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White Sox CHW

199685–77 (0.525)
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GM: Ron Schueler

Overview

Ranks vs the 30 teams in 1996, or a custom range (defaults to every team-season since 1985, when our data starts).

to

Front Office

PoorAverageGreat
Value
Payroll $M
$46M
Surplus $M
-10
Win %
0.525
TAB
+4.1
WAB
-1.2
Roster composition
Roster fWAR
42.4
Dead money %
30%
Depth Players
11.0
Dead WAR
-4.7

Offense

PoorAverageGreat

Pitching & Defense

PoorAverageGreat

Roster

1996 depth chart — stacked by playing time

C

RRon Karkovice111
BChad Kreuter38
RPat Borders⇄31
RDon Slaught⇄14
RRobert Machado4

1B

RFrank Thomas139
LDave Martinez23
LRobin Ventura13
BChad Kreuter2
LMike Robertson2
BTony Phillips1

2B

BRay Durham150
BDomingo Cedeño⇄11
RNorberto Martin10
BJose Munoz7
BTony Phillips2

3B

LRobin Ventura150
RChris Snopek27
RNorberto Martin3
BGreg Norton2
BJose Munoz1

SS

LOzzie Guillen146
RNorberto Martin24
RChris Snopek12
BGreg Norton6
BJose Munoz2
BDomingo Cedeño⇄1

LF

BTony Phillips150
RLyle Mouton21
LDave Martinez3
RMike Cameron2
LOzzie Guillen2
BJose Munoz1
RDarren Lewis1

CF

RDarren Lewis137
LDave Martinez73
RMike Cameron4
BTony Phillips2

RF

RDanny Tartabull122
LDave Martinez73
RLyle Mouton29
RMike Cameron5

DH

LHarold Baines128
RLyle Mouton22
RDanny Tartabull7
RNorberto Martin4
RPat Borders⇄1

Starters

RAlex Fernandez4.7 WAR
LWilson Alvarez4.2 WAR
RKevin Tapani2.7 WAR
RJames Baldwin2.5 WAR
LMike Sirotka0.1 WAR
RMarvin Freeman⇄0.0 WAR
RScott Ruffcorn-0.1 WAR
RJason Bere-0.1 WAR
RKirk McCaskill-0.1 WAR
RLuis Andujar⇄-0.2 WAR
LJoe Magrane-0.2 WAR
LMike Bertotti-0.2 WAR

Bullpen

★ RRoberto Hernandez38 sv
RBill Simas0 h
LLarry Thomas0 h
RMatt Karchner0 h
RKirk McCaskill0 h
RBrian Keyser0 h
RJeff Darwin0 h
RAl Levine0 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 1995)

PlayerfWAR
Tony Phillips3.3
Harold Baines2.9
Kevin Tapani2.7
Tony Castillo0.4
Chad Kreuter0.3
Al Levine0.2

Key subtractions (gone from 1995)

Player1995 fWAR
Lance Johnson3.1
Mike Devereaux1.8
Jim Abbott1.6
Craig Grebeck1.2
Tim Raines Sr.1.1
Michael LaValliere0.6

Contract Value

WAR translated into tier-adjusted market value, then compared with what the player was paid by White Sox. Guaranteed contracts from the 2015-present contract-data period use the known contract period through 1996; everyone else is shown as a 1996 season snapshot.

PlayerPeriodfWARTier Market $MPaid $MSurplus $M$ / WARTierContract
Alex Fernandez 1996 +4.7 +82.5 4.5 +78.0 $1.0M 2.19× –
Wilson Alvarez 1996 +4.2 +73.4 2.8 +70.6 $0.7M 2.19× –
Dave Martinez 1996 +4.9 +70.5 0.9 +69.6 $0.2M 1.79× –
Roberto Hernandez 1996 +3.2 +64.9 2.1 +62.8 $0.7M 2.57× –
Frank Thomas 1996 +6.1 +67.0 7.2 +59.9 $1.2M 1.37× –
Robin Ventura 1996 +5.0 +49.9 6.0 +43.9 $1.2M 1.25× –
Kevin Tapani 1996 +2.7 +42.0 1.5 +40.5 $0.6M 1.96× –
Tony Phillips 1996 +3.3 +42.0 2.1 +39.9 $0.6M 1.60× –
James Baldwin 1996 +2.5 +29.3 0.1 +29.1 $0.0M 1.49× –
Harold Baines 1996 +2.9 +30.5 1.9 +28.6 $0.7M 1.33× –
Ray Durham 1996 +2.0 +13.1 0.1 +13.0 $0.1M 0.82× –
Lyle Mouton 1996 +0.9 +5.9 0.1 +5.8 $0.2M 0.83× –
Bill Simas 1996 +1.0 +5.4 0.1 +5.3 $0.1M 0.67× –
Larry Thomas 1996 +0.4 +2.3 0.1 +2.2 $0.3M 0.67× –
Tony Castillo↔ 1996 +0.4 +2.4 0.2 +2.2 $0.4M 0.67× –
Norberto Martin 1996 +0.5 +2.2 0.2 +2.1 $0.4M 0.61× –
Chris Snopek 1996 +0.3 +1.5 0.1 +1.3 $0.4M 0.58× –
Ron Karkovice 1996 +0.8 +3.5 2.2 +1.2 $2.7M 0.52× –
Brian Keyser 1996 +0.2 +1.3 0.1 +1.1 $0.6M 0.67× –
Chad Kreuter 1996 +0.3 +1.3 0.3 +0.9 $1.1M 0.52× –
Pat Borders↔ 1996 +0.1 +0.5 0.2 +0.4 $1.2M 0.52× –
Marvin Freeman↔ 1996 +0.0 +0.4 0.1 +0.3 $1.9M 1.02× –
Jason Bere 1996 -0.1 -0.5 0.2 -0.8 – 1.02× –
Mike Cameron 1996 -0.1 -0.8 0.1 -0.9 – 0.83× –
Don Slaught↔ 1996 -0.3 -1.1 0.1 -1.2 – 0.52× –
Joe Magrane 1996 -0.2 -1.1 0.2 -1.3 – 0.67× –
Mike Bertotti 1996 -0.2 -1.2 0.1 -1.3 – 0.67× –
Domingo Cedeno↔ 1996 -0.3 -1.4 0.0 -1.5 – 0.56× –
Kirk McCaskill 1996 -0.1 -0.7 0.8 -1.5 – 0.67× –
Darren Lewis 1996 -0.1 -0.6 1.6 -2.3 – 0.83× –
Matt Karchner 1996 -0.7 -3.9 0.1 -4.0 – 0.67× –
Danny Tartabull 1996 +0.1 +0.8 5.3 -4.5 $43.1M 0.83× –
Ozzie Guillen 1996 -1.7 -8.1 4.0 -12.1 – 0.61× –
Al Levine 1996 +0.2 +1.1 – – – 0.67× –
Greg Norton 1996 -0.1 -0.6 – – – 0.61× –
Jeff Darwin 1996 -0.1 -0.5 – – – 0.67× –
Jose Munoz 1996 -0.2 -1.0 – – – 0.56× –
Luis Andujar↔ 1996 -0.2 -1.4 – – – 1.02× –
Mike Robertson 1996 -0.1 -0.4 – – – 0.56× –
Mike Sirotka 1996 +0.1 +0.6 – – – 0.67× –
Rich Sauveur 1996 -0.2 -1.0 – – – 0.67× –
Robert Machado 1996 +0.2 +0.8 – – – 0.52× –
Scott Ruffcorn 1996 -0.1 -0.3 – – – 0.67× –
Stacy Jones 1996 +0.0 +0.1 – – – 0.67× –
Total—+42.2+570.645.4+527.3—

Trades

Every graded 1996 deal involving the White Sox — best expected value first. Surplus is realized value in $M; 4 total.

1996 · ANA / CHW
ANA · Bill Bavasi +$3.2M
Scott Vollmer
CHW · Ron Schueler −$3.2M
Don Slaught
ANA came out ahead by $3.2M
1996 · ANA / CHW
ANA · Bill Bavasi +$0.8M
Robert Ellis
CHW · Ron Schueler −$0.8M
Pat Borders
ANA came out ahead by $0.8M
1996 · TOR / CHW
TOR · Gord Ash +$11.2M
Luis Andújar, Allen Halley
CHW · Ron Schueler −$11.2M
Tony Castillo, Domingo Cedeño
TOR came out ahead by $11.2M
1996 · OAK / CHW
OAK · Sandy Alderson +$24.0M
Andrew Lorraine, Charles Poe
CHW · Ron Schueler −$24.0M
Danny Tartabull
OAK came out ahead by $24.0M

Current & Historical Payroll

1996 payroll
$45.7M

What the front office was committed to as of 1996, 1996–2002. 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)

PlayerAgeSvc1996199719981999200020012002
Frank Thomas286.000$7.2M$7.2M$7.0M$7.0M$7.1M$9.9M$9.9M
Robin Ventura287.000$6.0M$6.0M$6.1MFREE AGENT
Danny Tartabull3312.000$5.3MFREE AGENT
Alex Fernandez266.000$4.5MFREE AGENT
Ozzie Guillen3211.000$4.0M$4.5MFREE AGENT
Wilson Alvarez267.000$2.8M$3.1MFREE AGENT
Ron Karkovice3210.000$2.2M$1.5MFREE AGENT
Tony Phillips3714.000$2.1M$1.6MFREE AGENT
Harold Baines3716.000$1.9M$1.3MFREE AGENT$1.5M$1.0M
Darren Lewis286.000$1.6M$1.0MFREE AGENT
Kevin Tapani327.000$1.5MFREE AGENT
Dave Martinez3110.000$930k$950kFREE AGENT
Kirk McCaskill3511.000$800kFREE AGENT
Chad Kreuter318.000$350k$509k$688kFREE AGENT
Tony Castillo338.000$180k$1.2M$1.2MFREE AGENT
Joe Magrane319.000$175kFREE AGENT
Pat Borders338.000$153kFREE AGENT
Marvin Freeman3310.000$93kFREE AGENT
Don Slaught3714.000$64kFREE AGENT

Arbitration-eligible (5)

PlayerAgeSvc1996199719981999200020012002
Roberto Hernandez315.000$2.1MFREE AGENT
Jason Bere253.000$230kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Norberto Martin293.000$160kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Domingo Cedeno273.000$31kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Scott Ruffcorn263.000—ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT

Pre-arbitration (20)

PlayerAgeSvc1996199719981999200020012002
Ray Durham241.000$150kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Brian Keyser291.000$145kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Matt Karchner291.000$135kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Lyle Mouton271.000$135kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Bill Simas241.000$130kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Larry Thomas261.000$130kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Chris Snopek251.000$125kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Mike Cameron231.000$115kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
James Baldwin241.000$115kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Mike Bertotti261.000$110kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Luis Andujar231.000—Pre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Jeff Darwin262.000—ARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Stacy Jones29–—
Al Levine280.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Robert Machado230.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Jose Munoz28–—
Greg Norton230.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Mike Robertson250.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Rich Sauveur32–—
Mike Sirotka251.000—Pre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT

Graphs

How each 1996 acquisition stacked onto White Sox'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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