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Royals KCR

199675–86 (0.466)
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GM: Herk Robinson

Overview

Ranks vs the 30 teams in 1996, or a custom range (defaults to every team-season since 1985, when our data starts).

to

Front Office

PoorAverageGreat
Value
Payroll $M
$20M
Surplus $M
+2
Win %
0.466
TAB
-0.5
WAB
-0.3
Roster composition
Roster fWAR
27.7
Dead money %
38%
Depth Players
7.0
Dead WAR
-4.1

Offense

PoorAverageGreat

Pitching & Defense

PoorAverageGreat

Roster

1996 depth chart — stacked by playing time

C

RMike Macfarlane99
RSal Fasano51
RMike Sweeney26
RHenry Mercedes4

1B

BJose Offerman96
LBob Hamelin33
RKevin Young27
RCraig Paquette19
RJoe Vitiello9
LMichael Tucker9
RJoe Randa7
BDavid Howard2

2B

LKeith Lockhart84
BBip Roberts63
BJose Offerman38
RJoe Randa15
RChris Stynes5
BDavid Howard3

3B

RJoe Randa92
LKeith Lockhart55
RCraig Paquette51
RKevin Young7
RChris Stynes2

SS

BDavid Howard135
BJose Offerman36
RCraig Paquette11

LF

LTom Goodwin75
RCraig Paquette47
LMichael Tucker28
RChris Stynes19
RLes Norman15
RPat Lennon11
BBip Roberts8
LJon Nunnally7
LRod Myers4
RKevin Young2

CF

LJohnny Damon89
LTom Goodwin81
LRod Myers15
RLes Norman3
BBip Roberts2
BDavid Howard1
BJose Offerman1

RF

LMichael Tucker73
LJohnny Damon63
LJon Nunnally24
RLes Norman20
RKevin Young15
RJoe Vitiello1
BBip Roberts1
LRod Myers1

DH

RJoe Vitiello65
LBob Hamelin41
RMike Sweeney22
BBip Roberts14
RMike Macfarlane8
RCraig Paquette6
RChris Stynes2
RKevin Young2
RJoe Randa1

Starters

RKevin Appier6.3 WAR
LChris Haney3.9 WAR
RTim Belcher3.8 WAR
LJose Rosado2.8 WAR
RDoug Linton2.2 WAR
RMark Gubicza0.7 WAR
LJason Jacome0.3 WAR
RJulio Valera0.2 WAR
RBrian Bevil0.0 WAR
RTim Pugh⇄-0.2 WAR

Bullpen

★ RJeff Montgomery24 sv
RHipolito Pichardo0 h
LJason Jacome0 h
LMike Magnante0 h
RJulio Valera0 h
RRick Huisman0 h
RTim Pugh⇄0 h
RJaime Bluma0 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 1995)

PlayerfWAR
Tim Belcher3.8
José Rosado2.8
Mike Macfarlane2.4
Jose Offerman2.1
Jaime Bluma0.3
Julio Valera0.2

Key subtractions (gone from 1995)

Player1995 fWAR
Tom Gordon3.5
Gary Gaetti3.3
Wally Joyner2.0
Greg Gagne1.7
Rusty Meacham0.3
Chris James0.3

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 1996; everyone else is shown as a 1996 season snapshot.

PlayerPeriodfWARTier Market $MPaid $MSurplus $M$ / WARTierContract
Kevin Appier 1996 +6.3 +126.2 5.1 +121.2 $0.8M 2.50× –
Chris Haney 1996 +3.9 +67.9 0.6 +67.3 $0.1M 2.19× –
Tim Belcher 1996 +3.8 +66.2 1.4 +64.8 $0.4M 2.19× –
José Rosado 1996 +2.8 +44.5 0.1 +44.4 $0.0M 1.96× –
Mike Macfarlane 1996 +2.4 +14.6 0.8 +13.7 $0.4M 0.76× –
Jose Offerman 1996 +2.1 +13.9 1.1 +12.8 $0.5M 0.81× –
Michael Tucker 1996 +1.0 +6.8 0.2 +6.6 $0.2M 0.83× –
Keith Lockhart 1996 +1.3 +5.7 0.2 +5.5 $0.2M 0.56× –
Jon Nunnally 1996 +0.7 +4.6 0.2 +4.4 $0.3M 0.83× –
Mark Gubicza 1996 +0.7 +6.0 1.6 +4.4 $2.2M 1.02× –
Hipolito Pichardo 1996 +0.9 +4.9 0.6 +4.2 $0.7M 0.67× –
Joe Randa 1996 +0.9 +4.0 0.1 +3.9 $0.1M 0.58× –
Bob Hamelin 1996 +0.7 +3.6 0.4 +3.2 $0.6M 0.69× –
Jaime Bluma 1996 +0.3 +3.1 0.1 +3.0 $0.4M 1.34× –
Mike Sweeney 1996 +0.5 +2.2 0.1 +2.1 $0.2M 0.52× –
Jason Jacome 1996 +0.3 +1.9 0.1 +1.7 $0.4M 0.67× –
Mike Magnante 1996 +0.3 +1.6 0.2 +1.4 $0.8M 0.67× –
Julio Valera 1996 +0.2 +1.1 0.2 +0.9 $0.9M 0.67× –
David Howard 1996 +0.2 +0.8 0.6 +0.2 $3.9M 0.61× –
Pat Lennon 1996 +0.0 +0.3 0.1 +0.2 $2.8M 0.83× –
Craig Paquette 1996 +0.0 +0.2 0.1 +0.1 $3.3M 0.58× –
Terry Clark↔ 1996 +0.0 +0.0 0.1 -0.1 $23.8M 0.67× –
Tim Pugh↔ 1996 -0.2 -1.2 0.1 -1.3 – 0.67× –
Kevin Young 1996 -0.4 -1.6 0.1 -1.8 – 0.56× –
Joe Vitiello 1996 -0.3 -1.9 0.1 -2.0 – 0.69× –
Bip Roberts 1996 -0.1 -0.4 2.5 -2.9 – 0.56× –
Tom Goodwin 1996 -0.5 -3.6 0.3 -3.9 – 0.83× –
Les Norman 1996 -0.7 -4.6 0.1 -4.7 – 0.83× –
Johnny Damon 1996 -0.8 -5.0 0.2 -5.2 – 0.83× –
Jeff Montgomery 1996 -0.3 -3.6 2.1 -5.7 – 1.34× –
Rick Huisman 1996 +0.0 +0.1 0.1 -0.0 $8.6M 0.67× –
Sal Fasano 1996 +0.0 +0.1 0.1 -0.0 $4.8M 0.52× –
Bob Scanlan↔ 1996 +0.1 +0.4 – – – 0.67× –
Brian Bevil 1996 +0.0 +0.1 – – – 0.67× –
Chris Stynes 1996 -0.5 -3.0 – – – 0.83× –
Doug Linton 1996 +2.2 +26.2 – – – 1.49× –
Henry Mercedes 1996 -0.0 -0.1 – – – 0.52× –
Jeff Granger 1996 -0.2 -0.9 – – – 0.67× –
Ken Robinson 1996 +0.1 +0.6 – – – 0.67× –
Rod Myers 1996 -0.1 -1.0 – – – 0.83× –
Total—+27.6+380.719.7+338.4—

Trades

Every graded 1996 deal involving the Royals — best expected value first. Surplus is realized value in $M; 5 total.

1996 · SFG / KCR
SFG · Bob Quinn +$13.6M
Ramón Martínez
KCR · Herk Robinson −$13.6M
Jamie Brewington
SFG came out ahead by $13.6M
1996 · KCR / SEA
KCR · Herk Robinson +$1.6M
Jose Amado
SEA · Woody Woodward −$1.6M
Rusty Meacham
KCR came out ahead by $1.6M
1996 · MIL / KCR
MIL · Sal Bando +$0.0M
Chris Eddy
KCR · Herk Robinson +$0.0M
Mark Kiefer
Even trade
1996 · KCR / PIT
KCR · Herk Robinson +$5.6M
Jay Bell, Jeff King
PIT · Ted Simmons −$5.6M
Jeff Granger, Jeff Martin, Joe Randa, Jeff Wallace
KCR came out ahead by $5.6M
1996 · KCR / ANA
KCR · Herk Robinson +$18.4M
Chili Davis
ANA · Bill Bavasi −$18.4M
Mike Bovee, Mark Gubicza
KCR came out ahead by $18.4M

Current & Historical Payroll

1996 payroll
$20.1M

What the front office was committed to as of 1996, 1996–2002. 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 (9)

PlayerAgeSvc1996199719981999200020012002
Kevin Appier287.000$5.1M$4.8M$4.8M$3.1MFREE AGENT
Bip Roberts3210.000$2.5M$1.6MFREE AGENT
Jeff Montgomery349.000$2.1M$2.3M$2.8M$2.5MFREE AGENT
Mark Gubicza3312.000$1.6MFREE AGENT
Tim Belcher349.000$1.4M$2.3M$2.3MFREE AGENT
Jose Offerman276.000$1.1M$1.6M$2.0MFREE AGENT
Mike Macfarlane329.000$850k$888k$698kFREE AGENT
Julio Valera276.000$175kFREE AGENT
Terry Clark358.000$127kFREE AGENT

Arbitration-eligible (14)

PlayerAgeSvc1996199719981999200020012002
Hipolito Pichardo264.000$625kARB 3FREE AGENT
David Howard295.000$600kFREE AGENT
Chris Haney275.000$575kFREE AGENT
Bob Hamelin283.000$375kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Tom Goodwin275.000$312kFREE AGENT
Mike Magnante315.000$250kFREE AGENT
Kevin Young274.000$150kARB 3FREE AGENT
Craig Paquette273.000$150kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Tim Pugh294.000$128kARB 3FREE AGENT
Pat Lennon285.000$120kFREE AGENT
Jeff Granger243.000—ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Doug Linton314.000—ARB 3FREE AGENT
Henry Mercedes264.000—ARB 3FREE AGENT
Bob Scanlan295.000—FREE AGENT

Pre-arbitration (17)

PlayerAgeSvc1996199719981999200020012002
Keith Lockhart312.000$208kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Jon Nunnally241.000$190kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Johnny Damon221.000$180kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Michael Tucker251.000$160kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Joe Vitiello261.000$150kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Jason Jacome252.000$150kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Joe Randa261.000$120kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Rick Huisman271.000$118kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Les Norman271.000$118kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Mike Sweeney221.000$114kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Sal Fasano240.000$109kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Jaime Bluma240.000$109kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
José Rosado210.000$109kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Brian Bevil240.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Rod Myers230.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Ken Robinson26–—
Chris Stynes231.000—Pre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT

Graphs

How each 1996 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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