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Guardians CLE

199699–62 (0.615)Made Playoffs
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GM: John Hart

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
$51M
Surplus $M
-8
Win %
0.615
TAB
+13.2
WAB
+11.9
Roster composition
Roster fWAR
52.5
Dead money %
25%
Depth Players
9.0
Dead WAR
-4.5

Offense

PoorAverageGreat

Pitching & Defense

PoorAverageGreat

Roster

1996 depth chart — stacked by playing time

C

RSandy Alomar Jr.124
RTony Peña Sr.67
REinar Díaz4

1B

RJulio Franco97
RMark Carreon⇄35
RKevin Seitzer⇄11
RScott Leius7
RJeff Kent⇄6
RHerbert Perry Jr.5
BEddie Murray⇄1
RSandy Alomar Jr.1

2B

BCarlos Baerga⇄100
BJose Vizcaino⇄47
BCasey Candaele11
RScott Leius6
RJeff Kent⇄3
BGeronimo Pena1

3B

LJim Thome150
RJeff Kent⇄29
RScott Leius8
BCasey Candaele3
BGeronimo Pena2
RHerbert Perry Jr.1
RKevin Seitzer⇄1

SS

BOmar Vizquel150
RAlvaro Espinoza⇄59
RDamian Jackson5
BCasey Candaele1
BJose Vizcaino⇄1

LF

RAlbert Belle152
LBrian Giles11
LJeromy Burnitz⇄10
LNigel Wilson1

CF

LKenny Lofton152
RRyan Thompson8
RMark Carreon⇄1

RF

RManny Ramirez149
LWayne Kirby⇄10
LBrian Giles5
RMark Carreon⇄1

DH

LBrian Giles20
RJulio Franco13
RKevin Seitzer⇄11
LJeromy Burnitz⇄11
RAlbert Belle6
RManny Ramirez3
RJeff Kent⇄1
LJim Thome1
RMark Carreon⇄1

Starters

RCharles Nagy5.4 WAR
ROrel Hershiser3.8 WAR
RJack McDowell3.5 WAR
RChad Ogea1.9 WAR
RDennis Martinez1.5 WAR
RJulian Tavarez0.9 WAR
LBrian Anderson0.4 WAR
RAlbie Lopez0.1 WAR
LGreg Swindell⇄-0.2 WAR

Bullpen

★ RJose Mesa39 sv
LPaul Assenmacher0 h
REric Plunk0 h
RJulian Tavarez0 h
RPaul Shuey0 h
LJim Poole⇄0 h
LAlan Embree0 h
RDanny Graves0 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
Jack McDowell3.5
Julio Franco2.9
Kevin Seitzer1.1
Mark Carreon0.5
Jeff Kent0.5
Danny Graves0.4

Key subtractions (gone from 1995)

Player1995 fWAR
Mark Clark1.8
Ken Hill1.4
Bud Black0.5
Paul Sorrento0.4
Billy Ripken0.2
John Farrell0.2

Contract Value

WAR translated into tier-adjusted market value, then compared with what the player was paid by Guardians. 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
Charles Nagy 1996 +5.4 +108.7 3.5 +105.2 $0.6M 2.50× –
Jim Thome 1996 +7.4 +85.0 1.6 +83.4 $0.2M 1.43× –
Albert Belle 1996 +5.2 +85.9 5.7 +80.2 $1.1M 2.05× –
Orel Hershiser 1996 +3.8 +66.6 1.8 +64.8 $0.5M 2.19× –
Kenny Lofton 1996 +4.6 +65.6 3.6 +62.0 $0.8M 1.79× –
Manny Ramirez 1996 +4.3 +61.0 1.1 +59.9 $0.3M 1.79× –
Jack McDowell 1996 +3.5 +62.1 4.8 +57.3 $1.4M 2.19× –
Omar Vizquel 1996 +3.2 +30.4 3.0 +27.4 $0.9M 1.18× –
Chad Ogea 1996 +1.9 +22.8 0.1 +22.6 $0.1M 1.49× –
Julio Franco 1996 +2.9 +24.7 2.4 +22.3 $0.8M 1.07× –
Dennis Martinez 1996 +1.5 +18.3 3.8 +14.5 $2.5M 1.49× –
Jose Mesa 1996 +1.4 +14.5 1.9 +12.7 $1.4M 1.34× –
Eric Plunk 1996 +1.7 +12.9 0.8 +12.2 $0.5M 0.98× –
Brian Giles 1996 +1.4 +7.8 0.1 +7.7 $0.1M 0.69× –
Jeromy Burnitz↔ 1996 +1.2 +6.8 0.1 +6.6 $0.1M 0.69× –
Paul Assenmacher 1996 +1.4 +7.4 0.9 +6.5 $0.6M 0.67× –
Kevin Seitzer↔ 1996 +1.1 +6.3 0.2 +6.1 $0.1M 0.69× –
Julian Tavarez 1996 +0.9 +4.8 0.4 +4.4 $0.4M 0.67× –
Paul Shuey 1996 +0.5 +2.4 0.1 +2.3 $0.3M 0.67× –
Mark Carreon↔ 1996 +0.5 +2.3 0.3 +2.0 $0.6M 0.56× –
Jeff Kent↔ 1996 +0.5 +2.3 0.6 +1.7 $1.2M 0.58× –
Sandy Alomar Jr. 1996 +1.0 +4.1 2.6 +1.6 $2.6M 0.52× –
Albie Lopez 1996 +0.1 +1.0 0.1 +0.8 $1.1M 1.02× –
Alvaro Espinoza↔ 1996 +0.2 +0.9 0.2 +0.7 $1.2M 0.61× –
Nigel Wilson 1996 +0.1 +0.6 0.1 +0.5 $1.3M 0.83× –
Jim Poole↔ 1996 +0.1 +0.6 0.2 +0.4 $2.2M 0.67× –
Casey Candaele 1996 +0.0 +0.0 0.1 -0.1 $20.9M 0.56× –
Kent Mercker↔ 1996 +0.2 +0.9 1.2 -0.3 $7.2M 0.67× –
Ryan Thompson 1996 -0.0 -0.0 0.3 -0.3 – 0.83× –
Jose Vizcaino↔ 1996 -0.1 -0.2 0.7 -1.0 – 0.56× –
Wayne Kirby↔ 1996 -0.3 -1.7 0.1 -1.8 – 0.83× –
Scott Leius 1996 -0.5 -2.3 0.3 -2.6 – 0.58× –
Eddie Murray↔ 1996 -0.4 -1.6 1.2 -2.8 – 0.56× –
Tony Peña Sr. 1996 -0.6 -2.6 0.6 -3.2 – 0.52× –
Alan Embree 1996 -0.6 -3.3 0.2 -3.5 – 0.67× –
Greg Swindell↔ 1996 -0.2 -1.2 2.8 -3.9 – 0.67× –
Carlos Baerga↔ 1996 -1.5 -6.9 3.8 -10.7 – 0.56× –
Brian Anderson 1996 +0.4 +2.9 – – – 1.02× –
Damian Jackson 1996 +0.2 +0.9 – – – 0.61× –
Danny Graves 1996 +0.4 +2.3 – – – 0.67× –
Einar Díaz 1996 -0.0 -0.1 – – – 0.52× –
Geronimo Pena 1996 -0.0 -0.1 – – – 0.58× –
Herbert Perry Jr. 1996 -0.3 -1.2 – – – 0.56× –
Joe Roa 1996 -0.0 -0.2 – – – 0.67× –
Total—+52.5+691.451.3+635.6—

Trades

Every graded 1996 deal involving the Guardians — best expected value first. Surplus is realized value in $M; 12 total.

1996 · CLE / NYM
CLE · John Hart +$40.0M
Jeff Kent, José Vizcaíno
NYM · Joe McIlvaine −$40.0M
Carlos Baerga, Álvaro Espinoza
CLE came out ahead by $40.0M
1996 · SFG / CLE
SFG · Bob Quinn +$227.2M
Jeff Kent, Julián Tavárez, José Vizcaíno, Joe Roa
CLE · John Hart −$227.2M
Matt Williams, Trenidad Hubbard
SFG came out ahead by $227.2M
1996 · MIL / CLE
MIL · Sal Bando +$1.6M
Jesse Levis
CLE · John Hart −$1.6M
Scott Nate, Jared Camp
MIL came out ahead by $1.6M
1996 · CLE / SFG
CLE · John Hart +$11.2M
Mark Carreon
SFG · Bob Quinn −$11.2M
Jim Poole
CLE came out ahead by $11.2M
1996 · BAL / CLE
BAL · Pat Gillick +$1.6M
Eddie Murray
CLE · John Hart −$1.6M
Kent Mercker
BAL came out ahead by $1.6M
1996 · TOR / CLE
TOR · Gord Ash +$0.0M
Scott Pose
CLE · John Hart +$0.0M
Joe Lis
Even trade
1996 · CLE / DET
CLE · John Hart +$1.6M
Greg Granger
DET · Randy Smith −$1.6M
John Farrell
CLE came out ahead by $1.6M
1996 · NYY / CLE
NYY · Bob Watson +$0.0M
Ryan Martindale, Marc Marini
CLE · John Hart +$0.0M
Tom Wilson
Even trade
1996 · NYM / CLE
NYM · Joe McIlvaine +$27.2M
Mark Clark
CLE · John Hart −$27.2M
Reid Cornelius, Ryan Thompson
NYM came out ahead by $27.2M
1996 · MIL / CLE
MIL · Sal Bando +$178.4M
Jeromy Burnitz
CLE · John Hart −$178.4M
Kevin Seitzer
MIL came out ahead by $178.4M
1996 · CLE / SEA
CLE · John Hart +$0.0M
Mike Butcher
SEA · Woody Woodward +$0.0M
Bill Wertz
Even trade
1996 · ANA / CLE
ANA · Bill Bavasi +$1.6M
Pep Harris, Jason Grimsley
CLE · John Hart −$1.6M
Brian Anderson
ANA came out ahead by $1.6M

Current & Historical Payroll

1996 payroll
$51.2M

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 (24)

PlayerAgeSvc1996199719981999200020012002
Albert Belle297.000$5.7MFREE AGENT
Jack McDowell309.000$4.8M$4.8MFREE AGENT
Dennis Martinez4220.000$3.8MFREE AGENT
Carlos Baerga276.000$3.8MFREE AGENT$300k
Charles Nagy296.000$3.5M$3.4M$3.4M$6.0M$6.0M$6.0M$6.0M
Omar Vizquel297.000$3.0M$3.0M$3.0M$3.0M$3.0M$3.0M$4.5M
Greg Swindell3110.000$2.8MFREE AGENT
Sandy Alomar Jr.308.000$2.6M$2.6M$2.7M$2.8M$2.7MFREE AGENT
Julio Franco3714.000$2.4M$2.1MFREE AGENT
Jose Mesa309.000$1.9M$1.9M$984kFREE AGENT
Orel Hershiser3713.000$1.8M$3.1MFREE AGENT
Kent Mercker287.000$1.2MFREE AGENT
Eddie Murray4019.000$1.2MFREE AGENT
Paul Assenmacher3510.000$871k$875k$1.3M$1.5MFREE AGENT
Eric Plunk3210.000$750k$1.9M$1.1MFREE AGENT
Jose Vizcaino287.000$733kFREE AGENT
Tony Peña Sr.3916.000$558kFREE AGENT
Mark Carreon329.000$319kFREE AGENT
Scott Leius306.000$300kFREE AGENT
Jim Poole306.000$239kFREE AGENT$684k$472k
Alvaro Espinoza3412.000$221kFREE AGENT
Kevin Seitzer3410.000$164k$1.2MFREE AGENT
Casey Candaele3510.000$150kFREE AGENT
Geronimo Pena296.000—FREE AGENT

Arbitration-eligible (12)

PlayerAgeSvc1996199719981999200020012002
Kenny Lofton295.000$3.6MFREE AGENT
Jim Thome255.000$1.6MFREE AGENT
Manny Ramirez243.000$1.1MARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Jeff Kent284.000$597kARB 3FREE AGENT
Julian Tavarez233.000$392kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Ryan Thompson284.000$275kARB 3FREE AGENT
Alan Embree264.000$155kARB 3FREE AGENT
Jeromy Burnitz273.000$144kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Albie Lopez243.000$132kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Wayne Kirby325.000$128kFREE AGENT
Nigel Wilson263.000$125kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Brian Anderson243.000—ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT

Pre-arbitration (8)

PlayerAgeSvc1996199719981999200020012002
Chad Ogea252.000$145kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Paul Shuey252.000$138kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Brian Giles251.000$110kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Einar Díaz230.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Danny Graves220.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Damian Jackson220.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Herbert Perry Jr.262.000—ARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Joe Roa241.000—Pre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT

Graphs

How each 1996 acquisition stacked onto Guardians'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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