Red Sox — Front Office

Overview

Ranks vs the 30 teams in 1998, or a custom range (defaults to every team-season since 1985, when our data starts).

Front Office

PoorAverageGreat

Value

Payroll $M

$51M

Surplus $M

Win %

0.568

TAB

+10.0

WAB

+7.5

Roster composition

Roster fWAR

46.6

Dead money %

19%

Depth Players

10.0

Dead WAR

-2.5

Offense

PoorAverageGreat

Pitching & Defense

PoorAverageGreat

Roster

1998 depth chart — stacked by playing time

C

LScott Hatteberg108

BJason Varitek75

RJim Leyritz⇄23

BMandy Romero⇄10

RMike Stanley⇄1

1B

LMo Vaughn142

RMike Stanley⇄12

RMike Benjamin10

LReggie Jefferson7

RBilly Ashley2

2B

RMike Benjamin87

RDonnie Sadler50

RLou Merloni32

BMark Lemke31

RChris Snopek⇄5

RDamon Buford1

RJohn Valentin1

RKeith Johns1

3B

RJohn Valentin153

RMike Benjamin11

RLou Merloni5

RChris Snopek⇄2

RDamon Buford1

SS

RNomar Garciaparra143

RMike Benjamin20

RDonnie Sadler4

RLou Merloni1

LF

LTroy O'Leary155

LDarren Bragg7

RKeith Mitchell4

RDarren Lewis4

RBilly Ashley2

LTrot Nixon1

CF

RDarren Lewis109

RDamon Buford67

LDarren Bragg12

RF

LDarren Bragg112

RDarren Lewis55

LMidre Cummings17

RKeith Mitchell6

LTrot Nixon6

LOrlando Merced⇄5

DH

LReggie Jefferson47

RMike Stanley⇄35

RJim Leyritz⇄29

LMidre Cummings20

LMo Vaughn12

RBilly Ashley4

LOrlando Merced⇄4

RKeith Mitchell3

BMandy Romero⇄2

LDarren Bragg1

RChris Snopek⇄1

Starters

RPedro Martinez5.6 WAR

RBret Saberhagen2.5 WAR

RDerek Lowe2.4 WAR

RTim Wakefield1.7 WAR

LPete Schourek⇄0.5 WAR

RJohn Wasdin0.4 WAR

LSteve Avery0.3 WAR

RJin Ho Cho0.1 WAR

LButch Henry-0.0 WAR

RRobinson Checo-0.2 WAR

RBrian Rose-0.3 WAR

Bullpen

★ RTom Gordon46 sv

RJim Corsi0 h

RDennis Eckersley0 h

RRich Garces0 h

LGreg Swindell⇄0 h

LRon Mahay0 h

RCarlos Reyes⇄0 h

LBrian Shouse0 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 1997)

Player	fWAR
Pedro Martínez	5.6
Darren Lewis	1.6
Damon Buford	0.9
Jim Leyritz	0.7
Pete Schourek	0.5
Midre Cummings	0.4

Key subtractions (gone from 1997)

Player	1997 fWAR
Tim Naehring	2.1
Wil Cordero	2.0
Jeff Frye	1.7
Jeff Suppan	1.4
Chris Hammond	0.9
Aaron Sele	0.8

Contract Value

WAR translated into tier-adjusted market value, then compared with what the player was paid by Red Sox. Guaranteed contracts from the 2015-present contract-data period use the known contract period through 1998; everyone else is shown as a 1998 season snapshot.

Player	Period	fWAR	Tier Market $M	Paid $M	Surplus $M	$ / WAR	Tier	Contract
Pedro Martínez	1998	+5.6	+112.8	7.6	+105.2	$1.3M	2.50×	–
Nomar Garciaparra	1998	+7.3	+87.5	1.1	+86.4	$0.1M	1.51×	–
Mo Vaughn	1998	+6.3	+68.7	6.7	+62.0	$1.1M	1.37×	–
Tom Gordon	1998	+2.7	+56.0	3.3	+52.7	$1.2M	2.57×	–
John Valentin	1998	+4.5	+44.8	5.3	+39.4	$1.2M	1.25×	–
Bret Saberhagen	1998	+2.5	+39.3	3.8	+35.5	$1.5M	1.96×	–
Darren Bragg	1998	+2.6	+33.4	0.4	+33.0	$0.1M	1.60×	–
Derek Lowe	1998	+2.4	+18.9	0.2	+18.7	$0.1M	0.98×	–
Tim Wakefield	1998	+1.7	+19.8	3.5	+16.3	$2.1M	1.49×	–
Darren Lewis	1998	+1.6	+15.9	0.5	+15.4	$0.3M	1.22×	–
Mike Benjamin	1998	+2.1	+13.7	0.2	+13.5	$0.1M	0.82×	–
Scott Hatteberg	1998	+2.2	+13.1	0.2	+12.9	$0.1M	0.76×	–
Damon Buford	1998	+0.9	+6.2	0.5	+5.8	$0.5M	0.83×	–
Troy O'Leary	1998	+1.1	+7.4	2.4	+5.0	$2.2M	0.83×	–
Pete Schourek↔	1998	+0.5	+3.8	0.6	+3.2	$1.4M	1.02×	–
Jim Leyritz↔	1998	+0.7	+3.9	0.9	+3.0	$1.3M	0.69×	–
Mike Stanley↔	1998	+0.7	+3.6	0.6	+3.0	$0.9M	0.69×	–
Jim Corsi	1998	+0.6	+3.3	0.6	+2.7	$1.0M	0.67×	–
John Wasdin	1998	+0.4	+2.1	0.2	+1.9	$0.6M	0.67×	–
Midre Cummings	1998	+0.4	+2.1	0.2	+1.9	$0.7M	0.69×	–
Reggie Jefferson	1998	+0.9	+4.9	3.2	+1.7	$3.6M	0.69×	–
Carlos Reyes↔	1998	+0.3	+1.8	0.2	+1.6	$0.6M	0.67×	–
Lou Merloni	1998	+0.2	+1.0	0.2	+0.8	$0.8M	0.56×	–
Donnie Sadler	1998	+0.1	+0.5	0.2	+0.3	$1.7M	0.56×	–
Jason Varitek	1998	+0.1	+0.5	0.2	+0.3	$1.4M	0.52×	–
Trot Nixon	1998	-0.0	-0.2	0.2	-0.4	–	0.83×	–
Chris Snopek↔	1998	-0.1	-0.4	0.0	-0.5	–	0.56×	–
Greg Swindell↔	1998	-0.1	-0.3	0.5	-0.8	–	0.67×	–
Orlando Merced↔	1998	-0.2	-1.3	0.1	-1.3	–	0.83×	–
Keith Mitchell	1998	-0.2	-1.4	0.2	-1.6	–	0.83×	–
Rich Garces	1998	-0.3	-1.4	0.2	-1.6	–	0.67×	–
Butch Henry	1998	-0.0	-0.3	1.4	-1.7	–	1.02×	–
Dennis Eckersley	1998	-0.0	-0.2	1.5	-1.7	–	0.67×	–
Steve Avery	1998	+0.3	+2.0	3.9	-1.9	$15.5M	1.02×	–
Brian Rose	1998	-0.3	-2.7	0.2	-2.9	–	1.02×	–
Billy Ashley	1998	+0.3	+1.6	–	–	–	0.69×	–
Brian Barkley	1998	-0.3	-1.5	–	–	–	0.67×	–
Brian Shouse	1998	-0.2	-0.9	–	–	–	0.67×	–
Carlos Valdez	1998	-0.0	-0.1	–	–	–	0.67×	–
Dario Veras	1998	-0.1	-0.4	–	–	–	0.67×	–
David West	1998	-0.2	-1.0	–	–	–	0.67×	–
Jin Ho Cho	1998	+0.1	+1.0	–	–	–	1.02×	–
Keith Johns	1998	+0.0	+0.1	–	–	–	0.56×	–
Mandy Romero↔	1998	+0.0	+0.0	–	–	–	0.52×	–
Mark Lemke	1998	-0.1	-0.6	–	–	–	0.56×	–
Robinson Checo	1998	-0.2	-1.9	–	–	–	1.02×	–
Ron Mahay	1998	-0.1	-0.6	–	–	–	0.67×	–
Total	—	+46.7	+554.5	51.0	+507.8	—

Trades

Every graded 1998 deal involving the Red Sox — best expected value first. Surplus is realized value in $M; 8 total.

1998 · MIN / BOS

MIN · Terry Ryan +$6.4M

John Barnes, Matt Kinney, Joe Thomas

BOS · Dan Duquette −$6.4M

Orlando Merced, Greg Swindell

MIN came out ahead by $6.4M

1998 · HOU / BOS

HOU · Gerry Hunsicker +$1.6M

Mike Blais

BOS · Dan Duquette −$1.6M

David West

HOU came out ahead by $1.6M

1998 · BAL / BOS

BAL · Pat Gillick +$0.8M

Bo Dodson

BOS · Dan Duquette −$0.8M

Keith Johns

BAL came out ahead by $0.8M

1998 · ARI / BOS

ARI · Joe Garagiola +$1.6M

Bart Miadich

BOS · Dan Duquette −$1.6M

Bob Wolcott

ARI came out ahead by $1.6M

1998 · BOS / SDP

BOS · Dan Duquette +$9.6M

Carlos Reyes, Mandy Romero, Darío Veras

SDP · Kevin Towers −$9.6M

Ethan Faggett, Jim Leyritz

BOS came out ahead by $9.6M

1998 · BOS / MIL

BOS · Dan Duquette +$1.6M

Eddy Díaz

MIL · Sal Bando −$1.6M

Joe Hudson

BOS came out ahead by $1.6M

1998 · TOR / BOS

TOR · Gord Ash +$18.4M

Peter Munro, Jay Yennaco

BOS · Dan Duquette −$18.4M

Mike Stanley

TOR came out ahead by $18.4M

1998 · CHW / BOS

CHW · Ron Schueler +$1.6M

Corey Jenkins

BOS · Dan Duquette −$1.6M

Chris Snopek

CHW came out ahead by $1.6M

Current & Historical Payroll

1998 payroll

$50.8M

What the front office was committed to as of 1998, 1998–2004. 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 (23)

Player	Age	Svc	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004
Pedro Martínez	26	6.000	$7.6M	$11.1M	$11.5M	$13.0M	$14.0M	$15.5M	$17.5M
Mo Vaughn	30	7.000	$6.7M	FREE AGENT
John Valentin	31	6.000	$5.3M	$6.3M	$6.3M	$6.3M	FREE AGENT
Steve Avery	28	8.000	$3.9M	FREE AGENT
Bret Saberhagen	34	14.000	$3.8M	$3.5M	FREE AGENT	$5.0M
Tim Wakefield	31	6.000	$3.5M	$4.0M	$4.5M	$3.0M	$3.2M	$4.0M	$4.3M
Tom Gordon	30	10.000	$3.3M	$3.8M	FREE AGENT
Reggie Jefferson	29	7.000	$3.2M	$3.4M	FREE AGENT
Dennis Eckersley	43	23.000	$1.5M	FREE AGENT
Butch Henry	29	6.000	$1.4M	FREE AGENT
Jim Leyritz	34	8.000	$912k	FREE AGENT
Pete Schourek	29	7.000	$640k	FREE AGENT	$200k	$1.0M
Jim Corsi	36	10.000	$600k	$479k	FREE AGENT
Mike Stanley	35	12.000	$583k	$3.5M	$2.3M	FREE AGENT
Darren Lewis	30	8.000	$500k	$2.1M	$2.4M	$2.5M	FREE AGENT
Greg Swindell	33	12.000	$465k	FREE AGENT
Mike Benjamin	32	9.000	$242k	FREE AGENT
Rich Garces	27	8.000	$190k	$300k	$610k	$1.4M	$2.2M	FREE AGENT
Keith Mitchell	28	7.000	$170k	FREE AGENT
Orlando Merced	31	8.000	$86k	FREE AGENT
Billy Ashley	27	6.000	—	FREE AGENT
Mark Lemke	32	10.000	—	FREE AGENT
David West	33	10.000	—	FREE AGENT

Arbitration-eligible (10)

Player	Age	Svc	1998	1999	2000	2001
Troy O'Leary	28	5.000	$2.4M	FREE AGENT
Damon Buford	28	5.000	$460k	FREE AGENT
Darren Bragg	28	4.000	$368k	ARB 3	FREE AGENT
Midre Cummings	26	5.000	$250k	FREE AGENT
Scott Hatteberg	28	3.000	$240k	ARB 2	ARB 3	FREE AGENT
John Wasdin	25	3.000	$228k	ARB 2	ARB 3	FREE AGENT
Carlos Reyes	29	4.000	$193k	ARB 3	FREE AGENT
Chris Snopek	27	3.000	$25k	ARB 2	ARB 3	FREE AGENT
Ron Mahay	27	3.000	—	ARB 2	ARB 3	FREE AGENT
Brian Shouse	29	5.000	—	FREE AGENT

Pre-arbitration (14)

Player	Age	Svc	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004
Nomar Garciaparra	24	2.000	$1.1M	ARB 1	ARB 2	ARB 3	FREE AGENT
Derek Lowe	25	1.000	$172k	Pre-Arb	ARB 1	ARB 2	ARB 3	FREE AGENT
Donnie Sadler	23	0.000	$170k	Pre-Arb	Pre-Arb	ARB 1	ARB 2	ARB 3	FREE AGENT
Trot Nixon	24	2.000	$170k	ARB 1	ARB 2	ARB 3	FREE AGENT
Brian Rose	22	1.000	$170k	Pre-Arb	ARB 1	ARB 2	ARB 3	FREE AGENT
Lou Merloni	27	0.000	$170k	Pre-Arb	Pre-Arb	ARB 1	ARB 2	ARB 3	FREE AGENT
Jason Varitek	26	1.000	$170k	Pre-Arb	ARB 1	ARB 2	ARB 3	FREE AGENT
Robinson Checo	26	1.000	—	Pre-Arb	ARB 1	ARB 2	ARB 3	FREE AGENT
Mandy Romero	30	–	—
Carlos Valdez	26	–	—
Dario Veras	25	2.000	—	ARB 1	ARB 2	ARB 3	FREE AGENT
Brian Barkley	22	–	—
Keith Johns	26	–	—
Jin Ho Cho	22	–	—

Graphs

Regime	Seasons	Win %	Playoff %	Pennant %	WS %
WINDOW	289	52.2	30.1	4.8	1.0
CONTEND	309	56.8	63.1	19.1	10.0
FORCED-SPEND	262	48.0	9.2	1.5	1.5
REBUILD	328	43.3	1.2	0.3	0.3

How each 1998 acquisition stacked onto Red Sox's playoff-odds curve. The side table is ranked by PPA.

East

Central

West

East

Central

West

East

Central

West

East

Central

West

Red Sox BOS

Overview

Front Office

Offense

Pitching & Defense

Roster

1998 depth chart — stacked by playing time

C

1B

2B

3B

SS

LF

CF

RF

DH

Starters

Bullpen

Key additions (new vs 1997)

Key subtractions (gone from 1997)

Contract Value

Trades

Current & Historical Payroll

Guaranteed / signed (23)

Arbitration-eligible (10)

Pre-arbitration (14)

Graphs

What each regime is worth — every settled team-season since 1985

Red Sox BOS

Overview

Front Office

Offense All positionsC1B2B3BSSOF (LF/CF/RF)LFCFRFINF (1B/2B/3B/SS)Middle infield (2B/SS)C/DH

Pitching & Defense ALL SP RP

Roster

1998 depth chart — stacked by playing time

C

1B

2B

3B

SS

LF

CF

RF

DH

Starters

Bullpen

Key additions (new vs 1997)

Key subtractions (gone from 1997)

Contract Value

Trades

Current & Historical Payroll

Guaranteed / signed (23)

Arbitration-eligible (10)

Pre-arbitration (14)

Graphs

What each regime is worth — every settled team-season since 1985

Offense

Pitching & Defense