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Astros HOU

198882–80 (0.506)
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GM: Bill Wood

Overview

Ranks vs the 30 teams in 1988, or a custom range (defaults to every team-season since 1985, when our data starts).

to

Front Office

PoorAverageGreat
Value
Payroll $M
$13M
Surplus $M
-5
Win %
0.506
TAB
-8.8
WAB
-1.1
Roster composition
Roster fWAR
26.5
Dead money %
15%
Depth Players
4.0
Dead WAR
-2.6

Offense

PoorAverageGreat

Pitching & Defense

PoorAverageGreat

Roster

1988 depth chart — stacked by playing time

C

RAlex Trevino74
BAlan Ashby66
RCraig Biggio50
BMark Bailey8

1B

RGlenn Davis151
LDenny Walling⇄65
LCraig Reynolds10
RBuddy Bell⇄9
LHarry Spilman⇄7
RJim Pankovits2
RSteve Henderson1

2B

BBill Doran130
RJim Pankovits31
BCasey Candaele⇄19
LCraig Reynolds11
BCraig Smajstrla2

3B

RBuddy Bell⇄79
RChuck Jackson32
BKen Caminiti28
LCraig Reynolds19
RJim Pankovits11
BCasey Candaele⇄1

SS

RRafael Ramirez154
LCraig Reynolds22
RChuck Jackson3

LF

RBilly Hatcher124
LTerry Puhl48
LLouie Meadows7
RJohn Fishel5
RSteve Henderson4
LCameron Drew3
RAlex Trevino1

CF

BGerald Young145
RBilly Hatcher25
BCasey Candaele⇄1
RChuck Jackson1
LLouie Meadows1
LTerry Puhl1

RF

BKevin Bass147
LTerry Puhl33
RSteve Henderson4
LLouie Meadows3
RChuck Jackson2
RJohn Fishel2
LCameron Drew2
BCasey Candaele⇄1

DH

—

Starters

RMike Scott3.2 WAR
RNolan Ryan3.0 WAR
LBob Knepper1.1 WAR
RDanny Darwin0.8 WAR
LJim Deshaies0.5 WAR
RBob Forsch⇄0.3 WAR
LDave Meads0.1 WAR
RJoaquin Andujar-0.1 WAR
RJeff Heathcock-0.4 WAR

Bullpen

★ RDave Smith27 sv
LJuan Agosto0 h
RLarry Andersen0 h
LDave Meads0 h
RJeff Heathcock0 h
RErnie Camacho0 h
RRocky Childress0 h
RBrian Meyer0 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 1987)

PlayerfWAR
Rafael Ramirez1.1
Alex Trevino0.8
Buddy Bell0.6
Louie Meadows0.4
Bob Forsch0.3
Craig Biggio0.1

Key subtractions (gone from 1987)

Player1987 fWAR
Jose Cruz0.5
Manny Hernandez0.3
Davey Lopes0.1
Dickie Thon0.1
Phil Garner0.1
Rob Mallicoat0.0

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 1988; everyone else is shown as a 1988 season snapshot.

PlayerPeriodfWARTier Market $MPaid $MSurplus $M$ / WARTierContract
Mike Scott 1988 +3.2 +49.8 0.7 +49.2 $0.2M 1.96× –
Nolan Ryan Jr. 1988 +3.0 +47.5 1.0 +46.5 $0.3M 1.96× –
Glenn Davis 1988 +3.9 +36.9 0.3 +36.6 $0.1M 1.20× –
Bill Doran 1988 +2.9 +25.2 0.9 +24.3 $0.3M 1.07× –
Larry Andersen 1988 +1.5 +23.7 0.5 +23.2 $0.3M 1.95× –
Terry Puhl 1988 +1.8 +17.6 0.9 +16.7 $0.5M 1.22× –
Gerald Young 1988 +1.6 +15.9 0.1 +15.8 $0.1M 1.22× –
Kevin Bass 1988 +1.6 +16.0 0.9 +15.1 $0.5M 1.22× –
Dave Smith 1988 +0.9 +9.3 1.1 +8.2 $1.3M 1.34× –
Bob Knepper 1988 +1.1 +8.7 1.0 +7.7 $0.9M 1.02× –
Billy Hatcher 1988 +0.9 +6.3 0.2 +6.1 $0.3M 0.83× –
Rafael Ramirez 1988 +1.1 +5.5 0.9 +4.6 $0.8M 0.61× –
Jim Deshaies 1988 +0.5 +4.0 0.2 +3.8 $0.4M 1.02× –
Danny Darwin 1988 +0.8 +4.4 0.8 +3.6 $0.9M 0.67× –
Alex Trevino 1988 +0.8 +3.2 0.1 +3.1 $0.1M 0.52× –
Denny Walling↔ 1988 +0.8 +3.4 0.4 +2.9 $0.6M 0.56× –
Alan Ashby 1988 +0.7 +3.1 0.5 +2.6 $0.6M 0.52× –
Bob Forsch↔ 1988 +0.3 +2.2 0.1 +2.1 $0.2M 1.02× –
Buddy Bell↔ 1988 +0.6 +2.7 0.6 +2.1 $1.1M 0.58× –
Chuck Jackson 1988 +0.3 +1.4 0.1 +1.3 $0.2M 0.58× –
John Fishel 1988 -0.0 -0.2 0.1 -0.3 – 0.83× –
Harry Spilman↔ 1988 -0.1 -0.5 0.0 -0.5 – 0.56× –
Jim Pankovits 1988 -0.1 -0.6 0.1 -0.8 – 0.56× –
Mark Bailey 1988 -0.2 -0.8 0.1 -0.9 – 0.52× –
Joaquin Andujar 1988 -0.1 -0.5 0.5 -1.0 – 0.67× –
Craig Reynolds 1988 -0.2 -1.0 0.5 -1.5 – 0.61× –
Jeff Heathcock 1988 -0.4 -2.0 0.1 -2.0 – 0.67× –
Ken Caminiti 1988 -0.5 -2.1 0.1 -2.2 – 0.58× –
Juan Agosto 1988 -0.6 -3.4 0.2 -3.6 – 0.67× –
Casey Candaele↔ 1988 +0.0 +0.0 0.0 -0.0 $28.1M 0.56× –
Brian Meyer 1988 -0.1 -0.4 – – – 0.67× –
Cameron Drew 1988 +0.0 +0.1 – – – 0.83× –
Craig Biggio 1988 +0.1 +0.5 – – – 0.52× –
Craig Smajstrla 1988 -0.1 -0.3 – – – 0.56× –
Dave Meads 1988 +0.1 +0.6 – – – 0.67× –
Ernie Camacho 1988 -0.1 -0.8 – – – 0.67× –
Louie Meadows 1988 +0.4 +2.8 – – – 0.83× –
Rocky Childress 1988 -0.0 -0.1 – – – 0.67× –
Steve Henderson 1988 +0.1 +0.5 – – – 0.83× –
Total—+26.5+278.613.0+262.7—

Trades

Every graded 1988 deal involving the Astros — best expected value first. Surplus is realized value in $M; 6 total.

1988 · CIN / HOU
CIN · Murray Cook +$8.0M
Carl Grovom
HOU · Bill Wood −$8.0M
Buddy Bell
CIN came out ahead by $8.0M
1988 · TEX / HOU
TEX · Tom Grieve +$0.0M
Robbie Wine
HOU · Bill Wood +$0.0M
Mike Loynd
Even trade
1988 · WSN / HOU
WSN · Bill Stoneman +$0.8M
Mark Bailey
HOU · Bill Wood −$0.8M
Casey Candaele
WSN came out ahead by $0.8M
1988 · SDP / HOU
SDP · Jack McKeon +$0.8M
Dan Walters
HOU · Bill Wood −$0.8M
Ed Vosberg
SDP came out ahead by $0.8M
1988 · HOU / MIN
HOU · Bill Wood +$45.6M
Mark Portugal
MIN · Andy MacPhail −$45.6M
Todd McClure
HOU came out ahead by $45.6M
1988 · HOU / STL
HOU · Bill Wood +$3.2M
Bob Forsch
STL · Dal Maxvill −$3.2M
Denny Walling
HOU came out ahead by $3.2M

Current & Historical Payroll

1988 payroll
$12.9M

What the front office was committed to as of 1988, 1988–1994. 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)

PlayerAgeSvc1988198919901991199219931994
Dave Smith338.000$1.1M$1.1M$1.1MFREE AGENT
Bob Knepper3412.000$1.0M$43kFREE AGENT
Nolan Ryan Jr.4122.000$1.0MFREE AGENT
Terry Puhl3111.000$950k$950k$800kFREE AGENT
Bill Doran306.000$933k$933k$808kFREE AGENT
Rafael Ramirez308.000$925k$1.1M$1.0M$1.2M$400kFREE AGENT
Kevin Bass296.000$880k$940kFREE AGENT$650k$400k
Danny Darwin3210.000$760k$855k$1.2MFREE AGENT
Mike Scott339.000$667k$1.3M$2.0M$2.4MFREE AGENT
Buddy Bell3616.000$616kFREE AGENT
Craig Reynolds3513.000$500k$600kFREE AGENT
Joaquin Andujar3512.000$450kFREE AGENT
Alan Ashby3615.000$450k$550kFREE AGENT
Larry Andersen3513.000$450k$475k$742kFREE AGENT
Denny Walling3413.000$445kFREE AGENT$300k
Juan Agosto307.000$158k$610k$850kFREE AGENT
Bob Forsch3814.000$65k$975kFREE AGENT
Alex Trevino3010.000$62k$350k$253kFREE AGENT
Harry Spilman3310.000$34k$150kFREE AGENT
Ernie Camacho338.000—FREE AGENT
Steve Henderson3511.000—FREE AGENT

Arbitration-eligible (6)

PlayerAgeSvc1988198919901991199219931994
Glenn Davis274.000$340kARB 3FREE AGENT
Billy Hatcher274.000$240kARB 3FREE AGENT
Jim Deshaies284.000$205kARB 3FREE AGENT
Jim Pankovits324.000$150kARB 3FREE AGENT
Mark Bailey264.000$100kARB 3FREE AGENT
Jeff Heathcock285.000$72kFREE AGENT

Pre-arbitration (12)

PlayerAgeSvc1988198919901991199219931994
Gerald Young231.000$85kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Ken Caminiti251.000$80kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Chuck Jackson251.000$66kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
John Fishel250.000$62kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Casey Candaele272.000$41kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Craig Biggio220.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Rocky Childress26–—
Cameron Drew24–—
Louie Meadows272.000—ARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Dave Meads24–—
Brian Meyer250.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Craig Smajstrla26–—

Graphs

How each 1988 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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