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Cubs CHC

198993–69 (0.574)Made Playoffs
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GM: Jim Frey

Overview

Ranks vs the 30 teams in 1989, or a custom range (defaults to every team-season since 1985, when our data starts).

to

Front Office

PoorAverageGreat
Value
Payroll $M
$11M
Surplus $M
+3
Win %
0.574
TAB
+5.2
WAB
+14.1
Roster composition
Roster fWAR
36.5
Dead money %
19%
Depth Players
7.0
Dead WAR
-3.3

Offense

PoorAverageGreat

Pitching & Defense

PoorAverageGreat

Roster

1989 depth chart — stacked by playing time

C

BDamon Berryhill89
RJoe Girardi59
RRick Wrona37
RLloyd McClendon5

1B

LMark Grace142
RLloyd McClendon28

2B

RRyne Sandberg155
BCurtis Wilkerson15
BGreg Smith2

3B

RVance Law119
RDomingo Ramos30
BCurtis Wilkerson26
RLuis Salazar⇄25
RLloyd McClendon6

SS

RShawon Dunston138
RDomingo Ramos42
BCurtis Wilkerson7

LF

LDwight Smith75
BMitch Webster52
RLloyd McClendon45
LGary Varsho17
RDarrin Jackson⇄10
BDoug Dascenzo8
LMarvell Wynne⇄7
LPhil Stephenson⇄3
BCurtis Wilkerson1
RLuis Salazar⇄1
RVance Law1

CF

RJerome Walton115
BDoug Dascenzo36
BMitch Webster13
LMarvell Wynne⇄8

RF

RAndre Dawson112
LDwight Smith32
RDarrin Jackson⇄21
BMitch Webster21
LMarvell Wynne⇄5
LGary Varsho4
BDoug Dascenzo1

DH

—

Starters

RRick Sutcliffe4.1 WAR
RGreg Maddux4.0 WAR
RMike Bielecki2.5 WAR
RScott Sanderson1.3 WAR
LPaul Kilgus1.0 WAR
LSteve Wilson1.0 WAR
LJoe Kraemer0.1 WAR
RJeff Pico0.0 WAR

Bullpen

★ LMitch Williams36 sv
RCalvin Schiraldi⇄0 h
RLes Lancaster0 h
LPat Perry0 h
LPaul Assenmacher⇄0 h
RDean Wilkins0 h
RKevin Blankenship0 h
LJoe Kraemer0 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 1988)

PlayerfWAR
Dwight Smith2.5
Jerome Walton2.0
Lloyd McClendon1.0
Paul Kilgus1.0
Steve Wilson1.0
Domingo Ramos0.9

Key subtractions (gone from 1988)

Player1988 fWAR
Rafael Palmeiro2.4
Jamie Moyer1.8
Frank DiPino0.8
Jody Davis0.6
Mike Harkey0.5
Jim Sundberg0.3

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 1989; everyone else is shown as a 1989 season snapshot.

PlayerPeriodfWARTier Market $MPaid $MSurplus $M$ / WARTierContract
Greg Maddux 1989 +4.0 +70.6 0.3 +70.4 $0.1M 2.19× –
Rick Sutcliffe 1989 +4.1 +71.3 2.3 +68.9 $0.6M 2.19× –
Ryne Sandberg 1989 +5.7 +62.5 0.9 +61.6 $0.2M 1.38× –
Mark Grace 1989 +3.8 +36.8 0.1 +36.6 $0.0M 1.20× –
Les Lancaster 1989 +2.3 +35.6 0.1 +35.5 $0.1M 1.95× –
Dwight Smith 1989 +2.5 +32.2 0.1 +32.2 $0.0M 1.60× –
Mike Bielecki 1989 +2.5 +29.4 0.1 +29.3 $0.0M 1.49× –
Jerome Walton 1989 +2.0 +19.3 0.1 +19.2 $0.0M 1.22× –
Andre Dawson 1989 +2.0 +19.3 2.1 +17.2 $1.1M 1.22× –
Shawon Dunston 1989 +1.8 +12.8 0.6 +12.3 $0.3M 0.89× –
Scott Sanderson 1989 +1.3 +10.7 0.8 +9.9 $0.6M 1.02× –
Paul Kilgus 1989 +1.0 +8.3 0.1 +8.1 $0.1M 1.02× –
Mitch Webster 1989 +1.2 +8.0 0.6 +7.5 $0.5M 0.83× –
Lloyd McClendon 1989 +1.0 +6.8 0.1 +6.7 $0.1M 0.83× –
Damon Berryhill 1989 +1.3 +5.4 0.1 +5.3 $0.1M 0.52× –
Steve Wilson 1989 +1.0 +5.2 0.1 +5.2 $0.1M 0.67× –
Domingo Ramos 1989 +0.9 +4.5 0.1 +4.4 $0.1M 0.61× –
Joe Girardi 1989 +0.5 +2.1 0.1 +2.0 $0.1M 0.52× –
Rick Wrona 1989 +0.3 +1.1 0.1 +1.0 $0.3M 0.52× –
Vance Law 1989 +0.2 +1.1 0.4 +0.7 $1.7M 0.58× –
Luis Salazar↔ 1989 +0.1 +0.3 0.1 +0.2 $1.5M 0.58× –
Darrin Jackson↔ 1989 -0.0 -0.3 0.1 -0.4 – 0.83× –
Curtis Wilkerson 1989 -0.1 -0.5 0.5 -1.0 – 0.58× –
Marvell Wynne↔ 1989 -0.5 -3.0 0.1 -3.1 – 0.83× –
Calvin Schiraldi↔ 1989 -0.8 -4.1 0.4 -4.4 – 0.67× –
Mitch Williams 1989 -0.4 -4.5 0.4 -4.9 – 1.34× –
Paul Assenmacher↔ 1989 +0.0 +0.1 0.1 +0.0 $3.0M 0.67× –
Dean Wilkins 1989 -0.1 -0.6 – – – 0.67× –
Doug Dascenzo 1989 -0.7 -4.5 – – – 0.83× –
Gary Varsho 1989 -0.3 -1.7 – – – 0.83× –
Greg Smith 1989 -0.1 -0.6 – – – 0.56× –
Jeff Pico 1989 +0.0 +0.2 – – – 0.67× –
Joe Kraemer 1989 +0.1 +1.0 – – – 1.02× –
Kevin Blankenship 1989 +0.0 +0.1 – – – 0.67× –
Pat Perry 1989 +0.1 +0.4 – – – 0.67× –
Phil Stephenson↔ 1989 -0.3 -1.9 – – – 0.83× –
Total—+36.4+423.410.9+420.4—

Trades

Every graded 1989 deal involving the Cubs — best expected value first. Surplus is realized value in $M; 5 total.

1989 · CHC / ATL
CHC · Jim Frey +$5.6M
Paul Assenmacher
ATL · Bobby Cox −$5.6M
Kelly Mann, Pat Gomez
CHC came out ahead by $5.6M
1989 · CHC / CHW
CHC · Jim Frey +$0.0M
Chuck Mount
CHW · Larry Himes +$0.0M
Rich Scheid
Even trade
1989 · CHC / TOR
CHC · Jim Frey +$3.2M
José Núñez
TOR · Pat Gillick −$3.2M
Paul Kilgus
CHC came out ahead by $3.2M
1989 · CLE / CHC
CLE · Hank Peters +$34.4M
Mitch Webster
CHC · Jim Frey −$34.4M
Dave Clark
CLE came out ahead by $34.4M
1989 · SDP / CHC
SDP · Jack McKeon +$86.4M
Calvin Schiraldi, Darrin Jackson, Phil Stephenson
CHC · Jim Frey −$86.4M
Marvell Wynne, Luis Salazar
SDP came out ahead by $86.4M

Current & Historical Payroll

1989 payroll
$10.7M

What the front office was committed to as of 1989, 1989–1995. 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 (10)

PlayerAgeSvc1989199019911992199319941995
Rick Sutcliffe3313.000$2.3M$1.9M$2.3MFREE AGENT
Andre Dawson3413.000$2.1M$2.1M$3.3M$3.3MFREE AGENT
Ryne Sandberg298.000$950k$1.6MFREE AGENT$2.1M$6.0M$6.0M
Scott Sanderson3211.000$800kFREE AGENT
Mitch Webster306.000$550kFREE AGENT
Curtis Wilkerson286.000$500k$400kFREE AGENT
Vance Law329.000$425kFREE AGENT
Domingo Ramos3111.000$130k$310kFREE AGENT
Luis Salazar339.000$86k$550k$575k$600kFREE AGENT
Marvell Wynne296.000$56k$525kFREE AGENT

Arbitration-eligible (8)

PlayerAgeSvc1989199019911992199319941995
Shawon Dunston264.000$550kARB 3FREE AGENT
Mitch Williams243.000$378kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Calvin Schiraldi275.000$366kFREE AGENT
Greg Maddux233.000$275kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Mike Bielecki295.000$122kFREE AGENT
Paul Assenmacher283.000$60kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Darrin Jackson254.000$58kARB 3FREE AGENT
Pat Perry304.000—ARB 3FREE AGENT

Pre-arbitration (18)

PlayerAgeSvc1989199019911992199319941995
Mark Grace251.000$140kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Paul Kilgus272.000$130kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Les Lancaster272.000$120kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Damon Berryhill252.000$115kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Lloyd McClendon302.000$91kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Jerome Walton230.000$68kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Steve Wilson241.000$68kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Joe Girardi240.000$68kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Dwight Smith250.000$68kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Rick Wrona251.000$68kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Kevin Blankenship261.000—Pre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Doug Dascenzo251.000—Pre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Joe Kraemer240.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Jeff Pico231.000—Pre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Greg Smith220.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Phil Stephenson280.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Gary Varsho281.000—Pre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Dean Wilkins220.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT

Graphs

How each 1989 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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