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Cubs CHC

198776–85 (0.472)
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GM: Dallas Green

Overview

Ranks vs the 30 teams in 1987, or a custom range (defaults to every team-season since 1985, when our data starts).

to

Front Office

PoorAverageGreat
Value
Payroll $M
$14M
Surplus $M
-6
Win %
0.472
TAB
-10.7
WAB
-8.2
Roster composition
Roster fWAR
26.0
Dead money %
21%
Depth Players
4.0
Dead WAR
-4.6

Offense

PoorAverageGreat

Pitching & Defense

PoorAverageGreat

Roster

1987 depth chart — stacked by playing time

C

RJody Davis123
RJim Sundberg57
BDamon Berryhill11

1B

LLeon Durham123
RManny Trillo47
LRafael Palmeiro18
RKeith Moreland1

2B

RRyne Sandberg131
RPaul Noce36
RManny Trillo10
BLuis Quinones4
BMike Brumley1

3B

RKeith Moreland150
RManny Trillo35
RWade Rowdon9
BChico Walker2
RPaul Noce2
BLuis Quinones1

SS

RShawon Dunston94
RPaul Noce35
BMike Brumley34
BLuis Quinones28
RManny Trillo6

LF

BJerry Mumphrey78
RBrian Dayett68
LRafael Palmeiro44
BChico Walker25
LDave Martinez14
RDarrin Jackson2
RGary Matthews Sr.⇄2

CF

LDave Martinez134
RBob Dernier72
BChico Walker3
RDarrin Jackson3
BJerry Mumphrey1

RF

RAndre Dawson152
RBrian Dayett12
BJerry Mumphrey6
BChico Walker5
LDave Martinez3
LRafael Palmeiro2

DH

—

Starters

RRick Sutcliffe3.7 WAR
LJamie Moyer2.0 WAR
LSteve Trout⇄1.4 WAR
RGreg Maddux1.2 WAR
RLes Lancaster1.1 WAR
RScott Sanderson1.0 WAR
RDickie Noles⇄0.6 WAR
LMike Mason⇄0.2 WAR
REd Lynch0.1 WAR
RBob Tewksbury⇄0.0 WAR

Bullpen

★ RLee Smith36 sv
LFrank DiPino0 h
RDickie Noles⇄0 h
RJay Baller0 h
RRon Davis⇄0 h
LDrew Hall0 h
LMike Mason⇄0 h
RBob Tewksbury⇄0 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 1986)

PlayerfWAR
Andre Dawson3.5
Les Lancaster1.1
Dickie Noles0.6
Darrin Jackson0.2
Mike Mason0.2
Bob Tewksbury0.0

Key subtractions (gone from 1986)

Player1986 fWAR
Dennis Eckersley3.9
Davey Lopes1.8
Ron Cey1.6
Chris Speier0.9
Guy Hoffman0.9
Dave Gumpert0.4

Contract Value

WAR translated into tier-adjusted market value, then compared with what the player was paid by Cubs. Guaranteed contracts from the 2015-present contract-data period use the known contract period through 1987; everyone else is shown as a 1987 season snapshot.

PlayerPeriodfWARTier Market $MPaid $MSurplus $M$ / WARTierContract
Rick Sutcliffe 1987 +3.7 +65.2 1.8 +63.4 $0.5M 2.19× –
Lee Smith 1987 +2.9 +58.8 0.8 +57.9 $0.3M 2.57× –
Andre Dawson 1987 +3.5 +50.9 0.7 +50.2 $0.2M 1.79× –
Jamie Moyer 1987 +2.0 +23.6 0.1 +23.6 $0.0M 1.49× –
Dave Martinez 1987 +1.8 +17.3 0.1 +17.3 $0.0M 1.22× –
Jerry Mumphrey 1987 +1.8 +17.6 0.8 +16.8 $0.4M 1.22× –
Ryne Sandberg 1987 +2.1 +13.6 0.8 +12.8 $0.4M 0.82× –
Steve Trout↔ 1987 +1.4 +11.3 0.4 +10.9 $0.3M 1.02× –
Jody Davis 1987 +1.9 +11.6 1.0 +10.6 $0.5M 0.76× –
Les Lancaster 1987 +1.1 +9.3 0.1 +9.3 $0.1M 1.02× –
Scott Sanderson 1987 +1.0 +8.0 0.8 +7.1 $0.9M 1.02× –
Keith Moreland 1987 +1.3 +5.9 1.0 +4.9 $0.8M 0.58× –
Frank DiPino 1987 +0.8 +4.4 0.3 +4.1 $0.4M 0.67× –
Leon Durham 1987 +1.2 +5.3 1.2 +4.1 $1.0M 0.56× –
Bob Dernier 1987 +0.7 +4.7 0.7 +4.0 $1.0M 0.83× –
Dickie Noles↔ 1987 +0.6 +3.0 0.1 +3.0 $0.1M 0.67× –
Rafael Palmeiro 1987 +0.4 +2.5 0.1 +2.5 $0.2M 0.83× –
Manny Trillo 1987 +0.5 +2.0 0.3 +1.8 $0.6M 0.56× –
Brian Dayett 1987 +0.2 +1.6 0.1 +1.5 $0.4M 0.83× –
Bob Tewksbury↔ 1987 +0.0 +0.2 0.0 +0.2 $0.9M 0.67× –
Ed Lynch 1987 +0.1 +0.4 0.6 -0.2 $8.0M 0.67× –
Jay Baller 1987 -0.0 -0.2 0.1 -0.3 – 0.67× –
Drew Hall 1987 -0.1 -0.3 0.1 -0.4 – 0.67× –
Gary Matthews Sr.↔ 1987 -0.0 -0.3 0.4 -0.7 – 0.83× –
Jim Sundberg 1987 +0.0 +0.0 0.8 -0.7 $69.5M 0.52× –
Ron Davis↔ 1987 -0.2 -1.1 0.2 -1.3 – 0.67× –
Shawon Dunston 1987 -0.7 -3.4 0.2 -3.6 – 0.61× –
Luis Quinones 1987 -0.7 -3.6 0.1 -3.7 – 0.61× –
Chico Walker 1987 -1.2 -7.8 – – – 0.83× –
Damon Berryhill 1987 -0.5 -2.0 – – – 0.52× –
Darrin Jackson 1987 +0.2 +1.3 – – – 0.83× –
Greg Maddux 1987 +1.2 +10.0 – – – 1.02× –
Mike Brumley 1987 -0.4 -1.9 – – – 0.61× –
Mike Mason↔ 1987 +0.2 +1.0 – – – 0.67× –
Paul Noce 1987 -0.6 -2.5 – – – 0.56× –
Wade Rowdon 1987 -0.2 -1.2 – – – 0.58× –
Total—+26.0+305.213.7+295.1—

Trades

Every graded 1987 deal involving the Cubs — best expected value first. Surplus is realized value in $M; 10 total.

1987 · CHC / TEX
CHC · Dallas Green +$0.0M
Mike Mason
TEX · Tom Grieve +$0.0M
Dave Pavlas
Even trade
1987 · CHC / NYY
CHC · Dallas Green +$7.2M
Bob Tewksbury, Rich Scheid, Dean Wilkins
NYY · Woody Woodward −$7.2M
Steve Trout
CHC came out ahead by $7.2M
1987 · CHC / DET
CHC · Dallas Green +$0.8M
cash / PTBNL
DET · Bill Lajoie −$0.8M
Dickie Noles
CHC came out ahead by $0.8M
1987 · CHC / ANA
CHC · Dallas Green +$4.8M
Todd Fischer
ANA · Mike Port −$4.8M
Chico Walker
CHC came out ahead by $4.8M
1987 · CHC / SEA
CHC · Dallas Green +$15.2M
Dave Hartnett
SEA · Dick Balderson −$15.2M
Gary Matthews
CHC came out ahead by $15.2M
1987 · CHC / OAK
CHC · Dallas Green +$10.4M
Luis Quiñones
OAK · Sandy Alderson −$10.4M
Ron Cey
CHC came out ahead by $10.4M
1987 · CIN / CHC
CIN · Bill Bergesch +$5.6M
Guy Hoffman
CHC · Dallas Green −$5.6M
Wade Rowdon
CIN came out ahead by $5.6M
1987 · KCR / CHC
KCR · John Schuerholz +$4.0M
Thad Bosley, Dave Gumpert
CHC · Dallas Green −$4.0M
Jim Sundberg
KCR came out ahead by $4.0M
1987 · BOS / CHC
BOS · Lou Gorman +$6.4M
Lee Smith
CHC · Dallas Green −$6.4M
Al Nipper, Calvin Schiraldi
BOS came out ahead by $6.4M
1987 · OAK / CHC
OAK · Sandy Alderson +$125.6M
Dennis Eckersley, Dan Rohn
CHC · Dallas Green −$125.6M
Dave Wilder, Brian Guinn, Mark Leonette
OAK came out ahead by $125.6M

Current & Historical Payroll

1987 payroll
$13.5M

What the front office was committed to as of 1987, 1987–1993. 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)

PlayerAgeSvc1987198819891990199119921993
Rick Sutcliffe3111.000$1.8M$2.1M$2.3M$1.9M$2.3MFREE AGENT
Leon Durham297.000$1.2M$738kFREE AGENT
Keith Moreland339.000$1.0MFREE AGENT
Jody Davis306.000$1.0M$1.1MFREE AGENT
Scott Sanderson309.000$850k$950k$800kFREE AGENT
Lee Smith297.000$840kFREE AGENT
Jim Sundberg3613.000$792k$398kFREE AGENT
Ryne Sandberg276.000$760k$840k$950k$1.6MFREE AGENT$2.1M$6.0M
Jerry Mumphrey3413.000$750k$608kFREE AGENT
Bob Dernier307.000$708kFREE AGENT
Andre Dawson3211.000$700k$1.9M$2.1M$2.1M$3.3M$3.3MFREE AGENT
Ed Lynch317.000$550kFREE AGENT
Gary Matthews Sr.3615.000$435kFREE AGENT
Steve Trout299.000$392kFREE AGENT
Frank DiPino306.000$300k$465kFREE AGENT
Manny Trillo3614.000$290k$357kFREE AGENT
Ron Davis319.000$239kFREE AGENT
Dickie Noles308.000$68kFREE AGENT
Chico Walker297.000—FREE AGENT$234k

Arbitration-eligible (4)

PlayerAgeSvc1987198819891990199119921993
Brian Dayett304.000$100kARB 3FREE AGENT
Jay Baller265.000$75kFREE AGENT
Luis Quinones254.000$68kARB 3FREE AGENT
Wade Rowdon263.000—ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT

Pre-arbitration (13)

PlayerAgeSvc1987198819891990199119921993
Shawon Dunston242.000$155kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Jamie Moyer241.000$70kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Drew Hall241.000$62kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Les Lancaster250.000$62kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Dave Martinez221.000$62kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Rafael Palmeiro221.000$62kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Bob Tewksbury261.000$40kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Damon Berryhill230.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Mike Brumley240.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Darrin Jackson232.000—ARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Greg Maddux211.000—Pre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Mike Mason28–—
Paul Noce27–—

Graphs

How each 1987 acquisition stacked onto Cubs'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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