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Astros HOU

1998102–60 (0.630)Made Playoffs
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GM: Gerry Hunsicker

Overview

Ranks vs the 30 teams in 1998, or a custom range (defaults to every team-season since 1985, when our data starts).

to

Front Office

PoorAverageGreat
Value
Payroll $M
$45M
Surplus $M
+13
Win %
0.630
TAB
+18.5
WAB
+19.1
Roster composition
Roster fWAR
53.6
Dead money %
16%
Depth Players
12.0
Dead WAR
-3.9

Offense

PoorAverageGreat

Pitching & Defense

PoorAverageGreat

Roster

1998 depth chart — stacked by playing time

C

RBrad Ausmus124
RTony Eusebio54
BMitch Meluskey3

1B

RJeff Bagwell147
LJ.R. Phillips12
LJack Howell10
LBill Spiers7
LDaryle Ward4

2B

RCraig Biggio159
RTim Bogar11
LBill Spiers9
RRuss Johnson1

3B

LBill Spiers99
RSean Berry87
RTim Bogar11
RRuss Johnson5
LJack Howell2

SS

RRicky Gutierrez141
RTim Bogar55
LBill Spiers2

LF

RMoises Alou152
LDave Clark9
RRichard Hidalgo9
LJ.R. Phillips6
RPete Incaviglia⇄4
RRay Montgomery1

CF

BCarl Everett121
RRichard Hidalgo57
RMoises Alou6

RF

RDerek Bell154
RRichard Hidalgo14
LDave Clark13
BCarl Everett5
RRay Montgomery1

DH

LDave Clark3
RCraig Biggio1
RMoises Alou1
RSean Berry1

Starters

RShane Reynolds4.7 WAR
LMike Hampton3.2 WAR
LRandy Johnson⇄3.1 WAR
RJose Lima2.6 WAR
RSean Bergman1.1 WAR
LJohn Halama0.7 WAR
RScott Elarton0.5 WAR
LPete Schourek⇄0.4 WAR
LTrever Miller0.1 WAR

Bullpen

★ LBilly Wagner30 sv
RDoug Henry0 h
LMike Magnante0 h
LC.J. Nitkowski0 h
LTrever Miller0 h
RJay Powell⇄0 h
RScott Elarton0 h
RBob Scanlan0 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 1997)

PlayerfWAR
Moises Alou6.8
Carl Everett3.6
Randy Johnson3.1
Sean Bergman1.1
Jay Powell0.9
John Halama0.7

Key subtractions (gone from 1997)

Player1997 fWAR
Darryl Kile4.1
Luis Gonzalez2.3
Chris Holt1.5
Chuck Carr0.9
Russ Springer0.9
Ramon Garcia0.7

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 1998; everyone else is shown as a 1998 season snapshot.

PlayerPeriodfWARTier Market $MPaid $MSurplus $M$ / WARTierContract
Moises Alou 1998 +6.8 +111.3 5.0 +106.3 $0.7M 2.05× –
Derek Bell 1998 +5.7 +93.5 4.2 +89.2 $0.7M 2.05× –
Shane Reynolds 1998 +4.7 +81.6 3.3 +78.3 $0.7M 2.19× –
Craig Biggio 1998 +6.5 +71.8 6.1 +65.7 $0.9M 1.38× –
Jeff Bagwell 1998 +6.7 +73.6 7.9 +65.7 $1.2M 1.37× –
Carl Everett 1998 +3.6 +51.1 1.1 +50.1 $0.3M 1.79× –
Mike Hampton 1998 +3.2 +50.6 2.2 +48.4 $0.7M 1.96× –
Randy Johnson↔ 1998 +3.1 +47.7 1.9 +45.8 $0.6M 1.96× –
Jose Lima 1998 +2.6 +40.8 0.2 +40.5 $0.1M 1.96× –
Billy Wagner 1998 +1.8 +28.5 0.3 +28.3 $0.2M 1.95× –
Sean Berry 1998 +2.7 +24.2 1.0 +23.2 $0.4M 1.12× –
Richard Hidalgo 1998 +2.0 +19.7 0.2 +19.5 $0.1M 1.22× –
Brad Ausmus 1998 +2.2 +13.6 1.6 +12.0 $0.7M 0.76× –
Jay Powell↔ 1998 +0.9 +9.6 0.1 +9.5 $0.2M 1.34× –
Sean Bergman 1998 +1.1 +9.1 0.5 +8.6 $0.4M 1.02× –
John Halama 1998 +0.7 +5.4 0.2 +5.3 $0.3M 1.02× –
Scott Elarton 1998 +0.5 +2.9 0.2 +2.8 $0.3M 0.67× –
Bill Spiers 1998 +0.9 +4.3 1.6 +2.7 $1.7M 0.58× –
Pete Schourek↔ 1998 +0.4 +3.3 1.0 +2.4 $2.4M 1.02× –
Mike Magnante 1998 +0.4 +2.0 0.6 +1.4 $1.6M 0.67× –
Ray Montgomery 1998 +0.1 +0.8 0.2 +0.7 $1.5M 0.83× –
Trever Miller 1998 +0.1 +0.7 0.2 +0.6 $1.3M 0.67× –
C.J. Nitkowski 1998 +0.1 +0.7 0.2 +0.5 $1.4M 0.67× –
Mitch Meluskey 1998 +0.0 +0.1 0.2 -0.1 $6.2M 0.52× –
Tony Eusebio 1998 +0.1 +0.6 0.7 -0.1 $5.1M 0.52× –
Jack Howell 1998 +0.1 +0.2 0.5 -0.3 $9.5M 0.56× –
Pete Incaviglia↔ 1998 -0.3 -1.8 0.2 -2.0 – 0.83× –
J.R. Phillips 1998 -0.4 -2.0 0.2 -2.2 – 0.56× –
Ricky Gutierrez 1998 -0.4 -2.1 0.8 -2.9 – 0.61× –
Doug Henry 1998 -0.4 -2.3 0.7 -3.1 – 0.67× –
Tim Bogar 1998 -0.8 -3.9 0.7 -4.6 – 0.61× –
Dave Clark 1998 -0.9 -6.3 0.7 -7.0 – 0.83× –
Jose Cabrera 1998 +0.0 +0.2 0.2 +0.0 $5.0M 0.67× –
Bob Scanlan 1998 -0.5 -2.5 – – – 0.67× –
Daryle Ward 1998 +0.0 +0.2 – – – 0.56× –
Mike Grzanich 1998 -0.0 -0.1 – – – 0.67× –
Reggie Harris 1998 -0.1 -0.6 – – – 0.67× –
Russ Johnson 1998 +0.2 +1.1 – – – 0.58× –
Total—+53.4+727.644.7+685.2—

Trades

Every graded 1998 deal involving the Astros — best expected value first. Surplus is realized value in $M; 4 total.

1998 · SEA / HOU
SEA · Woody Woodward +$171.2M
Freddy García, Carlos Guillén, John Halama
HOU · Gerry Hunsicker −$171.2M
Randy Johnson
SEA came out ahead by $171.2M
1998 · HOU / SDP
HOU · Gerry Hunsicker +$8.8M
Sean Bergman
SDP · Kevin Towers −$8.8M
James Mouton
HOU came out ahead by $8.8M
1998 · HOU / BOS
HOU · Gerry Hunsicker +$1.6M
Mike Blais
BOS · Dan Duquette −$1.6M
David West
HOU came out ahead by $1.6M
1998 · HOU / MIA
HOU · Gerry Hunsicker +$0.8M
Jay Powell, Scott Makarewicz
MIA · Dave Dombrowski −$0.8M
Ramón Castro
HOU came out ahead by $0.8M

Current & Historical Payroll

1998 payroll
$44.9M

What the front office was committed to as of 1998, 1998–2004. 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 (17)

PlayerAgeSvc1998199920002001200220032004
Jeff Bagwell307.000$7.9M$6.5M$6.5M$6.5M$11.0M$13.0M$16.0M
Craig Biggio3210.000$6.1M$6.1M$6.8M$7.8M$8.8M$9.8M$3.0M
Moises Alou318.000$5.0MFREE AGENT$5.2M$5.2M
Derek Bell297.000$4.2M$4.5MFREE AGENT
Shane Reynolds306.000$3.3M$4.5M$6.7M$7.2M$7.7MFREE AGENT
Randy Johnson3410.000$1.9MFREE AGENT
Bill Spiers329.000$1.6M$1.6M$1.7M$1.7MFREE AGENT
Sean Berry328.000$1.0MFREE AGENT
Pete Schourek297.000$960kFREE AGENT
Doug Henry347.000$725k$725k$500kFREE AGENT
Tony Eusebio317.000$725k$900k$1.1M$1.3MFREE AGENT
Dave Clark3512.000$700kFREE AGENT
Mike Magnante337.000$600kFREE AGENT
Jack Howell3613.000$500k$550kFREE AGENT
Pete Incaviglia3412.000$195kFREE AGENT
Reggie Harris298.000—FREE AGENT
Bob Scanlan317.000—FREE AGENT

Arbitration-eligible (11)

PlayerAgeSvc1998199920002001200220032004
Mike Hampton255.000$2.2MFREE AGENT
Brad Ausmus295.000$1.6MFREE AGENT
Carl Everett275.000$1.1MFREE AGENT
Ricky Gutierrez285.000$850kFREE AGENT
Tim Bogar315.000$725kFREE AGENT
Sean Bergman285.000$465kFREE AGENT
Billy Wagner263.000$280kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
J.R. Phillips285.000$250kFREE AGENT
Jose Lima254.000$240kARB 3FREE AGENT
C.J. Nitkowski253.000$185kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Jay Powell263.000$150kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT

Pre-arbitration (10)

PlayerAgeSvc1998199920002001200220032004
Ray Montgomery282.000$185kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Jose Cabrera261.000$180kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Trever Miller252.000$175kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Richard Hidalgo231.000$170kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
John Halama260.000$170kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Scott Elarton220.000$170kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Mitch Meluskey240.000$170kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Russ Johnson251.000—Pre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Daryle Ward230.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Mike Grzanich25–—

Graphs

How each 1998 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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