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Royals KCR

198676–86 (0.469)
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GM: John Schuerholz

Overview

Ranks vs the 30 teams in 1986, 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
-4
Win %
0.469
TAB
-4.7
WAB
-7.7
Roster composition
Roster fWAR
31.1
Dead money %
29%
Depth Players
8.0
Dead WAR
-5.5

Offense

PoorAverageGreat

Pitching & Defense

PoorAverageGreat

Roster

1986 depth chart — stacked by playing time

C

RJim Sundberg134
LJamie Quirk41
RTerry Bell8

1B

RSteve Balboni137
RKevin Seitzer22
LJamie Quirk6
RGreg Pryor1

2B

RFrank White151
LJorge Orta23
BBuddy Biancalana12
RGreg Pryor12
BRondin Johnson11
RAngel Salazar1
RLynn Jones1

3B

LGeorge Brett115
RGreg Pryor35
LJamie Quirk24
RBill Pecota12
RKevin Seitzer3
RFrank White1

SS

RAngel Salazar115
BBuddy Biancalana89
RGreg Pryor18
RBill Pecota2
LGeorge Brett2
RFrank White1

LF

RLonnie Smith118
LRudy Law54
RLynn Jones37
RKevin Seitzer5
RDarryl Motley⇄3
LJamie Quirk1
LMike Kingery1

CF

BWillie Wilson155
LMike Kingery13
RLynn Jones8
LRudy Law3
LDwight Taylor1
RDarryl Motley⇄1

RF

LMike Kingery51
LRudy Law36
RBo Jackson23
RLynn Jones19
RMike Brewer9

DH

LJorge Orta83
RHal McRae58
RLonnie Smith10
LGeorge Brett7
LRudy Law2
RBo Jackson1
RLynn Jones1

Starters

LCharlie Leibrandt3.7 WAR
RBret Saberhagen3.5 WAR
RMark Gubicza3.0 WAR
LDanny Jackson2.9 WAR
RDennis Leonard2.6 WAR
RScott Bankhead1.8 WAR
LBud Black0.1 WAR
RAlan Hargesheimer-0.1 WAR

Bullpen

★ RDan Quisenberry12 sv
RSteve Farr0 h
LBud Black0 h
RDavid Cone0 h
RMark Huismann⇄0 h
RAlan Hargesheimer0 h
RSteve Shields⇄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 1985)

PlayerfWAR
Scott Bankhead1.8
Kevin Seitzer0.9
Angel Salazar0.8
Bill Pecota0.2
David Cone0.1
Rudy Law0.0

Key subtractions (gone from 1985)

Player1985 fWAR
Joe Beckwith0.9
John Wathan0.9
Pat Sheridan0.1
Tony Ferreira0.1
Michael LaCoss0.0
Jim Scranton0.0

Contract Value

WAR translated into tier-adjusted market value, then compared with what the player was paid by Royals. Guaranteed contracts from the 2015-present contract-data period use the known contract period through 1986; everyone else is shown as a 1986 season snapshot.

PlayerPeriodfWARTier Market $MPaid $MSurplus $M$ / WARTierContract
Charlie Leibrandt 1986 +3.7 +64.9 0.8 +64.2 $0.2M 2.19× –
Bret Saberhagen 1986 +3.5 +54.0 0.9 +53.1 $0.3M 1.96× –
Mark Gubicza 1986 +3.0 +46.3 0.2 +46.1 $0.1M 1.96× –
Danny Jackson 1986 +2.9 +44.9 0.2 +44.7 $0.1M 1.96× –
Frank White 1986 +4.3 +41.0 0.5 +40.6 $0.1M 1.20× –
Dennis Leonard 1986 +2.6 +40.0 0.9 +39.1 $0.3M 1.96× –
George Brett 1986 +3.8 +38.1 1.5 +36.6 $0.4M 1.25× –
Scott Bankhead 1986 +1.8 +21.8 0.1 +21.7 $0.0M 1.49× –
Lonnie Smith 1986 +2.3 +22.0 1.0 +21.0 $0.4M 1.22× –
Willie Wilson 1986 +1.9 +18.1 1.2 +16.9 $0.6M 1.22× –
Dan Quisenberry 1986 +1.3 +13.4 0.9 +12.5 $0.7M 1.34× –
Steve Farr 1986 +0.9 +10.1 0.1 +10.1 $0.1M 1.34× –
Jim Sundberg 1986 +1.5 +6.1 0.7 +5.4 $0.4M 0.52× –
Angel Salazar 1986 +0.8 +4.0 0.1 +4.0 $0.1M 0.61× –
Jamie Quirk 1986 +0.9 +3.7 0.1 +3.5 $0.2M 0.52× –
Mark Huismann↔ 1986 +0.3 +1.5 0.0 +1.5 $0.1M 0.67× –
David Cone 1986 +0.1 +0.4 0.1 +0.3 $0.9M 0.67× –
Bud Black 1986 +0.1 +0.8 0.6 +0.2 $8.6M 1.34× –
Rudy Law 1986 +0.0 +0.2 0.4 -0.2 $14.1M 0.83× –
Steve Balboni 1986 +0.0 +0.1 0.5 -0.4 $17.5M 0.56× –
Alan Hargesheimer 1986 -0.1 -0.5 0.1 -0.5 – 0.67× –
Jorge Orta 1986 -0.0 -0.3 0.5 -0.7 – 0.69× –
Buddy Biancalana 1986 -0.3 -1.3 0.2 -1.4 – 0.61× –
Mike Kingery 1986 -0.4 -2.5 0.1 -2.5 – 0.83× –
Hal McRae 1986 -0.6 -3.4 0.7 -4.0 – 0.69× –
Greg Pryor 1986 -1.0 -4.5 0.3 -4.8 – 0.58× –
Lynn Jones 1986 -0.8 -5.4 0.2 -5.5 – 0.83× –
Darryl Motley↔ 1986 -1.2 -7.7 0.2 -7.9 – 0.83× –
Bill Pecota 1986 +0.2 +1.0 – – – 0.58× –
Bo Jackson 1986 -0.7 -4.9 – – – 0.83× –
Dwight Taylor 1986 -0.1 -0.5 – – – 0.83× –
Kevin Seitzer 1986 +0.9 +4.2 – – – 0.56× –
Mike Brewer 1986 -0.2 -1.2 – – – 0.83× –
Rondin Johnson 1986 -0.1 -0.2 – – – 0.56× –
Steve Shields↔ 1986 -0.1 -0.6 – – – 0.67× –
Terry Bell 1986 +0.0 +0.0 – – – 0.52× –
Total—+31.2+403.613.1+393.6—

Trades

Every graded 1986 deal involving the Royals — best expected value first. Surplus is realized value in $M; 5 total.

1986 · BAL / KCR
BAL · Hank Peters +$7.2M
Joe Jarrell, Jimmy Daniel
KCR · John Schuerholz −$7.2M
Juan Beníquez
BAL came out ahead by $7.2M
1986 · KCR / ATL
KCR · John Schuerholz +$7.2M
Steve Shields
ATL · Bobby Cox −$7.2M
Darryl Motley
KCR came out ahead by $7.2M
1986 · KCR / SEA
KCR · John Schuerholz +$1.6M
Terry Bell
SEA · Dick Balderson −$1.6M
Mark Huismann
KCR came out ahead by $1.6M
1986 · NYM / KCR
NYM · Frank Cashen +$0.8M
Tony Ferreira
KCR · John Schuerholz −$0.8M
Angel Salazar
NYM came out ahead by $0.8M
1986 · KCR / SEA
KCR · John Schuerholz +$40.8M
Danny Tartabull, Rick Luecken
SEA · Dick Balderson −$40.8M
Scott Bankhead, Steve Shields, Mike Kingery
KCR came out ahead by $40.8M

Current & Historical Payroll

1986 payroll
$12.8M

What the front office was committed to as of 1986, 1986–1992. 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 (15)

PlayerAgeSvc1986198719881989199019911992
George Brett3313.000$1.5M$2.1M$2.3M$2.0M$2.3M$3.1M$3.1M
Willie Wilson3010.000$1.2M$1.4M$1.4M$2.1M$800kFREE AGENT
Lonnie Smith308.000$1.0M$500kFREE AGENT
Dan Quisenberry337.000$925k$1.3M$973kFREE AGENT
Dennis Leonard3512.000$883kFREE AGENT
Charlie Leibrandt297.000$770k$850k$1.2M$1.2MFREE AGENT
Jim Sundberg3512.000$653kFREE AGENT
Hal McRae4018.000$650k$110kFREE AGENT
Frank White3513.000$485k$875k$825k$1.0M$1.1MFREE AGENT
Jorge Orta3514.000$450k$125kFREE AGENT
Rudy Law298.000$360kFREE AGENT
Greg Pryor3610.000$294kFREE AGENT
Lynn Jones337.000$185kFREE AGENT
Jamie Quirk3111.000$150k$200k$335kFREE AGENT
Alan Hargesheimer316.000$67kFREE AGENT

Arbitration-eligible (7)

PlayerAgeSvc1986198719881989199019911992
Bud Black295.000$645kFREE AGENT
Steve Balboni295.000$525kFREE AGENT
Darryl Motley265.000$241kFREE AGENT
Danny Jackson243.000$175kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Buddy Biancalana264.000$165kARB 3FREE AGENT
Angel Salazar243.000$75kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Mark Huismann283.000$22kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT

Pre-arbitration (14)

PlayerAgeSvc1986198719881989199019911992
Bret Saberhagen222.000$925kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Mark Gubicza232.000$250kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Steve Farr292.000$85kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Scott Bankhead220.000$60kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
David Cone230.000$60kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Mike Kingery250.000$60kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Terry Bell23–—
Mike Brewer26–—
Bo Jackson230.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Rondin Johnson27–—
Bill Pecota260.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Kevin Seitzer240.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Steve Shields271.000—Pre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Dwight Taylor26–—

Graphs

How each 1986 acquisition stacked onto Royals'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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