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Brewers MIL

198981–81 (0.500)
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GM: Harry Dalton

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
$11M
Surplus $M
-2
Win %
0.500
TAB
-5.7
WAB
+1.4
Roster composition
Roster fWAR
26.4
Dead money %
22%
Depth Players
5.0
Dead WAR
-4.2

Offense

PoorAverageGreat

Pitching & Defense

PoorAverageGreat

Roster

1989 depth chart — stacked by playing time

C

LB.J. Surhoff106
RCharlie O'Brien62
RDave Engle3

1B

LGreg Brock100
LTerry Francona46
RDave Engle18
RJoey Meyer18
LGeorge Canale11
LBill Spiers2
RChuck Crim1

2B

LJim Gantner114
RGus Polidor30
RPaul Molitor16
BMike Felder10
REd Romero⇄8
LBilly Bates7
LBill Spiers3
BJuan Castillo3

3B

RPaul Molitor112
RGus Polidor29
RGary Sheffield21
LBill Spiers12
LB.J. Surhoff6
REd Romero⇄4

SS

LBill Spiers89
RGary Sheffield70
RGus Polidor21
REd Romero⇄3

LF

RGlenn Braggs127
BMike Felder30
RGreg Vaughn23
RRob Deer2

CF

RRobin Yount144
BMike Felder34
RRob Deer1

RF

RRob Deer123
BMike Felder38
LTerry Francona16
RGlenn Braggs9

DH

RJoey Meyer30
RPaul Molitor28
LTerry Francona21
RRobin Yount16
RGlenn Braggs13
LB.J. Surhoff12
RGreg Vaughn12
LGreg Brock7
BMike Felder4
RRob Deer4
RGary Sheffield4
LBill Spiers4
RGus Polidor2
RDave Engle2
LJim Gantner2
LLaVel Freeman1

Starters

RChris Bosio5.5 WAR
LTeddy Higuera2.2 WAR
RJaime Navarro1.8 WAR
LBill Krueger0.8 WAR
RTom Filer0.3 WAR
RMike Birkbeck0.3 WAR
RRandy Veres0.2 WAR
RBill Wegman0.1 WAR
RJeff Peterek0.1 WAR
RBryan Clutterbuck0.0 WAR
RMark Knudson-0.1 WAR
RDon August-0.2 WAR
LJerry Reuss⇄-0.4 WAR

Bullpen

★ LDan Plesac33 sv
RChuck Crim0 h
LTony Fossas0 h
RJay Aldrich⇄0 h
LPaul Mirabella0 h
RJeff Peterek0 h
RRandy Veres0 h
RRay Krawczyk0 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
Jaime Navarro1.8
Bill Krueger0.8
Tony Fossas0.6
Bill Spiers0.3
Greg Vaughn0.3
Randy Veres0.2

Key subtractions (gone from 1988)

Player1988 fWAR
Dale Sveum0.7
Juan Nieves0.5
Steve Kiefer0.2
Odell Jones0.2
Jim Adduci-0.0
Darryl Hamilton-0.1

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

PlayerPeriodfWARTier Market $MPaid $MSurplus $M$ / WARTierContract
Chris Bosio 1989 +5.5 +110.4 0.2 +110.1 $0.0M 2.50× –
Robin Yount 1989 +5.3 +86.3 1.1 +85.2 $0.2M 2.05× –
Paul Molitor 1989 +5.1 +58.6 2.1 +56.5 $0.4M 1.43× –
Teddy Higuera 1989 +2.2 +25.9 1.5 +24.3 $0.7M 1.49× –
Jaime Navarro 1989 +1.8 +21.6 0.1 +21.6 $0.0M 1.49× –
Charlie O'Brien 1989 +2.2 +13.4 0.1 +13.3 $0.0M 0.76× –
Dan Plesac 1989 +0.9 +9.4 0.8 +8.6 $0.9M 1.34× –
Chuck Crim 1989 +0.8 +8.7 0.2 +8.5 $0.3M 1.34× –
Greg Brock 1989 +1.3 +5.6 0.7 +4.9 $0.6M 0.56× –
Mike Felder 1989 +0.7 +4.9 0.1 +4.8 $0.1M 0.83× –
Bill Krueger 1989 +0.8 +4.4 0.1 +4.3 $0.2M 0.67× –
Tony Fossas 1989 +0.6 +3.4 0.1 +3.3 $0.1M 0.67× –
Rob Deer 1989 +0.5 +3.4 0.8 +2.6 $1.5M 0.83× –
Tom Filer 1989 +0.3 +2.6 0.1 +2.5 $0.4M 1.02× –
Jim Gantner 1989 +0.7 +3.3 0.9 +2.4 $1.2M 0.56× –
Greg Vaughn 1989 +0.3 +1.9 0.1 +1.8 $0.2M 0.83× –
Glenn Braggs 1989 +0.3 +1.8 0.2 +1.6 $0.8M 0.83× –
Bill Spiers 1989 +0.3 +1.6 0.1 +1.5 $0.2M 0.61× –
Jeff Peterek 1989 +0.1 +0.5 0.1 +0.5 $1.0M 1.02× –
Bill Wegman 1989 +0.1 +0.7 0.4 +0.2 $5.2M 1.02× –
Billy Bates 1989 +0.1 +0.3 0.1 +0.2 $1.1M 0.56× –
B.J. Surhoff 1989 +0.1 +0.3 0.2 +0.1 $2.6M 0.52× –
Bryan Clutterbuck 1989 +0.0 +0.2 0.1 +0.1 $2.9M 1.02× –
Dave Engle 1989 -0.0 -0.1 0.2 -0.2 – 0.56× –
Paul Mirabella 1989 -0.1 -0.4 0.2 -0.7 – 0.67× –
Mark Knudson 1989 -0.1 -0.7 0.1 -0.8 – 0.67× –
Ed Romero↔ 1989 -0.3 -1.3 0.0 -1.3 – 0.56× –
Gary Sheffield 1989 -0.4 -1.8 0.1 -1.9 – 0.61× –
Joey Meyer 1989 -0.3 -1.8 0.1 -1.9 – 0.69× –
Jerry Reuss↔ 1989 -0.4 -3.2 0.1 -3.4 – 1.02× –
Gus Polidor 1989 -0.8 -3.4 0.1 -3.5 – 0.56× –
Terry Francona 1989 -1.2 -5.3 0.2 -5.5 – 0.56× –
Don August 1989 -0.2 -1.3 – – – 1.02× –
George Canale 1989 -0.0 -0.0 – – – 0.56× –
Jay Aldrich↔ 1989 -0.2 -1.2 – – – 0.67× –
Juan Castillo 1989 -0.1 -0.6 – – – 0.56× –
LaVel Freeman 1989 -0.1 -0.5 – – – 0.69× –
Mike Birkbeck 1989 +0.3 +2.4 – – – 1.02× –
Randy Veres 1989 +0.2 +0.9 – – – 0.67× –
Ray Krawczyk 1989 +0.1 +0.4 – – – 0.67× –
Total—+26.4+351.311.3+339.7—

Trades

Every graded 1989 deal involving the Brewers — best expected value first. Surplus is realized value in $M; 5 total.

1989 · PIT / MIL
PIT · Larry Doughty +$0.0M
Lou Thornton
MIL · Harry Dalton +$0.0M
Rubén Rodríguez
Even trade
1989 · SDP / MIL
SDP · Jack McKeon +$2.4M
Dan Murphy
MIL · Harry Dalton −$2.4M
Todd Simmons, Jim Austin
SDP came out ahead by $2.4M
1989 · ATL / MIL
ATL · Bobby Cox +$2.4M
Jay Aldrich
MIL · Harry Dalton −$2.4M
Ed Romero
ATL came out ahead by $2.4M
1989 · CHW / MIL
CHW · Larry Himes +$6.4M
Brian Drahman
MIL · Harry Dalton −$6.4M
Jerry Reuss
CHW came out ahead by $6.4M
1989 · TEX / MIL
TEX · Tom Grieve +$0.0M
LaVel Freeman, Todd Simmons
MIL · Harry Dalton +$0.0M
Scott May, Tack Wilson
Even trade

Current & Historical Payroll

1989 payroll
$11.3M

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 (11)

PlayerAgeSvc1989199019911992199319941995
Paul Molitor3211.000$2.1M$2.6M$3.2M$3.5MFREE AGENT
Robin Yount3315.000$1.1M$3.2M$3.2M$3.2M$2.7MFREE AGENT
Jim Gantner3613.000$900k$700k$1.0M$1.1MFREE AGENT
Greg Brock327.000$700k$788k$938kFREE AGENT
Terry Francona308.000$245k$150kFREE AGENT
Paul Mirabella3511.000$230k$230kFREE AGENT
Dave Engle328.000$165kFREE AGENT
Bill Krueger316.000$150k$325kFREE AGENT
Jerry Reuss4020.000$138kFREE AGENT
Tom Filer327.000$125k$255kFREE AGENT
Ed Romero3112.000$15kFREE AGENT

Arbitration-eligible (14)

PlayerAgeSvc1989199019911992199319941995
Teddy Higuera314.000$1.5MARB 3FREE AGENT
Dan Plesac273.000$765kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Rob Deer285.000$760kFREE AGENT
Bill Wegman264.000$425kARB 3FREE AGENT
Chris Bosio263.000$228kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Glenn Braggs263.000$205kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Gus Polidor274.000$130kARB 3FREE AGENT
Mike Felder274.000$98kARB 3FREE AGENT
Charlie O'Brien294.000$90kARB 3FREE AGENT
Mark Knudson284.000$85kARB 3FREE AGENT
Bryan Clutterbuck293.000$73kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Mike Birkbeck283.000—ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Juan Castillo273.000—ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Ray Krawczyk295.000—FREE AGENT

Pre-arbitration (15)

PlayerAgeSvc1989199019911992199319941995
Chuck Crim272.000$245kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
B.J. Surhoff242.000$185kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Joey Meyer271.000$95kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Gary Sheffield201.000$90kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Billy Bates250.000$68kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Tony Fossas311.000$68kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Jaime Navarro220.000$68kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Jeff Peterek250.000$68kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Bill Spiers230.000$68kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Greg Vaughn230.000$68kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Jay Aldrich282.000—ARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Don August251.000—Pre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
George Canale230.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
LaVel Freeman26–—
Randy Veres230.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT

Graphs

How each 1989 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).
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