1B/3B/OF HOU Trade 1977 +6.6
Alan Ashby C HOU Trade 1978 +5.0
Mark Loretta 2B HOU Free agency 2007 +2.1
Craig Reynolds SS HOU Trade 1978 +2.0
Kazuo Matsui 2B HOU Free agency 2007 +1.8
José Valverde P HOU Trade 2007 +1.8
Geoff Blum 3B HOU Free agency 2007 +1.4
Jim Pankovits 2B/OF HOU Draft 1976 +0.8
Jeff Calhoun P HOU Draft 1980 +0.5
Manny Hernández P HOU Intl FA 1978 +0.3
John Mizerock C HOU Draft 1979 +0.2
Doug Brocail P HOU Free agency 2007 +0.2
Darin Erstad 1B/OF HOU Free agency 2007 +0.2
Ty Gainey OF HOU Draft 1979 +0.1
Geoff Geary P HOU Trade 2007 +0.1
Chris Jones OF HOU Draft 1979 +0.0
Jack Cassel P HOU Free agency 2007 -0.0
José Cisnero P HOU Intl FA 2007 -0.0
José Cruz OF HOU Free agency 2007 -0.1
Mark Ross P HOU Draft 1979 -0.2
Tim Tolman 1B/OF HOU Draft 1978 -0.2
Tomás Pérez 2B/3B/SS HOU Free agency 2007 -0.2
Chad Paronto P HOU Free agency 2007 -0.3
Bert Peña SS HOU Intl FA 1977 -0.4
Steve Randolph P HOU Free agency 2007 -0.4
Wesley Wright P HOU Rule 5 2007 -0.4
Jeff Heathcock P HOU Draft 1980 -0.5
Óscar Villarreal P HOU Trade 2007 -1.0
Julio Solano P HOU Intl FA 1979 -1.6

WAB = wins above what the team's payroll predicted (resource-controlled). WAR surplus = era-neutral value (WAR minus payroll in win-equivalents). Roster surplus $M = dollar value of WAR over cost. Build channels (realized fWAR): HG = home-grown via amateur draft / international signing; Trade = acquired minus surrendered (incl. purchases/waivers); FA = signed minus walked; R5 = Rule-5 / minor-league-draft pickups. Credit follows the acquisition year — home-grown to the regime at the player's draft/signing (not whoever was in the chair when he peaked), trade/FA/R5 to the GM who made the move. Players acquired as prospects before debuting (e.g. Smoltz, Bagwell; Rule-5 picks like Uggla) are counted as trade/R5, not home-grown. All are franchise-level outcomes during the stint, not solely attributable to one executive.