Rosternomics
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WJ

Walt Jocketty

Feb 19, 1951 (Minneapolis, MN) – Apr 26, 2025 (Phoenix, AZ) · died at 74

Built the St. Louis Cardinals into a perennial NL power in the 2000s, culminating in the 2006 World Series title, then helped return the Cincinnati Reds to the postseason.

20 seasons with salary-era data across 2 stints. All figures are franchise-level outcomes during the tenure, not solely attributable to one executive.

Titles1
Pennants2
Playoffs10
Record1692–1527
Win %0.526
+47.6WAB — wins above budget18th/195 execs
+50.7Talent above budget — roster-construction alpha (talent your budget bought above expectation)13th/195 execs
1.73Acquisition leverage — playoff pts each bought win added, given the roster it joined (did you buy where wins matter?)34th/195 execs
-107.4WAR surplus (era-neutral, win-equiv)175th/195 execs
-175Roster surplus $M152nd/195 execs

How the roster was sourced

by valueby volume

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)+331.8
Trade+100.1
Free agency-38.9
Rule 5 / minor draft+0.6
Sourcing mix: 54% draft · 20% FA · 26% trade · 0% R5

Tenure breakdown

TeamRoleYearsSzns WAB WAB/yr TAB WAR surp HG Trade FA R5 AcqLev W-L% POPenWS Surp $M
▸ Reds GM 2009–2015 7 +14.1 +2.02 +20.6 +3.9 +78.2 -7.0 -34.9 -0.6 2.10 0.507 3–– +0
▸ Cardinals GM 1995–2007 13 +33.5 +2.58 +30.1 -111.3 +253.6 +107.1 -3.9 +1.2 1.62 0.536 721 -176
Career total (1985+ data) 20 +47.6 +50.7 -107.4 +331.8 +100.1 -38.9 +0.6 1.73 0.526 102 1 -175

Players acquired — 306 players, by realized fWAR for the franchise (scroll for more)

PlayerPosTeam How Year fWAR
Albert Pujols 1B STL Draft 1999 +83.2
Yadier Molina C STL Draft 2000 +55.5
Adam Wainwright P STL Trade 2003 +52.6
Chris Carpenter P STL Free agency 2002 +26.4
Matt Morris P STL Draft 1995 +25.1
Mark McGwire 1B STL Trade 1997 +19.7
J. D. Drew OF STL Draft 1998 +17.5
Édgar Rentería SS STL Trade 1998 +17.4
Jaime García P STL Draft 2005 +13.0
Billy Hamilton OF CIN Draft 2009 +11.9
Aroldis Chapman P CIN Intl FA 2010 +11.3
Mike Leake P CIN Draft 2009 +10.9
Woody Williams P STL Free agency 2002 +10.7
Darryl Kile P STL Trade 1999 +9.7
Ryan Ludwick OF STL Free agency 2006 +9.7
Jon Jay OF STL Draft 2006 +9.5
Andy Benes P STL Free agency 1995 +8.7
Anthony DeSclafani P CIN Trade 2014 +8.2
David Freese 3B STL Trade 2007 +7.7
Raisel Iglesias P CIN Intl FA 2014 +7.6
Tommy Pham OF STL Draft 2006 +7.6
Jesse Winker OF CIN Draft 2012 +7.4
Todd Stottlemyre P STL Trade 1996 +7.3
Tyler Stephenson C CIN Draft 2015 +7.0
Allen Craig 1B/OF STL Draft 2006 +7.0
Tyler Mahle P CIN Draft 2013 +6.7
Rick Ankiel OF STL Draft 1997 +6.7
Fernando Viña 2B STL Trade 1999 +6.7
Colby Rasmus OF STL Draft 2005 +6.6
Shin-Soo Choo OF CIN Trade 2012 +6.4
Ron Gant OF STL Free agency 1995 +6.1
Delino DeShields 2B STL Free agency 1996 +5.9
Tucker Barnhart C CIN Draft 2009 +5.8
Jeff Suppan P STL Free agency 2003 +5.5
Jason Isringhausen P STL Free agency 2001 +5.4
Brendan Ryan SS STL Draft 2003 +5.4
Braden Looper P STL Draft 1996 +5.1
Joel Piñeiro P STL Trade 2007 +4.9
Royce Clayton SS STL Trade 1995 +4.8
David Eckstein SS STL Free agency 2004 +4.8
Jason Marquis P STL Trade 2003 +4.5
Michael Lorenzen P CIN Draft 2013 +4.3
Gary Gaetti 3B STL Free agency 1995 +4.3
Darren Oliver P STL Trade 1998 +4.1
Reggie Sanders OF STL Free agency 2003 +4.1
Mike Matheny C STL Free agency 1999 +3.7
Skip Schumaker 2B/OF STL Draft 2001 +3.4
Kent Bottenfield P STL Free agency 1998 +3.3
So Taguchi OF STL Draft 2002 +3.3
Chris Duncan OF STL Draft 1999 +3.2
Ramón Hernández C CIN Free agency 2010 +3.0
Mark Grudzielanek 2B/SS STL Free agency 2005 +2.8
Scott Schebler OF CIN Trade 2015 +2.6
Kent Mercker P STL Free agency 1997 +2.5
Jason Motte P STL Draft 2003 +2.5
Eduardo Pérez 1B STL Free agency 1999 +2.5
Tino Martinez 1B STL Free agency 2001 +2.3
Larry Walker OF STL Trade 2004 +2.2
Pat Hentgen P STL Trade 1999 +2.1
Mark Mulder P STL Trade 2004 +2.0
Tony Cingrani P CIN Draft 2011 +1.8
Tejay Antone P CIN Draft 2014 +1.7
Sal Romano P CIN Draft 2011 +1.7
Dontrelle Willis P CIN Free agency 2010 +1.7
Alberto Reyes P STL Free agency 2004 +1.7
Brett Tomko P STL Trade 2002 +1.7
Julián Tavárez P STL Free agency 2004 +1.6
Kip Wells P STL Free agency 2006 +1.6
Bud Smith P STL Draft 1998 +1.5
Scott Spiezio 1B/2B STL Free agency 2006 +1.5
Aristides Aquino OF CIN Intl FA 2011 +1.4
Tony Santillan P CIN Draft 2015 +1.4
Eric Davis OF STL Free agency 1998 +1.4
Miguel Cairo 2B CIN Free agency 2010 +1.3
Ryan Ludwick OF CIN Free agency 2012 +1.3
Randy Flores P STL Free agency 2003 +1.3
Kristopher Negrón OF CIN Trade 2009 +1.2
Kiko Calero P STL Trade 2003 +1.2
Pete Kozma SS STL Draft 2007 +1.2
Abraham Núñez 2B/3B/SS STL Free agency 2004 +1.2
Phil Ervin OF CIN Draft 2013 +1.1
Darren Bragg OF STL Free agency 1999 +1.1
Russ Springer P STL Free agency 2002 +1.1
Corky Miller C CIN Trade 2009 +1.0
Manny Parra P CIN Free agency 2013 +1.0
Mike Crudale P STL Draft 1999 +1.0
Bo Hart 2B STL Draft 1999 +1.0
César Izturis SS STL Free agency 2007 +1.0
John Rodriguez OF STL Trade 2005 +1.0
Brian Barton OF STL Rule 5 2007 +0.9
Mitchell Boggs P STL Draft 2005 +0.9
Dennis Eckersley P STL Trade 1996 +0.9
Dan Haren P STL Draft 2001 +0.9
Héctor Luna 2B STL Rule 5 2003 +0.9
Jonny Gomes DH/OF CIN Free agency 2009 +0.8
Orlando Cabrera SS CIN Free agency 2010 +0.7
John Lamb P CIN Trade 2015 +0.7
Édgar Rentería SS CIN Free agency 2011 +0.7
Ramón Santiago 2B/SS CIN Free agency 2014 +0.7
Daniel Descalso 2B/3B STL Draft 2007 +0.7
Ray King P STL Trade 2003 +0.7
Mike Timlin P STL Trade 2000 +0.7
Cal Eldred P STL Free agency 2002 +0.6
Tony Fossas P STL Free agency 1995 +0.6
Steve Kline P STL Free agency 2003 +0.6
Jeff Parrett P STL Free agency 1995 +0.6
Troy Percival P STL Free agency 2007 +0.6
Kerry Robinson OF STL Free agency 2000 +0.6
Shane Robinson OF STL Draft 2006 +0.6
Dioner Navarro C CIN Free agency 2012 +0.5
Xavier Paul OF CIN Free agency 2012 +0.5
Shawon Dunston SS STL Free agency 1999 +0.5
Mike Matthews P STL Trade 1999 +0.5
Britt Reames P STL Draft 1995 +0.5
Jumbo Díaz P CIN Trade 2014 +0.4
Blake Wood P CIN Free agency 2015 +0.4
Mike Mohler P STL Free agency 1999 +0.4
Mark Sweeney 1B/OF STL Trade 1995 +0.4
Burke Badenhop P CIN Free agency 2015 +0.3
Wandy Peralta P CIN Intl FA 2009 +0.3
Micah Franklin OF STL Trade 1996 +0.3
Mike Lincoln P STL Free agency 2004 +0.3
Matt Pagnozzi C STL Draft 2003 +0.3
Anthony Reyes P STL Draft 2003 +0.3
Brandon Finnegan P CIN Trade 2015 +0.2
Hernán Iribarren 2B/OF CIN Free agency 2014 +0.2
Fred Lewis OF CIN Free agency 2011 +0.2
Steve Selsky OF CIN Draft 2011 +0.2
Jarrett Hoffpauir 2B/3B STL Draft 2004 +0.2
Marcus Jensen C STL Free agency 1999 +0.2
Jason LaRue C STL Free agency 2007 +0.2
Jason Simontacchi P STL Trade 2002 +0.2
Mark Thompson P STL Free agency 1999 +0.2
Alex Blandino 2B/3B CIN Draft 2014 +0.1
Chris Dominguez OF CIN Free agency 2015 +0.1
Brian O'Grady OF CIN Draft 2014 +0.1
Derrick Robinson OF CIN Trade 2013 +0.1
Kevin Shackelford P CIN Trade 2014 +0.1
Robert Stephenson P CIN Draft 2011 +0.1
Drew Sutton 2B/OF CIN Trade 2009 +0.1
Ricky Bottalico P STL Trade 1998 +0.1
Troy Cate P STL Trade 2007 +0.1
Iván Cruz 1B STL Free agency 2002 +0.1
Wilson Delgado 2B/SS STL Free agency 2001 +0.1
Brian Falkenborg P STL Free agency 2005 +0.1
Ryan Franklin P STL Free agency 2007 +0.1
Josh Hancock P STL Free agency 2006 +0.1
Dustin Hermanson P STL Trade 2000 +0.1
Pat Kelly 2B STL Free agency 1998 +0.1
Chris Narveson P STL Draft 2000 +0.1
Kevin Ohme P STL Trade 2003 +0.1
Josh Pearce P STL Draft 1999 +0.1
Eduardo Sánchez P STL Intl FA 2005 +0.1
Mark Worrell P STL Draft 2004 +0.1
Donovan Hand P CIN Free agency 2015 +0.0
Jason Marquis P CIN Free agency 2015 -0.0
Greg Reynolds P CIN Free agency 2012 -0.0
Russ Springer P CIN Free agency 2010 +0.0
Zach Vincej SS CIN Draft 2012 -0.0
Zack Weiss P CIN Draft 2013 +0.0
Justin Brunette P STL Draft 1997 +0.0
Mike Coolbaugh 3B STL Free agency 2001 -0.0
Brian Esposito C STL Trade 2007 +0.0
John Gall OF STL Draft 2000 +0.0
Tyler Greene 2B/SS STL Draft 2005 -0.0
Steven Hill C/1B STL Draft 2007 +0.0
Darren Holmes P STL Free agency 2000 -0.0
Brian Hunter 1B STL Free agency 1998 -0.0
Mark Johnson C STL Free agency 2007 +0.0
Randy Keisler P STL Free agency 2006 -0.0
Adam Kennedy 2B STL Draft 1997 +0.0
Mark Little OF STL Trade 1998 +0.0
Larry Luebbers P STL Free agency 1997 -0.0
Tom McGraw P STL Trade 1997 -0.0
Bill Ortega PH/PR STL Intl FA 1997 -0.0
Bill Pulsipher P STL Free agency 2005 +0.0
Scott Radinsky P STL Free agency 1998 +0.0
José Rodríguez P STL Draft 1997 -0.0
Jorge Rondon P STL Intl FA 2006 -0.0
Heathcliff Slocumb P STL Free agency 1999 -0.0
Jeff Tabaka P STL Free agency 2001 -0.0
Brad Thompson P STL Draft 2002 +0.0
Gabe White P STL Free agency 2005 -0.0
Rick Wilkins C STL Free agency 2000 +0.0
José Arredondo P CIN Free agency 2010 -0.1
Trevor Bell P CIN Free agency 2013 -0.1
Alejandro Chacín P CIN Intl FA 2010 -0.1
Caleb Cotham P CIN Trade 2015 -0.1
Iván De Jesús 2B CIN Free agency 2014 -0.1
Jake Elmore SS/OF CIN Free agency 2014 -0.1
Jimmy Herget P CIN Draft 2015 -0.1
J. J. Hoover P CIN Trade 2012 -0.1
Matt Magill P CIN Free agency 2015 -0.1
Todd Redmond P CIN Trade 2012 -0.1
Cody Reed P CIN Trade 2015 -0.1
Jesús Reyes P CIN Intl FA 2014 -0.1
Blake Trahan 2B/SS CIN Draft 2015 -0.1
Larry Bigbie OF STL Trade 2005 -0.1
Andrew Brown OF STL Draft 2007 -0.1
Stubby Clapp 2B/OF STL Draft 1996 -0.1
Brandon Dickson P STL Intl FA 2006 -0.1
Dennis Dove P STL Draft 2003 -0.1
Matt Duff P STL Draft 2002 -0.1
Juan Encarnación OF STL Free agency 2006 -0.1
Mike James P STL Free agency 1999 -0.1
Josh Kinney P STL Draft 2006 -0.1
Manuel Lee 2B/SS STL Free agency 1995 -0.1
Gabe Molina P STL Free agency 2001 -0.1
Lance Painter P STL Free agency 2002 -0.1
Mike Parisi P STL Draft 2004 -0.1
Jason Pearson P STL Free agency 2003 -0.1
Chris Perez P STL Draft 2006 -0.1
Cliff Politte P STL Draft 1995 -0.1
Mike Rose C STL Free agency 2006 -0.1
Steve Scarsone 2B/3B STL Free agency 1997 -0.1
Clint Sodowsky P STL Trade 1999 -0.1
Dave Wainhouse P STL Free agency 2000 -0.1
Rookie Davis P CIN Trade 2015 -0.2
Ryan Dennick P CIN Rule 5 2012 -0.2
Amir Garrett P CIN Draft 2011 -0.2
Kevin Gregg P CIN Free agency 2015 -0.2
César Izturis SS CIN Free agency 2013 -0.2
Keyvius Sampson P CIN Trade 2015 -0.2
Layne Somsen P CIN Draft 2013 -0.2
Jackson Stephens P CIN Draft 2012 -0.2
Kyle Waldrop OF CIN Draft 2010 -0.2
Chad Wallach C CIN Trade 2014 -0.2
Bryan Anderson C STL Draft 2005 -0.2
Mark Hamilton 1B STL Draft 2006 -0.2
Tim Hulett 2B/3B STL Free agency 1995 -0.2
Kevin Jarvis P STL Free agency 2005 -0.2
Kevin Joseph P STL Trade 2001 -0.2
Jimmy Journell P STL Draft 1999 -0.2
Jason Karnuth P STL Draft 1997 -0.2
Eric Ludwick P STL Trade 1996 -0.2
Joe Mather OF STL Draft 2001 -0.2
John Nelson 1B/SS STL Draft 2001 -0.2
Jesse Orosco P STL Trade 2000 -0.2
Ricardo Rincón P STL Free agency 2005 -0.2
Scott Seabol 3B STL Free agency 2003 -0.2
Travis Smith P STL Free agency 2001 -0.2
Chris Widger C STL Free agency 2003 -0.2
Nathan Adcock P CIN Free agency 2014 -0.3
Barrett Astin P CIN Trade 2014 -0.3
Jonathan Broxton P CIN Trade 2012 -0.3
Nick Christiani P CIN Draft 2009 -0.3
Brandon Dixon 1B/OF CIN Trade 2015 -0.3
Drew Hayes P CIN Draft 2010 -0.3
Ryan LaMarre OF CIN Draft 2010 -0.3
Alejo López 2B CIN Draft 2015 -0.3
Dauri Moreta P CIN Intl FA 2015 -0.3
Chad Reineke P CIN Free agency 2009 -0.3
Tony Renda 2B/OF CIN Trade 2015 -0.3
Carmen Cali P STL Draft 2000 -0.3
Darnell Coles 3B/OF STL Free agency 1995 -0.3
Rick Heiserman P STL Trade 1995 -0.3
Scott Hemond C STL Free agency 1995 -0.3
Tyler Johnson P STL Draft 2000 -0.3
Cody McKay C/3B STL Free agency 2003 -0.3
Orlando Palmeiro OF STL Free agency 2003 -0.3
Larry Sutton 1B/OF STL Free agency 1999 -0.3
Mike Costanzo 1B/DH CIN Trade 2012 -0.4
Zach Duke P CIN Free agency 2013 -0.4
Ariel Hernández P CIN Rule 5 2015 -0.4
Keury Mella P CIN Trade 2015 -0.4
Josh Smith P CIN Draft 2010 -0.4
Pedro Borbón P STL Free agency 2003 -0.4
Andy Cavazos P STL Rule 5 2002 -0.4
Joe Girardi C STL Free agency 2002 -0.4
David Howard SS STL Free agency 1997 -0.4
Thomas Howard OF STL Free agency 1998 -0.4
Chad Hutchinson P STL Draft 1998 -0.4
Kelvin Jiménez P STL Trade 2007 -0.4
Miguel Mejía OF STL Trade 1995 -0.4
Mark Mulder P STL Free agency 2007 -0.4
Adam Ottavino P STL Draft 2006 -0.4
Preston Wilson OF STL Free agency 2006 -0.4
Jason Bourgeois OF CIN Free agency 2013 -0.5
Jack Hannahan 3B CIN Free agency 2012 -0.5
Willie Harris 2B/OF CIN Free agency 2012 -0.5
Brayan Peña C CIN Free agency 2013 -0.5
Tanner Rainey P CIN Draft 2015 -0.5
Adron Chambers OF STL Draft 2007 -0.5
Einar Díaz C STL Free agency 2004 -0.5
Mike Mahoney C STL Free agency 2003 -0.5
Roberto Mejía 2B STL Free agency 1997 -0.5
P. J. Walters P STL Draft 2006 -0.5
Bobby Bonilla 3B/OF STL Free agency 2001 -0.7
Kyle McClellan P STL Draft 2002 -0.7
Aaron Miles 2B STL Trade 2005 -0.7
Jon Moscot P CIN Draft 2012 -0.8
Marlon Anderson 2B STL Free agency 2004 -0.8
Mike Gallego 2B/SS STL Free agency 1996 -0.8
Gene Stechschulte P STL Intl FA 1996 -0.8
Jeff Fassero P STL Trade 2002 -0.9
Blake Hawksworth P STL Draft 2001 -0.9
Luis Ordaz 2B/SS STL Trade 1995 -0.9
David Bell 2B/3B STL Trade 1995 -1.0
Brennan Boesch OF CIN Free agency 2014 -1.1
Gary Bennett C STL Free agency 2005 -1.1
Ramón Cabrera C CIN Trade 2015 -1.6
Skip Schumaker 2B/OF CIN Free agency 2013 -1.6
David Holmberg P CIN Trade 2013 -1.7
Roger Cedeño OF STL Trade 2004 -1.7
Nick Stavinoha OF STL Draft 2005 -1.7
Tony Cruz C STL Draft 2007 -2.1

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.

Rosternomics — quantifying front-office skill, attribution-clean. Follow @rosternomics on X. Decision-makers on record back to 1933; resource-controlled metrics (WAR & payroll) cover 1985–2026.
Data: FanGraphs (WAR), Baseball-Reference & the Chadwick Bureau register (rosters, IDs), the Lahman Database, Baseball America prospect rankings (via The Baseball Cube), 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); bios are original. Emoji graphics by OpenMoji (CC BY-SA 4.0).
All figures are franchise-level outcomes credited to the decision-maker in the acquisition year — not solely attributable to one executive.