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Royals KCR

198992–70 (0.568)
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GM: John Schuerholz

Overview

Ranks vs the 30 teams in 1989, or a custom range (defaults to every team-season since 1985, when our data starts).

to

Front Office

PoorAverageGreat
Value
Payroll $M
$16M
Surplus $M
-2
Win %
0.568
TAB
+2.5
WAB
+7.6
Roster composition
Roster fWAR
39.1
Dead money %
13%
Depth Players
10.0
Dead WAR
-5.7

Offense

PoorAverageGreat

Pitching & Defense

PoorAverageGreat

Roster

1989 depth chart — stacked by playing time

C

RBob Boone129
RMike Macfarlane59
RRey Palacios13

1B

LGeorge Brett105
RLuis de los Santos27
LBill Buckner25
RRey Palacios18
RPat Tabler18
RBill Pecota4
RKevin Seitzer2

2B

RFrank White132
RBrad Wellman62
RBill Pecota13
RPat Tabler3

3B

RKevin Seitzer159
RRey Palacios21
RBill Pecota7
RBrad Wellman3
RPat Tabler1

SS

BKurt Stillwell130
RBrad Wellman35
RBill Pecota28
RKevin Seitzer6

LF

RBo Jackson110
LJim Eisenreich26
RPat Tabler26
RGary Thurman12
LJeff Schulz4
RBill Pecota4
LGeorge Brett2
RKevin Seitzer2

CF

BWillie Wilson108
LJim Eisenreich67
RGary Thurman29
RBill Pecota2
RBo Jackson1
RBrad Wellman1
RKevin Seitzer1

RF

RDanny Tartabull73
LJim Eisenreich58
LMatt Winters31
RPat Tabler28
RGary Thurman24
RBill Pecota9
RRey Palacios1

DH

RDanny Tartabull53
RPat Tabler40
RBo Jackson24
LBill Buckner16
LGeorge Brett16
LJim Eisenreich8
RMike Macfarlane3
LMatt Winters2

Starters

RBret Saberhagen7.5 WAR
RMark Gubicza6.3 WAR
RTom Gordon2.4 WAR
RLuis Aquino2.0 WAR
LCharlie Leibrandt1.2 WAR
RSteve Farr0.8 WAR
LFloyd Bannister0.6 WAR
LLarry McWilliams⇄0.6 WAR
RTerry Leach⇄-0.0 WAR
RKevin Appier-0.2 WAR
RJose DeJesus-0.2 WAR
LStan Clarke-0.2 WAR

Bullpen

★ RJeff Montgomery18 sv
RSteve Farr0 h
RTerry Leach⇄0 h
RSteve Crawford0 h
RRick Luecken0 h
LJerry Don Gleaton0 h
RJose DeJesus0 h
LBob Buchanan0 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 1988)

PlayerfWAR
Bob Boone2.9
Larry McWilliams0.6
Steve Crawford0.4
Jeff Schulz0.0
Terry Leach-0.0
Bob Buchanan-0.1

Key subtractions (gone from 1988)

Player1988 fWAR
Jamie Quirk1.0
Ted Power0.5
Dan Quisenberry0.4
Israel Sanchez0.2
Larry Owen0.2
Bud Black0.1

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 1989; everyone else is shown as a 1989 season snapshot.

PlayerPeriodfWARTier Market $MPaid $MSurplus $M$ / WARTierContract
Bret Saberhagen 1989 +7.5 +149.3 1.4 +147.9 $0.2M 2.50× –
Mark Gubicza 1989 +6.3 +125.4 1.4 +124.0 $0.2M 2.50× –
Jeff Montgomery 1989 +2.7 +55.4 0.1 +55.3 $0.0M 2.57× –
Jim Eisenreich 1989 +3.1 +39.4 0.1 +39.3 $0.0M 1.60× –
Bo Jackson 1989 +2.4 +23.5 0.6 +22.9 $0.3M 1.22× –
Bob Boone 1989 +2.9 +23.6 0.9 +22.7 $0.3M 1.00× –
Danny Tartabull 1989 +2.2 +21.0 1.0 +20.0 $0.5M 1.22× –
Tom Gordon 1989 +2.4 +18.7 0.1 +18.6 $0.0M 0.98× –
Luis Aquino 1989 +2.0 +15.7 0.1 +15.6 $0.0M 0.98× –
Kevin Seitzer 1989 +2.3 +15.9 0.3 +15.5 $0.1M 0.85× –
Kurt Stillwell 1989 +1.8 +13.1 0.5 +12.6 $0.3M 0.89× –
Frank White 1989 +1.7 +11.0 1.0 +10.0 $0.6M 0.82× –
Charlie Leibrandt 1989 +1.2 +9.7 1.2 +8.5 $1.0M 1.02× –
George Brett 1989 +1.6 +10.4 2.0 +8.4 $1.3M 0.81× –
Steve Farr 1989 +0.8 +8.1 0.6 +7.5 $0.8M 1.34× –
Willie Wilson 1989 +1.2 +8.1 2.1 +6.0 $1.7M 0.83× –
Larry McWilliams↔ 1989 +0.6 +5.0 0.0 +5.0 $0.0M 1.02× –
Floyd Bannister 1989 +0.6 +5.2 0.9 +4.3 $1.4M 1.02× –
Bill Pecota 1989 +0.6 +2.9 0.1 +2.8 $0.1M 0.61× –
Steve Crawford 1989 +0.4 +2.1 0.1 +2.0 $0.4M 0.67× –
Brad Wellman 1989 +0.2 +1.1 0.2 +1.0 $0.6M 0.56× –
Mike Macfarlane 1989 -0.1 -0.2 0.1 -0.3 – 0.52× –
Terry Leach↔ 1989 -0.0 -0.1 0.3 -0.5 – 0.67× –
Rick Luecken 1989 -0.2 -1.1 0.1 -1.2 – 0.67× –
Matt Winters 1989 -0.4 -2.6 0.1 -2.7 – 0.83× –
Gary Thurman 1989 -0.8 -5.1 0.1 -5.2 – 0.83× –
Bill Buckner 1989 -1.3 -5.8 0.4 -6.2 – 0.56× –
Pat Tabler 1989 -1.9 -10.3 0.8 -11.1 – 0.69× –
Bob Buchanan 1989 -0.1 -0.5 – – – 0.67× –
Jeff Schulz 1989 +0.0 +0.2 – – – 0.83× –
Jerry Don Gleaton 1989 +0.1 +0.7 – – – 0.67× –
Jose De Jesus 1989 -0.2 -1.1 – – – 0.67× –
Kevin Appier 1989 -0.2 -1.4 – – – 1.02× –
Luis de los Santos 1989 -0.1 -0.2 – – – 0.56× –
Rey Palacios 1989 -0.3 -1.4 – – – 0.58× –
Stan Clarke 1989 -0.2 -1.8 – – – 1.02× –
Total—+38.8+533.916.6+522.7—

Trades

Every graded 1989 deal involving the Royals — best expected value first. Surplus is realized value in $M; 3 total.

1989 · PHI / KCR
PHI · Lee Thomas +$1.6M
Jeff Hulse
KCR · John Schuerholz −$1.6M
Larry McWilliams
PHI came out ahead by $1.6M
1989 · NYM / KCR
NYM · Frank Cashen +$4.8M
Aguedo Vasquez
KCR · John Schuerholz −$4.8M
Terry Leach
NYM came out ahead by $4.8M
1989 · ATL / KCR
ATL · Bobby Cox +$117.6M
Charlie Leibrandt, Rick Luecken
KCR · John Schuerholz −$117.6M
Gerald Perry, Jim Lemasters
ATL came out ahead by $117.6M

Current & Historical Payroll

1989 payroll
$16.5M

What the front office was committed to as of 1989, 1989–1995. 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 (14)

PlayerAgeSvc1989199019911992199319941995
Willie Wilson3313.000$2.1M$800kFREE AGENT
George Brett3616.000$2.0M$2.3M$3.1M$3.1M$2.8MFREE AGENT
Charlie Leibrandt3210.000$1.2MFREE AGENT
Frank White3816.000$1.0M$1.1MFREE AGENT
Floyd Bannister3412.000$900kFREE AGENT
Bob Boone4117.000$883k$1.9MFREE AGENT
Pat Tabler318.000$825k$591kFREE AGENT
Bill Buckner3920.000$400kFREE AGENT
Terry Leach358.000$319kFREE AGENT
Brad Wellman297.000$155kFREE AGENT
Steve Crawford319.000$150k$375kFREE AGENT
Jim Eisenreich307.000$120k$475k$950k$1.6MFREE AGENT
Larry McWilliams3511.000$11k$300kFREE AGENT
Jerry Don Gleaton3110.000—FREE AGENT

Arbitration-eligible (9)

PlayerAgeSvc1989199019911992199319941995
Mark Gubicza265.000$1.4MFREE AGENT
Bret Saberhagen255.000$1.4MFREE AGENT
Danny Tartabull265.000$1.0MFREE AGENT
Bo Jackson263.000$610kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Steve Farr325.000$605kFREE AGENT
Kurt Stillwell243.000$460kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Kevin Seitzer273.000$340kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Bill Pecota293.000$85kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Luis Aquino253.000$68kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT

Pre-arbitration (13)

PlayerAgeSvc1989199019911992199319941995
Jeff Montgomery272.000$95kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Mike Macfarlane252.000$70kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Tom Gordon211.000$68kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Gary Thurman242.000$68kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Rick Luecken280.000$68kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Matt Winters290.000$68kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Kevin Appier210.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Bob Buchanan28–—
Stan Clarke28–—
Jose De Jesus241.000—Pre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Luis de los Santos22–—
Rey Palacios261.000—Pre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Jeff Schulz280.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT

Graphs

How each 1989 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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