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Guardians CLE

200881–81 (0.500)
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GM: Mark Shapiro

Overview

Ranks vs the 30 teams in 2008, or a custom range (defaults to every team-season since 1985, when our data starts).

to

Front Office

PoorAverageGreat
Value
Payroll $M
$69M
Surplus $M
+16
Win %
0.500
TAB
+6.1
WAB
+2.1
Roster composition
Roster fWAR
37.4
Dead money %
65%
Depth Players
7.0
Dead WAR
-4.1

Offense

PoorAverageGreat

Pitching & Defense

PoorAverageGreat

Roster

2008 depth chart — stacked by playing time

C

RKelly Shoppach110
BVictor Martinez55
RSal Fasano15

1B

RRyan Garko121
LMichael Aubrey12
BVictor Martinez10
RAndy González7
RAndy Marte1
RSal Fasano1

2B

BAsdrúbal Cabrera94
RJamey Carroll74
RJosh Barfield9
RJorge Velandia⇄2

3B

RAndy Marte76
RJamey Carroll43
RAndy González2
RJhonny Peralta1

SS

RJhonny Peralta146
BAsdrúbal Cabrera20
RJorge Velandia⇄4
RCasey Blake⇄1

LF

RBen Francisco83
LDavid Dellucci56
LShin-Soo Choo26
RFranklin Gutierrez11
RJamey Carroll1
LJason Tyner1

CF

LGrady Sizemore151
RFranklin Gutierrez12
RBen Francisco2

RF

RFranklin Gutierrez97
LShin-Soo Choo51
RBen Francisco32

DH

LTravis Hafner54
LDavid Dellucci46
RBen Francisco15
RRyan Garko14
LShin-Soo Choo11
LGrady Sizemore6
RFranklin Gutierrez6
RJhonny Peralta6
BVictor Martinez5
RJorge Velandia⇄2
BAsdrúbal Cabrera1
RAndy Marte1
RAndy González1
LMichael Aubrey1
RKelly Shoppach1

Starters

LCliff Lee6.7 WAR
LCC Sabathia⇄2.8 WAR
LAaron Laffey0.6 WAR
RRoberto Hernandez0.5 WAR
LZach Jackson⇄0.5 WAR
RAnthony Reyes⇄0.4 WAR
LJeremy Sowers0.4 WAR
RMatt Ginter0.3 WAR
RJake Westbrook0.3 WAR
RPaul Byrd⇄0.2 WAR
LScott Lewis0.2 WAR
RBryan Bullington-0.1 WAR
RTom Mastny-0.4 WAR

Bullpen

★ RJensen Lewis13 sv
LRafael Perez25 h
RRafael Betancourt12 h
RJuan Rincon⇄3 h
RMasa Kobayashi2 h
REdward Mujica1 h
RJoe Borowski0 h
RJorge Julio⇄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 2007)

PlayerfWAR
Jamey Carroll1.8
Zach Jackson0.5
Anthony Reyes0.4
Matt Ginter0.3
Scott Elarton0.2
Scott Lewis0.2

Key subtractions (gone from 2007)

Player2007 fWAR
Kenny Lofton0.5
Jason Stanford0.4
Aaron Fultz0.3
Matt Miller0.1
Mike Koplove0.0
Jason Davis0.0

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 2008; everyone else is shown as a 2008 season snapshot.

PlayerPeriodfWARTier Market $MPaid $MSurplus $M$ / WARTierContract
Cliff Lee 2008 +6.7 +133.8 4.0 +129.8 $0.6M 2.50× –
Grady Sizemore 2008 +7.4 +121.4 3.2 +118.2 $0.4M 2.05× –
Shin-Soo Choo 2008 +3.2 +40.8 0.4 +40.4 $0.1M 1.60× –
CC Sabathia↔ 2008 +2.8 +43.9 5.7 +38.2 $2.0M 1.96× –
Jhonny Peralta 2008 +3.3 +31.4 2.5 +28.9 $0.8M 1.18× –
Kelly Shoppach 2008 +3.3 +26.3 0.4 +25.9 $0.1M 1.00× –
Franklin Gutierrez 2008 +2.1 +20.7 0.4 +20.3 $0.2M 1.22× –
Ben Francisco 2008 +1.7 +16.5 0.3 +16.2 $0.2M 1.22× –
Rafael Perez 2008 +1.2 +13.0 0.4 +12.6 $0.3M 1.34× –
Jamey Carroll 2008 +1.8 +12.1 2.1 +9.9 $1.2M 0.82× –
Asdrúbal Cabrera 2008 +1.4 +6.5 0.4 +6.1 $0.3M 0.56× –
Aaron Laffey 2008 +0.6 +4.6 0.4 +4.2 $0.7M 1.02× –
Roberto Hernandez 2008 +0.5 +4.2 0.5 +3.7 $0.9M 1.02× –
Anthony Reyes↔ 2008 +0.4 +3.6 0.1 +3.5 $0.3M 1.02× –
Casey Blake↔ 2008 +1.4 +6.9 3.8 +3.1 $2.7M 0.61× –
Jason Michaels↔ 2008 +0.2 +1.4 0.4 +1.0 $1.8M 0.83× –
Edward Mujica 2008 +0.1 +0.5 0.4 +0.1 $4.1M 0.67× –
Rafael Betancourt 2008 +0.2 +2.2 2.0 +0.1 $10.0M 1.34× –
Craig Breslow↔ 2008 -0.0 -0.0 0.1 -0.1 – 0.67× –
Jensen Lewis 2008 -0.0 -0.3 0.4 -0.7 – 1.34× –
Juan Rincon↔ 2008 +0.1 +0.4 1.2 -0.8 $17.0M 0.67× –
Andy Marte 2008 -0.2 -0.9 0.4 -1.3 – 0.58× –
Jorge Julio↔ 2008 -0.1 -0.8 0.6 -1.3 – 0.67× –
Ryan Garko 2008 -0.2 -1.0 0.4 -1.4 – 0.56× –
Victor Martinez 2008 +0.4 +1.7 4.5 -2.8 $11.2M 0.52× –
Paul Byrd↔ 2008 +0.2 +1.8 5.5 -3.7 $25.1M 1.02× –
David Dellucci 2008 -0.0 -0.2 3.8 -4.0 – 0.83× –
Masa Kobayashi 2008 -0.1 -1.3 3.0 -4.3 – 1.34× –
Jake Westbrook 2008 +0.3 +2.2 10.0 -7.8 $37.5M 1.02× –
Joe Borowski 2008 -0.4 -4.7 4.0 -8.7 – 1.34× –
Travis Hafner 2008 -1.0 -5.6 8.1 -13.7 – 0.69× –
Andy González 2008 -0.3 -1.2 – – – 0.56× –
Brendan Donnelly 2008 -0.2 -1.1 – – – 0.67× –
Brian Slocum 2008 -0.1 -0.8 – – – 0.67× –
Bryan Bullington 2008 -0.1 -0.8 – – – 1.02× –
Jason Tyner 2008 -0.1 -0.5 – – – 0.83× –
Jeremy Sowers 2008 +0.4 +3.6 – – – 1.02× –
Jon Meloan 2008 +0.0 +0.1 – – – 0.67× –
Jorge Velandia↔ 2008 +0.1 +0.6 – – – 0.61× –
Josh Barfield 2008 -0.3 -1.4 – – – 0.56× –
Matt Ginter 2008 +0.3 +2.4 – – – 1.02× –
Michael Aubrey 2008 -0.4 -1.7 – – – 0.56× –
Rich Rundles 2008 +0.1 +0.5 – – – 0.67× –
Rick Bauer 2008 -0.0 -0.2 – – – 0.67× –
Sal Fasano 2008 +0.2 +0.8 – – – 0.52× –
Scott Elarton 2008 +0.2 +1.2 – – – 0.67× –
Scott Lewis 2008 +0.2 +1.7 – – – 1.02× –
Tom Mastny 2008 -0.4 -2.0 – – – 0.67× –
Zach Jackson↔ 2008 +0.5 +3.9 – – – 1.02× –
Total—+37.4+486.269.4+411.6—

Trades

Every graded 2008 deal involving the Guardians — best expected value first. Surplus is realized value in $M; 6 total.

2008 · CLE / BOS
CLE · Mark Shapiro +$10.4M
Mickey Hall
BOS · Theo Epstein −$10.4M
Paul Byrd
CLE came out ahead by $10.4M
2008 · CLE / CHC
CLE · Mark Shapiro +$1.6M
Mark DeRosa
CHC · Jim Hendry −$1.6M
Jeff Stevens, Chris Archer, John Gaub
CLE came out ahead by $1.6M
2008 · CLE / STL
CLE · Mark Shapiro +$2.4M
Anthony Reyes
STL · John Mozeliak −$2.4M
Luis Perdomo
CLE came out ahead by $2.4M
2008 · CLE / LAD
CLE · Mark Shapiro +$60.8M
Jon Meloan, Carlos Santana
LAD · Ned Colletti −$60.8M
Casey Blake
CLE came out ahead by $60.8M
2008 · CLE / MIL
CLE · Mark Shapiro +$60.0M
Zach Jackson, Matt LaPorta, Rob Bryson, Michael Brantley
MIL · Douglas Melvin −$60.0M
CC Sabathia
CLE came out ahead by $60.0M
2008 · SEA / NYM / CLE
SEA · Lee Pelekoudas +$164.8M
Endy Chávez, Aaron Heilman, Maikel Cleto, Ezequiel Carrera, Mike Carp, Jason Vargas, Franklin Gutiérrez
NYM · Omar Minaya −$68.0M
J. J. Putz, Sean Green, Jeremy Reed
CLE · Mark Shapiro −$96.8M
Joe Smith, Luis Valbuena
SEA came out ahead by $164.8M 3-team

Current & Historical Payroll

2008 payroll
$69.2M

What the front office was committed to as of 2008, 2008–2014. 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)

PlayerAgeSvc2008200920102011201220132014
Jake Westbrook308.000$10.0MFREE AGENT$7.0M
Travis Hafner316.000$8.1M$11.5M$11.5M$13.0M$13.0MFREE AGENT
CC Sabathia277.000$5.7MFREE AGENT
Paul Byrd3713.000$5.5MFREE AGENT
Victor Martinez296.000$4.5M$4.0MFREE AGENT
Joe Borowski3713.000$4.0MFREE AGENT
Cliff Lee296.000$4.0M$3.9MFREE AGENT
Casey Blake349.000$3.8MFREE AGENT
David Dellucci3411.000$3.8M$2.5MFREE AGENT
Jamey Carroll346.000$2.1M$2.5MFREE AGENT
Juan Rincon297.000$1.2MFREE AGENT
Jorge Julio297.000$556kFREE AGENT
Jason Michaels327.000$376kFREE AGENT
Sal Fasano3612.000—FREE AGENT
Jorge Velandia3311.000—FREE AGENT
Scott Elarton3210.000—FREE AGENT
Jason Tyner318.000—FREE AGENT
Matt Ginter308.000—FREE AGENT
Rick Bauer317.000—FREE AGENT
Brendan Donnelly366.000—FREE AGENT

Arbitration-eligible (10)

PlayerAgeSvc2008200920102011201220132014
Grady Sizemore254.000$3.2MARB 3FREE AGENT
Jhonny Peralta265.000$2.5MFREE AGENT
Rafael Betancourt335.000$2.0MFREE AGENT
Ryan Garko273.000$420kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Franklin Gutierrez253.000$404kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Kelly Shoppach283.000$404kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Andy Marte243.000$392kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Shin-Soo Choo253.000$390kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Anthony Reyes263.000$147kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Craig Breslow273.000$56kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT

Pre-arbitration (19)

PlayerAgeSvc2008200920102011201220132014
Masa Kobayashi340.000$3.0MPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Roberto Hernandez272.000$458kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Rafael Perez262.000$407kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Asdrúbal Cabrera221.000$393kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Aaron Laffey231.000$393kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Jensen Lewis241.000$393kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Edward Mujica242.000$392kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Ben Francisco261.000$330kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Bryan Bullington27–—
Josh Barfield252.000—ARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Michael Aubrey260.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Zach Jackson252.000—ARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Brian Slocum27–—
Tom Mastny272.000—ARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Rich Rundles27–—
Jon Meloan231.000—Pre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Scott Lewis240.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Jeremy Sowers252.000—ARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Andy González261.000—Pre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT

Graphs

How each 2008 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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