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Cubs CHC

199890–73 (0.552)Made Playoffs
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GM: Ed Lynch

Overview

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

to

Front Office

PoorAverageGreat
Value
Payroll $M
$52M
Surplus $M
-12
Win %
0.552
TAB
-0.6
WAB
+4.8
Roster composition
Roster fWAR
36.5
Dead money %
32%
Depth Players
8.0
Dead WAR
-4.9

Offense

PoorAverageGreat

Pitching & Defense

PoorAverageGreat

Roster

1998 depth chart — stacked by playing time

C

RScott Servais110
LTyler Houston63
LSandy Martínez33

1B

LMark Grace156
RDerrick White⇄11
LTyler Houston7
LBrant Brown7
RJosé Hernández3
RScott Servais1

2B

LMickey Morandini152
RManny Alexander27
RJosé Hernández2
RJason Maxwell1

3B

RJosé Hernández72
RKevin Orie⇄64
RGary Gaetti⇄37
RManny Alexander19
LTyler Houston12
BJason Hardtke7

SS

RJeff Blauser106
RManny Alexander50
RJosé Hernández45
RJose Nieves1

LF

LHenry Rodriguez114
RMatt Mieske50
LBrant Brown48
RGlenallen Hill⇄45
RJosé Hernández31
LPedro Valdes6
LOrlando Merced⇄4
RTerrell Lowery2
RManny Alexander1

CF

LLance Johnson78
LBrant Brown69
RJosé Hernández31
RTerrell Lowery20
RSammy Sosa7
RMatt Mieske3

RF

RSammy Sosa156
RMatt Mieske12
RGlenallen Hill⇄3
RJosé Hernández2
BJason Hardtke1
LPedro Valdes1

DH

LHenry Rodriguez5
RManny Alexander2
BJason Hardtke1

Starters

RKerry Wood4.4 WAR
RMark Clark3.6 WAR
RSteve Trachsel2.7 WAR
RKevin Tapani2.3 WAR
LTerry Mulholland1.7 WAR
RGeremi Gonzalez1.1 WAR
RDon Wengert⇄-0.2 WAR
RMike Morgan⇄-0.4 WAR

Bullpen

★ RRod Beck51 sv
RTerry Adams0 h
RMarc Pisciotta0 h
LBob Patterson0 h
RDave Stevens0 h
LFelix Heredia⇄0 h
RMatt Karchner⇄0 h
RAmaury Telemaco⇄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 1997)

PlayerfWAR
Kerry Wood4.4
Mickey Morandini4.0
Gary Gaetti1.5
Glenallen Hill1.4
Rod Beck1.1
Henry Rodriguez1.0

Key subtractions (gone from 1997)

Player1997 fWAR
Brian McRae2.3
Doug Glanville1.5
Frank Castillo1.1
Ryne Sandberg0.7
Dave Hansen0.5
Dave Clark0.5

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 1998; everyone else is shown as a 1998 season snapshot.

PlayerPeriodfWARTier Market $MPaid $MSurplus $M$ / WARTierContract
Sammy Sosa 1998 +7.1 +116.3 8.3 +107.9 $1.2M 2.05× –
Kerry Wood 1998 +4.4 +76.4 0.2 +76.2 $0.0M 2.19× –
Mark Clark 1998 +3.6 +63.9 5.0 +58.8 $1.4M 2.19× –
Steve Trachsel 1998 +2.7 +42.3 3.0 +39.3 $1.1M 1.96× –
Mickey Morandini 1998 +4.0 +38.5 2.0 +36.5 $0.5M 1.20× –
Mark Grace 1998 +3.3 +28.3 4.2 +24.0 $1.3M 1.07× –
Kevin Tapani 1998 +2.3 +26.9 4.0 +22.9 $1.8M 1.49× –
Brant Brown 1998 +1.8 +17.1 0.2 +16.9 $0.1M 1.22× –
José Hernández 1998 +2.2 +14.9 0.7 +14.2 $0.3M 0.85× –
Terry Mulholland 1998 +1.7 +13.5 0.6 +12.9 $0.3M 0.98× –
Gary Gaetti↔ 1998 +1.5 +10.3 0.3 +10.0 $0.2M 0.85× –
Glenallen Hill↔ 1998 +1.4 +9.3 0.1 +9.1 $0.1M 0.83× –
Geremi Gonzalez 1998 +1.1 +8.9 0.2 +8.7 $0.2M 1.02× –
Rod Beck 1998 +1.1 +11.6 3.6 +8.0 $3.3M 1.34× –
Henry Rodriguez 1998 +1.0 +7.0 2.7 +4.3 $2.6M 0.83× –
Terry Adams 1998 +0.5 +2.6 0.3 +2.3 $0.6M 0.67× –
Felix Heredia↔ 1998 +0.4 +1.9 0.1 +1.9 $0.3M 0.67× –
Sandy Martinez 1998 +0.4 +1.6 0.2 +1.5 $0.4M 0.52× –
Tyler Houston 1998 +0.3 +1.2 0.2 +0.9 $0.8M 0.52× –
Orlando Merced↔ 1998 +0.1 +0.5 0.1 +0.4 $1.6M 0.83× –
Justin Speier↔ 1998 +0.0 +0.1 0.0 +0.1 $0.5M 0.67× –
Tony Fossas↔ 1998 -0.0 -0.0 0.1 -0.1 – 0.67× –
Pedro Valdes 1998 -0.0 -0.2 0.2 -0.4 – 0.83× –
Bob Patterson 1998 +0.0 +0.0 0.9 -0.9 $96.2M 0.67× –
Dave Stevens 1998 -0.1 -0.7 0.2 -0.9 – 0.67× –
Chris Haney↔ 1998 -0.1 -0.7 0.2 -1.0 – 0.67× –
Don Wengert↔ 1998 -0.2 -0.9 0.2 -1.0 – 0.67× –
Amaury Telemaco↔ 1998 -0.3 -1.5 0.1 -1.5 – 0.67× –
Marc Pisciotta 1998 -0.3 -1.4 0.2 -1.6 – 0.67× –
Kevin Foster 1998 -0.1 -0.3 1.4 -1.7 – 0.67× –
Matt Mieske 1998 -0.2 -1.2 0.6 -1.7 – 0.83× –
Scott Servais 1998 -0.1 -0.5 1.6 -2.1 – 0.52× –
Kevin Orie↔ 1998 -0.6 -2.8 0.1 -3.0 – 0.58× –
Lance Johnson 1998 +0.3 +1.7 4.9 -3.2 $19.2M 0.83× –
Mike Morgan↔ 1998 -0.4 -3.4 0.3 -3.7 – 1.02× –
Manny Alexander 1998 -0.9 -4.6 0.4 -5.0 – 0.61× –
Jeff Blauser 1998 -0.3 -1.6 4.0 -5.6 – 0.61× –
Matt Karchner↔ 1998 -0.6 -6.3 0.1 -6.4 – 1.34× –
Ben Van Ryn↔ 1998 +0.0 +0.1 0.1 -0.0 $6.1M 0.67× –
Derrick White↔ 1998 -0.1 -0.4 – – – 0.56× –
Jason Hardtke 1998 -0.1 -0.4 – – – 0.58× –
Jason Maxwell 1998 +0.1 +0.5 – – – 0.56× –
Jose Nieves 1998 -0.0 -0.2 – – – 0.61× –
Kennie Steenstra 1998 -0.1 -0.5 – – – 0.67× –
Kurt Miller 1998 +0.1 +0.6 – – – 0.67× –
Rodney Myers 1998 -0.0 -0.1 – – – 0.67× –
Terrell Lowery 1998 -0.3 -2.0 – – – 0.83× –
Total—+36.6+466.351.6+417.0—

Trades

Every graded 1998 deal involving the Cubs — best expected value first. Surplus is realized value in $M; 6 total.

1998 · SDP / CHC
SDP · Kevin Towers +$0.8M
Ben VanRyn
CHC · Ed Lynch −$0.8M
Don Wengert
SDP came out ahead by $0.8M
1998 · MIN / CHC
MIN · Terry Ryan +$7.2M
Scott Downs
CHC · Ed Lynch −$7.2M
Mike Morgan
MIN came out ahead by $7.2M
1998 · CHC / PIT
CHC · Ed Lynch +$213.6M
Jon Lieber
PIT · Cam Bonifay −$213.6M
Brant Brown
CHC came out ahead by $213.6M
1998 · ATL / CHC
ATL · John Schuerholz +$2.4M
Jon Ratliff
CHC · Ed Lynch −$2.4M
Ray King
ATL came out ahead by $2.4M
1998 · CHW / CHC
CHW · Ron Schueler +$92.0M
Jon Garland
CHC · Ed Lynch −$92.0M
Matt Karchner
CHW came out ahead by $92.0M
1998 · MIA / CHC
MIA · Dave Dombrowski +$1.6M
Justin Speier, Kevin Orie, Todd Noel
CHC · Ed Lynch −$1.6M
Félix Heredia, Steve Hoff
MIA came out ahead by $1.6M

Current & Historical Payroll

1998 payroll
$51.8M

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 (20)

PlayerAgeSvc1998199920002001200220032004
Sammy Sosa299.000$8.3M$9.0M$11.0M$12.5M$15.0M$16.0M$16.0M
Mark Clark307.000$5.0MFREE AGENT
Lance Johnson3411.000$4.9M$5.1MFREE AGENT
Mark Grace3410.000$4.2M$4.1M$5.3MFREE AGENT
Kevin Tapani349.000$4.0M$3.5M$6.0M$6.5MFREE AGENT
Jeff Blauser3211.000$4.0M$4.2MFREE AGENT
Rod Beck297.000$3.6M$4.0MFREE AGENT
Henry Rodriguez306.000$2.7M$3.7M$3.1MFREE AGENT
Mickey Morandini328.000$2.0M$2.0MFREE AGENT
Scott Servais317.000$1.6MFREE AGENT
Bob Patterson3913.000$900kFREE AGENT
José Hernández287.000$725k$1.6MFREE AGENT$460k
Terry Mulholland3512.000$600k$1.8MFREE AGENT
Manny Alexander276.000$425k$475kFREE AGENT
Gary Gaetti3917.000$289k$2.0MFREE AGENT
Mike Morgan3820.000$283kFREE AGENT
Chris Haney297.000$237kFREE AGENT
Glenallen Hill339.000$128k$1.1M$923kFREE AGENT
Tony Fossas4010.000$127kFREE AGENT
Orlando Merced318.000$114kFREE AGENT

Arbitration-eligible (10)

PlayerAgeSvc1998199920002001200220032004
Steve Trachsel275.000$3.0MFREE AGENT
Kevin Foster295.000$1.4MFREE AGENT
Matt Mieske305.000$550kFREE AGENT
Terry Adams253.000$295kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Dave Stevens284.000$225kARB 3FREE AGENT
Sandy Martinez273.000$174kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Don Wengert283.000$167kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Matt Karchner313.000$143kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Kurt Miller254.000—ARB 3FREE AGENT
Derrick White285.000—FREE AGENT

Pre-arbitration (17)

PlayerAgeSvc1998199920002001200220032004
Tyler Houston272.000$225kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Geremi Gonzalez231.000$210kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Brant Brown272.000$180kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Marc Pisciotta271.000$180kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Kerry Wood210.000$170kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Pedro Valdes252.000$170kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Kevin Orie251.000$137kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Felix Heredia232.000$95kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Ben Van Ryn262.000$61kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Amaury Telemaco242.000$59kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Justin Speier240.000$9kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Jason Hardtke26–—
Terrell Lowery271.000—Pre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Rodney Myers292.000—ARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Kennie Steenstra27–—
Jose Nieves230.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Jason Maxwell260.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT

Graphs

How each 1998 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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