Rosternomics
Log in Sign up 𝕏

Brewers MIL

198887–75 (0.537)
‹ Previous Next ›

GM: Harry Dalton

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
$9M
Surplus $M
+1
Win %
0.537
TAB
+2.4
WAB
+8.1
Roster composition
Roster fWAR
33.8
Dead money %
27%
Depth Players
5.0
Dead WAR
-3.9

Offense

PoorAverageGreat

Pitching & Defense

PoorAverageGreat

Roster

1988 depth chart — stacked by playing time

C

LB.J. Surhoff106
RCharlie O'Brien40
RBill Schroeder30

1B

LGreg Brock114
RJoey Meyer33
LBilly Jo Robidoux30
RBill Schroeder10
LJim Adduci3
LB.J. Surhoff2

2B

LJim Gantner154
BJuan Castillo18
RSteve Kiefer4
BDale Sveum1
BMike Felder1
RPaul Molitor1

3B

RPaul Molitor105
LErnest Riles⇄37
LB.J. Surhoff31
BJuan Castillo17
RSteve Kiefer4
LJim Gantner1

SS

BDale Sveum127
RGary Sheffield24
BJuan Castillo13
LB.J. Surhoff1

LF

RJeffrey Leonard⇄93
RRob Deer54
LJim Adduci16
BMike Felder12
LDarryl Hamilton8
LB.J. Surhoff1
BJuan Castillo1
BMike Young⇄1

CF

RRobin Yount158
BMike Felder11
LDarryl Hamilton6
RRob Deer2

RF

RRob Deer79
RGlenn Braggs54
LDarryl Hamilton23
LJim Adduci9
BMike Young⇄7
BMike Felder5

DH

RJoey Meyer65
RPaul Molitor49
RGlenn Braggs18
LJim Adduci11
LErnest Riles⇄4
RRobin Yount4
BMike Felder3
BDale Sveum1
RBill Schroeder1
RJeffrey Leonard⇄1
BMike Young⇄1
RRob Deer1

Starters

LTeddy Higuera5.9 WAR
RChris Bosio3.0 WAR
RMike Birkbeck1.7 WAR
RDon August1.7 WAR
RBill Wegman1.4 WAR
RTom Filer1.1 WAR
LJuan Nieves0.5 WAR
ROdell Jones0.2 WAR

Bullpen

★ LDan Plesac30 sv
RChuck Crim0 h
LPaul Mirabella0 h
ROdell Jones0 h
RMark Clear0 h
LDave Stapleton0 h
RMark Knudson0 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
Don August1.7
Tom Filer1.1
Joey Meyer0.5
Odell Jones0.2
Gary Sheffield0.0
Jim Adduci-0.0

Key subtractions (gone from 1987)

Player1987 fWAR
Len Barker0.3
John Henry Johnson0.2
Jay Aldrich-0.0
Steve Stanicek-0.0
Alex Madrid-0.1
Rick Manning-0.2

Contract Value

WAR translated into tier-adjusted market value, then compared with what the player was paid by Brewers. 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
Teddy Higuera 1988 +5.9 +117.2 1.0 +116.2 $0.2M 2.50× –
Robin Yount 1988 +5.5 +89.3 1.1 +88.2 $0.2M 2.05× –
Paul Molitor 1988 +5.3 +60.7 1.4 +59.3 $0.3M 1.43× –
Chris Bosio 1988 +3.0 +47.3 0.1 +47.2 $0.0M 1.96× –
Rob Deer 1988 +2.5 +32.2 0.5 +31.7 $0.2M 1.60× –
Dan Plesac 1988 +1.9 +30.0 0.3 +29.7 $0.1M 1.95× –
Mike Birkbeck 1988 +1.7 +20.7 0.1 +20.7 $0.0M 1.49× –
Don August 1988 +1.7 +20.1 0.1 +20.1 $0.0M 1.49× –
Jim Gantner 1988 +2.0 +12.9 0.9 +11.9 $0.5M 0.82× –
Bill Wegman 1988 +1.4 +11.5 0.2 +11.3 $0.1M 1.02× –
Glenn Braggs 1988 +1.1 +7.6 0.1 +7.5 $0.1M 0.83× –
Juan Nieves 1988 +0.5 +3.8 0.2 +3.6 $0.4M 1.02× –
B.J. Surhoff 1988 +0.8 +3.2 0.1 +3.1 $0.2M 0.52× –
Dale Sveum 1988 +0.7 +3.3 0.2 +3.1 $0.3M 0.61× –
Paul Mirabella 1988 +0.5 +2.9 0.1 +2.8 $0.2M 0.67× –
Joey Meyer 1988 +0.5 +2.7 0.1 +2.6 $0.1M 0.69× –
Chuck Crim 1988 +0.2 +2.5 0.1 +2.4 $0.4M 1.34× –
Greg Brock 1988 +0.6 +2.6 0.6 +2.0 $1.0M 0.56× –
Odell Jones 1988 +0.2 +1.3 0.1 +1.2 $0.4M 0.67× –
Charlie O'Brien 1988 +0.2 +0.8 0.1 +0.7 $0.4M 0.52× –
Jim Adduci 1988 -0.0 -0.3 0.1 -0.3 – 0.83× –
Juan Castillo 1988 -0.1 -0.4 0.1 -0.5 – 0.56× –
Dave Stapleton 1988 -0.2 -0.8 0.1 -0.9 – 0.67× –
Ernest Riles↔ 1988 -0.2 -1.0 0.1 -1.1 – 0.69× –
Bill Schroeder 1988 -0.2 -0.9 0.4 -1.3 – 0.52× –
Mark Clear 1988 -0.2 -1.3 0.5 -1.9 – 0.67× –
Mike Young↔ 1988 -0.3 -2.3 0.0 -2.3 – 0.83× –
Mike Felder 1988 -0.9 -6.2 0.1 -6.3 – 0.83× –
Jeffrey Leonard↔ 1988 -1.2 -7.8 0.6 -8.4 – 0.83× –
Billy Jo Robidoux 1988 -0.4 -1.8 – – – 0.56× –
Darryl Hamilton 1988 -0.1 -0.9 – – – 0.83× –
Gary Sheffield 1988 +0.0 +0.0 – – – 0.61× –
Mark Knudson 1988 +0.1 +0.6 – – – 0.67× –
Steve Kiefer 1988 +0.2 +1.1 – – – 0.56× –
Tom Filer 1988 +1.1 +8.6 – – – 1.02× –
Total—+33.8+459.29.4+442.3—

Trades

Every graded 1988 deal involving the Brewers — best expected value first. Surplus is realized value in $M; 4 total.

1988 · PHI / MIL
PHI · Woody Woodward +$5.6M
Alex Madrid
MIL · Harry Dalton −$5.6M
Mike Young
PHI came out ahead by $5.6M
1988 · SFG / MIL
SFG · Al Rosen +$21.6M
Ernie Riles
MIL · Harry Dalton −$21.6M
Jeffrey Leonard
SFG came out ahead by $21.6M
1988 · BAL / MIL
BAL · Roland Hemond +$0.0M
Tim Pyznarski
MIL · Harry Dalton +$0.0M
Kevin Price, D.L. Smith
Even trade
1988 · ANA / MIL
ANA · Mike Port +$0.0M
Bill Schroeder
MIL · Harry Dalton +$0.0M
Gus Polidor
Even trade

Current & Historical Payroll

1988 payroll
$9.3M

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 (10)

PlayerAgeSvc1988198919901991199219931994
Paul Molitor3110.000$1.4M$2.1M$2.6M$3.2M$3.5MFREE AGENT
Robin Yount3214.000$1.1M$1.1M$3.2M$3.2M$3.2M$2.7MFREE AGENT
Jim Gantner3512.000$938k$900k$700k$1.0M$1.1MFREE AGENT
Jeffrey Leonard3211.000$613kFREE AGENT
Greg Brock316.000$600k$700k$788k$938kFREE AGENT
Mark Clear329.000$535kFREE AGENT
Paul Mirabella3410.000$105k$230k$230kFREE AGENT
Odell Jones3513.000$90kFREE AGENT
Mike Young286.000$38kFREE AGENT
Tom Filer316.000—$125k$255kFREE AGENT

Arbitration-eligible (10)

PlayerAgeSvc1988198919901991199219931994
Teddy Higuera303.000$1.0MARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Rob Deer274.000$460kARB 3FREE AGENT
Bill Schroeder295.000$372kFREE AGENT
Bill Wegman253.000$175kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Mike Felder263.000$102kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Ernest Riles273.000$85kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Jim Adduci285.000$72kFREE AGENT
Charlie O'Brien283.000$70kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Steve Kiefer274.000—ARB 3FREE AGENT
Mark Knudson273.000—ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT

Pre-arbitration (15)

PlayerAgeSvc1988198919901991199219931994
Dan Plesac262.000$275kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Juan Nieves232.000$195kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Dale Sveum242.000$185kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
B.J. Surhoff231.000$122kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Glenn Braggs252.000$122kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Chris Bosio252.000$107kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Chuck Crim261.000$101kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Juan Castillo262.000$90kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Mike Birkbeck272.000$70kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Dave Stapleton261.000$65kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Don August240.000$62kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Joey Meyer260.000$62kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Darryl Hamilton230.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Billy Jo Robidoux24–—
Gary Sheffield190.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT

Graphs

How each 1988 acquisition stacked onto Brewers'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).
Privacy Policy · Terms of Service · © 2026 Rosternomics