Rosternomics
Log in Sign up 𝕏

Reds CIN

199681–81 (0.500)
‹ Previous Next ›

GM: Jim Bowden

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
$37M
Surplus $M
-14
Win %
0.500
TAB
-8.2
WAB
-2.6
Roster composition
Roster fWAR
27.6
Dead money %
20%
Depth Players
6.0
Dead WAR
-6.9

Offense

PoorAverageGreat

Pitching & Defense

PoorAverageGreat

Roster

1996 depth chart — stacked by playing time

C

RJoe Oliver97
LEddie Taubensee94
RBrook Fordyce4

1B

LHal Morris140
LLenny Harris16
REduardo Perez8
RTim Belk6
RKevin Mitchell⇄3
RJoe Oliver3
LWillie Greene2
REric Davis1

2B

RBret Boone141
LJeff Branson31
LLenny Harris8
REric Owens6

3B

LWillie Greene74
LJeff Branson64
RChris Sabo43
LLenny Harris24
REric Owens5
REduardo Perez3

SS

RBarry Larkin151
LJeff Branson38
LWillie Greene1

LF

REric Owens52
BThomas Howard51
RKevin Mitchell⇄32
LLenny Harris23
BVince Coleman20
REric Davis14
LWillie Greene9
LCurtis Goodwin9
RMike Kelly6
RJoe Oliver2
RKeith Mitchell2
RSteve Gibralter1

CF

REric Davis115
BThomas Howard40
LCurtis Goodwin28
RMike Kelly10
RKeith Mitchell1
RChad Mottola1
LLenny Harris1
RSteve Gibralter1

RF

RReggie Sanders80
BThomas Howard32
RChad Mottola30
LLenny Harris18
LCurtis Goodwin6
RKeith Mitchell2
RJoe Oliver1
RMike Kelly1
LWillie Greene1

DH

—

Starters

LJohn Smiley4.8 WAR
RDave Burba2.2 WAR
RMark Portugal1.7 WAR
LPete Schourek1.2 WAR
RKevin Jarvis0.5 WAR
RMike Morgan⇄0.4 WAR
RCurt Lyons0.2 WAR
RScott Service-0.1 WAR
LMike Remlinger-0.2 WAR
RRoger Salkeld-0.3 WAR
RGiovanni Carrara⇄-0.5 WAR

Bullpen

★ RJeff Brantley44 sv
RJeff Shaw0 h
RHector Carrasco0 h
RJohnny Ruffin0 h
RLee Smith⇄0 h
RScott Service0 h
RMarcus Moore0 h
LMike Remlinger0 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
Eric Davis3.4
Kevin Mitchell1.6
Jeff Shaw1.2
Joe Oliver0.8
Chris Sabo0.7
Mike Morgan0.4

Key subtractions (gone from 1995)

Player1995 fWAR
Ron Gant3.4
Jerome Walton1.9
Benito Santiago1.8
Jose Rijo1.5
David Wells1.5
Mark Lewis0.8

Contract Value

WAR translated into tier-adjusted market value, then compared with what the player was paid by Reds. 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
John Smiley 1996 +4.8 +83.8 5.0 +78.8 $1.0M 2.19× –
Barry Larkin 1996 +6.8 +82.5 5.7 +76.8 $0.8M 1.51× –
Eric Davis 1996 +3.4 +43.5 0.8 +42.7 $0.2M 1.60× –
Reggie Sanders 1996 +2.7 +34.7 3.6 +31.1 $1.3M 1.60× –
Dave Burba 1996 +2.2 +26.6 1.1 +25.5 $0.5M 1.49× –
Hal Morris 1996 +2.6 +22.6 1.6 +21.0 $0.6M 1.07× –
Mark Portugal 1996 +1.7 +19.6 4.3 +15.3 $2.6M 1.49× –
Kevin Mitchell↔ 1996 +1.6 +15.3 0.7 +14.7 $0.4M 1.22× –
Jeff Brantley 1996 +1.1 +12.0 1.9 +10.2 $1.6M 1.34× –
Pete Schourek 1996 +1.2 +9.6 3.3 +6.3 $2.8M 1.02× –
Jeff Shaw 1996 +1.2 +6.2 0.5 +5.7 $0.4M 0.67× –
Eddie Taubensee 1996 +1.0 +4.3 0.6 +3.7 $0.6M 0.52× –
Mike Morgan↔ 1996 +0.4 +3.6 0.3 +3.3 $0.6M 1.02× –
Chris Sabo 1996 +0.7 +3.1 0.2 +2.9 $0.3M 0.58× –
Joe Oliver 1996 +0.8 +3.2 0.7 +2.5 $0.9M 0.52× –
Willie Greene 1996 +0.5 +2.2 0.1 +2.1 $0.3M 0.58× –
Eduardo Perez 1996 +0.3 +1.3 0.1 +1.1 $0.5M 0.56× –
Jeff Branson 1996 +0.2 +1.1 0.4 +0.7 $1.8M 0.58× –
Hector Carrasco 1996 +0.1 +0.4 0.2 +0.2 $2.9M 0.67× –
Lenny Harris 1996 +0.1 +0.7 0.6 +0.1 $3.7M 0.58× –
Scott Service 1996 -0.1 -0.3 0.1 -0.5 – 0.67× –
Mike Kelly 1996 -0.1 -0.5 0.1 -0.6 – 0.83× –
Bret Boone 1996 +0.0 +0.0 0.7 -0.7 $111.4M 0.56× –
Johnny Ruffin 1996 -0.1 -0.6 0.2 -0.8 – 0.67× –
Xavier Hernandez↔ 1996 -0.2 -0.9 0.0 -1.0 – 0.67× –
Marcus Moore 1996 -0.2 -0.9 0.1 -1.1 – 0.67× –
Steve Gibralter 1996 -0.1 -1.0 0.1 -1.1 – 0.83× –
Chuck McElroy↔ 1996 -0.2 -1.0 0.2 -1.2 – 0.67× –
Lee Smith↔ 1996 +0.1 +0.5 1.7 -1.2 $17.6M 0.67× –
Mike Remlinger 1996 -0.2 -1.3 0.1 -1.4 – 0.67× –
Thomas Howard 1996 -0.2 -1.3 0.7 -2.0 – 0.83× –
Tim Pugh↔ 1996 -0.4 -2.1 0.1 -2.2 – 0.67× –
Roger Salkeld 1996 -0.3 -2.6 0.1 -2.7 – 1.02× –
Vince Coleman 1996 -0.3 -2.2 0.5 -2.7 – 0.83× –
Giovanni Carrara↔ 1996 -0.5 -4.3 0.0 -4.4 – 1.02× –
Eric Anthony↔ 1996 -0.6 -3.9 0.6 -4.5 – 0.83× –
Curtis Goodwin 1996 -0.9 -5.7 0.1 -5.8 – 0.83× –
Eric Owens 1996 -1.7 -11.1 0.1 -11.2 – 0.83× –
Brook Fordyce 1996 +0.2 +0.9 – – – 0.52× –
Chad Mottola 1996 -0.5 -3.2 – – – 0.83× –
Curt Lyons 1996 +0.2 +1.8 – – – 1.02× –
Derek Lilliquist 1996 -0.1 -0.3 – – – 0.67× –
Jerry Spradlin 1996 +0.0 +0.0 – – – 0.67× –
Keith Mitchell 1996 -0.0 -0.2 – – – 0.83× –
Kevin Jarvis 1996 +0.5 +4.1 – – – 1.02× –
Pedro Martinez↔ 1996 -0.1 -0.3 – – – 0.67× –
Scott Sullivan 1996 -0.0 -0.1 – – – 0.67× –
Tim Belk 1996 -0.1 -0.6 – – – 0.56× –
Total—+27.5+339.237.2+299.6—

Trades

Every graded 1996 deal involving the Reds — best expected value first. Surplus is realized value in $M; 6 total.

1996 · CIN / BOS
CIN · Jim Bowden +$10.4M
Kevin Mitchell
BOS · Dan Duquette −$10.4M
Roberto Mejía, Brad Tweedlie
CIN came out ahead by $10.4M
1996 · CIN / DET
CIN · Jim Bowden +$2.4M
Yuri Sanchez
DET · Randy Smith −$2.4M
Gregg Olson
CIN came out ahead by $2.4M
1996 · CIN / ANA
CIN · Jim Bowden +$2.4M
Eduardo Pérez
ANA · Bill Bavasi −$2.4M
Will Pennyfeather
CIN came out ahead by $2.4M
1996 · ANA / CIN
ANA · Bill Bavasi +$8.0M
Chuck McElroy
CIN · Jim Bowden −$8.0M
Lee Smith
ANA came out ahead by $8.0M
1996 · CIN / ATL
CIN · Jim Bowden +$4.8M
Mike Kelly
ATL · John Schuerholz −$4.8M
Chad Fox, Ray King
CIN came out ahead by $4.8M
1996 · DET / CIN
DET · Randy Smith +$28.8M
Ben Bailey, Decomba Conner
CIN · Jim Bowden −$28.8M
Rubén Sierra
DET came out ahead by $28.8M

Current & Historical Payroll

1996 payroll
$37.3M

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 (21)

PlayerAgeSvc1996199719981999200020012002
Barry Larkin3210.000$5.7M$5.3M$5.3M$5.3M$5.3M$9.0M$9.0M
John Smiley3110.000$5.0M$2.9MFREE AGENT
Mark Portugal3311.000$4.3MFREE AGENT
Jeff Brantley328.000$1.9M$2.8MFREE AGENT
Lee Smith3816.000$1.7MFREE AGENT
Hal Morris318.000$1.6M$3.1MFREE AGENT$450k$298k
Dave Burba296.000$1.1M$2.1MFREE AGENT
Eric Davis3412.000$750kFREE AGENT
Joe Oliver307.000$708k$375kFREE AGENT
Thomas Howard316.000$675kFREE AGENT
Kevin Mitchell3412.000$656kFREE AGENT
Eric Anthony287.000$610kFREE AGENT
Lenny Harris318.000$550k$650k$440kFREE AGENT
Vince Coleman3411.000$500kFREE AGENT
Jeff Shaw296.000$450k$650k$347kFREE AGENT
Mike Morgan3618.000$272k$500kFREE AGENT
Chris Sabo348.000$200kFREE AGENT
Chuck McElroy287.000$189kFREE AGENT
Scott Service298.000$140kFREE AGENT
Xavier Hernandez307.000$30kFREE AGENT
Derek Lilliquist307.000—FREE AGENT

Arbitration-eligible (15)

PlayerAgeSvc1996199719981999200020012002
Reggie Sanders285.000$3.6MFREE AGENT
Pete Schourek275.000$3.3MFREE AGENT
Bret Boone274.000$725kARB 3FREE AGENT
Eddie Taubensee275.000$625kFREE AGENT
Jeff Branson294.000$425kARB 3FREE AGENT
Johnny Ruffin243.000$195kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Eduardo Perez263.000$140kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Marcus Moore253.000$135kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Mike Remlinger305.000$130kFREE AGENT
Willie Greene244.000$130kARB 3FREE AGENT
Roger Salkeld253.000$120kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Tim Pugh294.000$67kARB 3FREE AGENT
Pedro Martinez273.000—ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Keith Mitchell265.000—FREE AGENT
Jerry Spradlin293.000—ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT

Pre-arbitration (12)

PlayerAgeSvc1996199719981999200020012002
Hector Carrasco262.000$195kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Curtis Goodwin231.000$145kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Mike Kelly262.000$125kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Eric Owens251.000$109kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Steve Gibralter231.000$109kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Giovanni Carrara281.000$48kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Tim Belk26–—
Brook Fordyce261.000—Pre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Kevin Jarvis262.000—ARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Curt Lyons21–—
Chad Mottola24–—
Scott Sullivan251.000—Pre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT

Graphs

How each 1996 acquisition stacked onto Reds'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).
Privacy Policy · Terms of Service · © 2026 Rosternomics