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Astros HOU

198776–86 (0.469)
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GM: Bill Wood

Overview

Ranks vs the 30 teams in 1987, or a custom range (defaults to every team-season since 1985, when our data starts).

to

Front Office

PoorAverageGreat
Value
Payroll $M
$12M
Surplus $M
-2
Win %
0.469
TAB
-5.1
WAB
-7.0
Roster composition
Roster fWAR
30.2
Dead money %
44%
Depth Players
8.0
Dead WAR
-5.3

Offense

PoorAverageGreat

Pitching & Defense

PoorAverageGreat

Roster

1987 depth chart — stacked by playing time

C

BAlan Ashby110
RRonn Reynolds38
BMark Bailey27
RRobbie Wine Jr.12
RTroy Afenir10

1B

RGlenn Davis151
LDenny Walling16

2B

BBill Doran162
RPhil Garner⇄43
RJim Pankovits9
BBuddy Biancalana⇄5
RDale Berra3

3B

LDenny Walling79
BKen Caminiti61
RChuck Jackson16
RJim Pankovits4
LCraig Reynolds2
RBert Pena1

SS

LCraig Reynolds129
RDickie Thon31
RBert Pena19
RDale Berra18
BBuddy Biancalana⇄13
BBill Doran3
RChuck Jackson1

LF

LJose Cruz97
RBilly Hatcher51
LTerry Puhl28
RJim Pankovits6
LDenny Walling6
LTy Gainey6
RDavey Lopes5
RChuck Jackson1
RTye Waller1

CF

RBilly Hatcher94
BGerald Young67
RChuck Jackson12
BPaul Householder6
LTerry Puhl5
RTye Waller2

RF

BKevin Bass155
LTerry Puhl9
RBilly Hatcher6
LDenny Walling2
BPaul Householder1

DH

—

Starters

RNolan Ryan6.0 WAR
RMike Scott5.3 WAR
RDanny Darwin2.9 WAR
LJim Deshaies0.8 WAR
RManny Hernandez0.3 WAR
RJeff Heathcock0.1 WAR
LRob Mallicoat0.0 WAR
LBob Knepper-0.2 WAR

Bullpen

★ RDave Smith24 sv
RLarry Andersen0 h
LDave Meads0 h
RRocky Childress0 h
LJuan Agosto0 h
RAurelio Lopez0 h
RCharlie Kerfeld0 h
RJeff Heathcock0 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 1986)

PlayerfWAR
Gerald Young0.8
Jeff Heathcock0.1
Rob Mallicoat0.0
Rocky Childress0.0
Juan Agosto0.0
Tye Waller-0.0

Key subtractions (gone from 1986)

Player1986 fWAR
Tony Walker0.7
John Mizerock0.3
Dan Driessen0.1
Mike Madden0.1
Louie Meadows0.0
Matt Keough-0.0

Contract Value

WAR translated into tier-adjusted market value, then compared with what the player was paid by Astros. Guaranteed contracts from the 2015-present contract-data period use the known contract period through 1987; everyone else is shown as a 1987 season snapshot.

PlayerPeriodfWARTier Market $MPaid $MSurplus $M$ / WARTierContract
Nolan Ryan Jr. 1987 +6.0 +119.5 1.2 +118.3 $0.2M 2.50× –
Mike Scott 1987 +5.3 +105.2 0.7 +104.5 $0.1M 2.50× –
Dave Smith 1987 +2.9 +59.9 0.7 +59.2 $0.2M 2.57× –
Danny Darwin 1987 +2.9 +45.5 0.7 +44.7 $0.3M 1.96× –
Bill Doran 1987 +4.2 +40.8 0.6 +40.2 $0.1M 1.20× –
Kevin Bass 1987 +2.7 +34.7 0.6 +34.1 $0.2M 1.60× –
Billy Hatcher 1987 +2.4 +23.6 0.1 +23.5 $0.0M 1.22× –
Larry Andersen 1987 +1.3 +14.1 0.3 +13.8 $0.2M 1.34× –
Alan Ashby 1987 +2.3 +14.0 0.6 +13.5 $0.2M 0.76× –
Jim Deshaies 1987 +0.8 +6.7 0.1 +6.6 $0.1M 1.02× –
Gerald Young 1987 +0.8 +5.7 0.1 +5.6 $0.1M 0.83× –
Glenn Davis 1987 +1.2 +5.4 0.2 +5.2 $0.2M 0.56× –
Denny Walling 1987 +1.2 +5.5 0.6 +5.0 $0.5M 0.58× –
Jose Cruz 1987 +0.5 +3.3 0.8 +2.6 $1.5M 0.83× –
Davey Lopes 1987 +0.1 +1.0 0.6 +0.4 $3.7M 0.83× –
Jeff Heathcock 1987 +0.1 +0.5 0.1 +0.4 $0.8M 0.67× –
Jim Pankovits 1987 +0.1 +0.3 0.1 +0.2 $1.8M 0.56× –
Phil Garner↔ 1987 +0.1 +0.2 0.2 +0.1 $3.2M 0.56× –
Juan Agosto 1987 +0.0 +0.0 0.1 -0.1 $21.4M 0.67× –
Craig Reynolds 1987 -0.0 -0.0 0.4 -0.5 – 0.61× –
Ken Caminiti 1987 -0.1 -0.7 0.1 -0.7 – 0.58× –
Dale Berra 1987 -0.2 -0.8 0.1 -0.9 – 0.61× –
Terry Puhl 1987 -0.1 -0.6 0.9 -1.5 – 0.83× –
Aurelio Lopez 1987 -0.4 -2.1 0.1 -2.3 – 0.67× –
Bob Knepper 1987 -0.2 -1.3 1.0 -2.3 – 1.02× –
Charlie Kerfeld 1987 -0.4 -2.3 0.1 -2.4 – 0.67× –
Ronn Reynolds 1987 -0.9 -3.8 0.1 -3.9 – 0.52× –
Dickie Thon 1987 +0.1 +0.6 0.7 -0.0 $5.2M 0.61× –
Bert Pena 1987 -0.5 -2.3 – – – 0.61× –
Buddy Biancalana↔ 1987 -0.6 -3.0 – – – 0.61× –
Chuck Jackson 1987 -0.1 -0.7 – – – 0.58× –
Dave Meads 1987 -0.3 -1.8 – – – 0.67× –
Julio Solano 1987 -0.4 -2.1 – – – 0.67× –
Manny Hernandez 1987 +0.3 +2.8 – – – 1.02× –
Mark Bailey 1987 +0.1 +0.2 – – – 0.52× –
Paul Householder 1987 -0.0 -0.3 – – – 0.83× –
Rob Mallicoat 1987 +0.0 +0.2 – – – 0.67× –
Robbie Wine Jr. 1987 -0.5 -1.9 – – – 0.52× –
Rocky Childress 1987 +0.0 +0.0 – – – 0.67× –
Ron Mathis 1987 -0.3 -1.5 – – – 0.67× –
Troy Afenir 1987 -0.2 -0.7 – – – 0.52× –
Ty Gainey 1987 -0.1 -0.4 – – – 0.83× –
Tye Waller 1987 -0.0 -0.2 – – – 0.83× –
Total—+30.1+463.211.9+463.3—

Trades

Every graded 1987 deal involving the Astros — best expected value first. Surplus is realized value in $M; 7 total.

1987 · MIN / HOU
MIN · Andy MacPhail +$0.0M
Eric Bullock
HOU · Bill Wood +$0.0M
Clay Christiansen
Even trade
1987 · HOU / LAD
HOU · Bill Wood +$8.0M
Jeff Edwards
LAD · Al Campanis −$8.0M
Phil Garner
HOU came out ahead by $8.0M
1987 · HOU / SEA
HOU · Bill Wood +$3.2M
Doug Givler
SEA · Dick Balderson −$3.2M
Julio Solano
HOU came out ahead by $3.2M
1987 · PHI / HOU
PHI · Bill Giles +$3.2M
Jeff Calhoun
HOU · Bill Wood −$3.2M
Ronn Reynolds
PHI came out ahead by $3.2M
1987 · HOU / BOS
HOU · Bill Wood +$0.0M
Marc Sullivan
BOS · Lou Gorman +$0.0M
Randy Randle
Even trade
1987 · ATL / HOU
ATL · Bobby Cox +$29.6M
Ed Whited, Mike Stoker
HOU · Bill Wood −$29.6M
Rafael Ramírez
ATL came out ahead by $29.6M
1987 · KCR / HOU
KCR · John Schuerholz +$3.2M
Mel Stottlemyre
HOU · Bill Wood −$3.2M
Buddy Biancalana
KCR came out ahead by $3.2M

Current & Historical Payroll

1987 payroll
$11.8M

What the front office was committed to as of 1987, 1987–1993. 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 (18)

PlayerAgeSvc1987198819891990199119921993
Nolan Ryan Jr.4021.000$1.2M$1.0MFREE AGENT
Bob Knepper3311.000$1.0M$1.0M$43kFREE AGENT
Terry Puhl3010.000$900k$950k$950k$800kFREE AGENT
Jose Cruz3917.000$755kFREE AGENT
Danny Darwin319.000$740k$760k$855k$1.2MFREE AGENT
Dave Smith327.000$700k$1.1M$1.1M$1.1MFREE AGENT
Mike Scott328.000$692k$667k$1.3M$2.0M$2.4MFREE AGENT
Dickie Thon298.000$675kFREE AGENT
Denny Walling3312.000$595k$445kFREE AGENT$300k
Alan Ashby3514.000$575k$450k$550kFREE AGENT
Davey Lopes4215.000$550kFREE AGENT
Craig Reynolds3412.000$417k$500k$600kFREE AGENT
Larry Andersen3412.000$300k$450k$475k$742kFREE AGENT
Phil Garner3814.000$171kFREE AGENT
Aurelio Lopez3813.000$150kFREE AGENT
Juan Agosto296.000$100k$158k$610k$850kFREE AGENT
Dale Berra3010.000$62kFREE AGENT
Paul Householder287.000—FREE AGENT

Arbitration-eligible (11)

PlayerAgeSvc1987198819891990199119921993
Kevin Bass285.000$630kFREE AGENT
Bill Doran295.000$625kFREE AGENT
Glenn Davis263.000$215kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Jim Deshaies273.000$110kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Billy Hatcher263.000$110kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Jim Pankovits313.000$100kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Ronn Reynolds285.000$80kFREE AGENT
Jeff Heathcock274.000$68kARB 3FREE AGENT
Mark Bailey253.000—ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Buddy Biancalana275.000—FREE AGENT
Julio Solano274.000—ARB 3FREE AGENT

Pre-arbitration (14)

PlayerAgeSvc1987198819891990199119921993
Charlie Kerfeld232.000$110kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Ken Caminiti240.000$62kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Gerald Young220.000$62kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Troy Afenir230.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Rocky Childress25–—
Ty Gainey26–—
Manny Hernandez26–—
Chuck Jackson240.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Rob Mallicoat22–—
Ron Mathis28–—
Dave Meads23–—
Bert Pena27–—
Tye Waller30–—
Robbie Wine Jr.24–—

Graphs

How each 1987 acquisition stacked onto Astros'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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