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Brewers MIL

200890–72 (0.556)Made Playoffs
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GM: Douglas Melvin

Overview

Ranks vs the 30 teams in 2008, or a custom range (defaults to every team-season since 1985, when our data starts).

to

Front Office

PoorAverageGreat
Value
Payroll $M
$86M
Surplus $M
+0
Win %
0.556
TAB
+5.2
WAB
+8.4
Roster composition
Roster fWAR
39.1
Dead money %
44%
Depth Players
7.0
Dead WAR
-2.1

Offense

PoorAverageGreat

Pitching & Defense

PoorAverageGreat

Roster

2008 depth chart — stacked by playing time

C

RJason Kendall149
RMike Rivera17

1B

LPrince Fielder155
LRussell Branyan5
RJoe Dillon4
RMike Rivera3
LBrad Nelson2

2B

RRickie Weeks Jr.120
BRay Durham⇄41
LCraig Counsell19
RBill Hall6
RJoe Dillon6
LHernan Iribarren2

3B

RBill Hall113
LCraig Counsell38
LRussell Branyan35
LMike Lamb⇄11
LMat Gamel1
RJoe Dillon1

SS

RJ.J. Hardy145
LCraig Counsell24
RAlcides Escobar2

LF

RRyan Braun149
RGabe Kapler17
LGabe Gross⇄2
RJoe Dillon2
LLaynce Nix2
LTony Gwynn Jr.1

CF

RMike Cameron119
RGabe Kapler36
LTony Gwynn Jr.7
LHernan Iribarren1

RF

RCorey Hart156
RGabe Kapler14
LTony Gwynn Jr.2

DH

LPrince Fielder4
RRyan Braun1
LTony Gwynn Jr.1

Starters

LCC Sabathia⇄5.0 WAR
RBen Sheets4.3 WAR
LManny Parra2.8 WAR
RDave Bush1.0 WAR
RSeth McClung0.9 WAR
RCarlos Villanueva0.7 WAR
RYovani Gallardo0.4 WAR
RJeff Suppan0.0 WAR

Bullpen

★ RSalomon Torres28 sv
LBrian Shouse15 h
RGuillermo Mota11 h
RDavid Riske11 h
REric Gagne7 h
LMitch Stetter4 h
RMark DiFelice1 h
RTim Dillard1 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 2007)

PlayerfWAR
CC Sabathia5.0
Mike Cameron4.0
Jason Kendall1.7
Gabe Kapler1.7
Russell Branyan1.3
Ray Durham1.1

Key subtractions (gone from 2007)

Player2007 fWAR
Francisco Cordero2.4
Chris Capuano2.2
Geoff Jenkins1.2
Kevin Mench1.1
Tony Graffanino0.8
Matt Wise0.7

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 2008; everyone else is shown as a 2008 season snapshot.

PlayerPeriodfWARTier Market $MPaid $MSurplus $M$ / WARTierContract
CC Sabathia↔ 2008 +5.0 +87.4 5.3 +82.1 $1.1M 2.19× –
Ryan Braun 2008 +4.5 +65.1 0.5 +64.6 $0.1M 1.79× –
Ben Sheets 2008 +4.3 +76.2 12.1 +64.1 $2.8M 2.19× –
Mike Cameron 2008 +4.0 +57.3 6.2 +51.0 $1.6M 1.79× –
Manny Parra 2008 +2.8 +43.5 0.4 +43.1 $0.1M 1.96× –
J.J. Hardy 2008 +4.0 +42.3 2.6 +39.7 $0.7M 1.32× –
Gabe Kapler 2008 +1.7 +16.2 0.8 +15.4 $0.5M 1.22× –
Rickie Weeks Jr. 2008 +2.0 +13.2 1.1 +12.1 $0.5M 0.82× –
Jason Kendall 2008 +1.7 +10.2 4.2 +6.0 $2.5M 0.76× –
Dave Bush 2008 +1.0 +7.8 2.5 +5.3 $2.7M 1.02× –
Prince Fielder 2008 +1.3 +5.8 0.7 +5.1 $0.5M 0.56× –
Corey Hart 2008 +0.8 +5.2 0.4 +4.7 $0.6M 0.83× –
Seth McClung 2008 +0.9 +5.0 0.8 +4.3 $0.8M 0.67× –
Carlos Villanueva 2008 +0.7 +3.5 0.4 +3.1 $0.6M 0.67× –
Yovani Gallardo 2008 +0.4 +3.4 0.4 +3.0 $1.0M 1.02× –
Ray Durham↔ 2008 +1.1 +4.9 2.4 +2.5 $2.2M 0.56× –
Gabe Gross↔ 2008 +0.4 +2.4 0.0 +2.3 $0.1M 0.83× –
Brian Shouse 2008 +0.4 +4.2 2.0 +2.2 $5.0M 1.34× –
Mike Rivera 2008 +0.4 +1.7 0.4 +1.3 $1.0M 0.52× –
Todd Coffey↔ 2008 +0.2 +1.2 0.3 +0.9 $1.4M 0.67× –
Craig Counsell 2008 +0.7 +3.4 2.8 +0.6 $3.9M 0.58× –
Julian Tavarez↔ 2008 +0.1 +0.8 0.5 +0.3 $3.6M 0.67× –
Salomon Torres 2008 +0.3 +3.6 3.3 +0.2 $10.0M 1.34× –
Tony Gwynn Jr. 2008 +0.1 +0.6 0.4 +0.2 $4.4M 0.83× –
Joe Dillon 2008 -0.0 -0.0 0.4 -0.4 – 0.56× –
Mike Lamb↔ 2008 -0.1 -0.5 0.4 -0.9 – 0.58× –
Laynce Nix 2008 -0.1 -0.8 0.5 -1.3 – 0.83× –
Bill Hall 2008 +0.7 +3.2 4.9 -1.7 $7.1M 0.58× –
Guillermo Mota 2008 +0.1 +0.4 3.2 -2.8 $44.5M 0.67× –
Derrick Turnbow 2008 -0.4 -2.0 3.4 -5.3 – 0.67× –
Jeff Suppan 2008 +0.0 +0.1 8.2 -8.2 $858.5M 1.02× –
David Riske 2008 -0.4 -4.6 4.0 -8.6 – 1.34× –
Eric Gagne 2008 -0.9 -9.7 10.0 -19.7 – 1.34× –
Alcides Escobar 2008 +0.1 +0.4 – – – 0.61× –
Angel Salome 2008 -0.1 -0.4 – – – 0.65× –
Brad Nelson 2008 +0.1 +0.3 – – – 0.56× –
Hernan Iribarren 2008 -0.0 -0.2 – – – 0.56× –
Mark DiFelice 2008 +0.0 +0.3 – – – 0.67× –
Mat Gamel 2008 +0.1 +0.3 – – – 0.58× –
Mitch Stetter 2008 +0.1 +0.7 – – – 0.67× –
Russell Branyan 2008 +1.3 +5.8 – – – 0.58× –
Tim Dillard 2008 -0.1 -0.3 – – – 0.67× –
Vinny Rottino 2008 -0.0 -0.2 – – – 0.83× –
Zach Jackson↔ 2008 +0.0 +0.0 – – – 0.67× –
Total—+39.2+457.785.5+365.2—

Trades

Every graded 2008 deal involving the Brewers — best expected value first. Surplus is realized value in $M; 3 total.

2008 · CLE / MIL
CLE · Mark Shapiro +$60.0M
Zach Jackson, Matt LaPorta, Rob Bryson, Michael Brantley
MIL · Douglas Melvin −$60.0M
CC Sabathia
CLE came out ahead by $60.0M
2008 · SFG / MIL
SFG · Brian Sabean +$8.8M
Darren Ford, Steve Hammond
MIL · Douglas Melvin −$8.8M
Ray Durham
SFG came out ahead by $8.8M
2008 · TBR / MIL
TBR · Andrew Friedman +$16.0M
Gabe Gross
MIL · Douglas Melvin −$16.0M
Josh Butler
TBR came out ahead by $16.0M

Current & Historical Payroll

2008 payroll
$85.8M

What the front office was committed to as of 2008, 2008–2014. 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 (19)

PlayerAgeSvc2008200920102011201220132014
Ben Sheets297.000$12.1MFREE AGENT
Eric Gagne329.000$10.0MFREE AGENT
Jeff Suppan3313.000$8.2M$12.8M$6.4MFREE AGENT
Mike Cameron3513.000$6.2M$10.0MFREE AGENT
CC Sabathia277.000$5.3MFREE AGENT
Bill Hall286.000$4.9M$4.8MFREE AGENT
Jason Kendall3412.000$4.2M$5.0MFREE AGENT
David Riske319.000$4.0M$4.2M$4.5MFREE AGENT
Derrick Turnbow308.000$3.4MFREE AGENT
Salomon Torres3615.000$3.3MFREE AGENT
Guillermo Mota349.000$3.2MFREE AGENT
Craig Counsell3713.000$2.8M$1.0M$2.1M$1.4MFREE AGENT
Ray Durham3613.000$2.4MFREE AGENT
Brian Shouse3915.000$2.0MFREE AGENT
Gabe Kapler3210.000$800kFREE AGENT
Julian Tavarez3515.000$518kFREE AGENT
Mike Lamb328.000$418kFREE AGENT
Mike Rivera317.000$395k$415kFREE AGENT
Russell Branyan3210.000—FREE AGENT

Arbitration-eligible (10)

PlayerAgeSvc2008200920102011201220132014
J.J. Hardy253.000$2.6MARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Dave Bush284.000$2.5MARB 3FREE AGENT
Rickie Weeks Jr.255.000$1.1MFREE AGENT
Seth McClung275.000$750kFREE AGENT
Prince Fielder243.000$670kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Laynce Nix275.000$475kFREE AGENT
Corey Hart264.000$444kARB 3FREE AGENT
Joe Dillon323.000$393kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Todd Coffey273.000$314kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Gabe Gross284.000$46kARB 3FREE AGENT

Pre-arbitration (15)

PlayerAgeSvc2008200920102011201220132014
Ryan Braun241.000$455kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Carlos Villanueva242.000$413kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Yovani Gallardo221.000$404kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Tony Gwynn Jr.252.000$398kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Manny Parra251.000$392kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Brad Nelson250.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Zach Jackson252.000—ARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Mark DiFelice310.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Alcides Escobar210.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Angel Salome22–—
Mitch Stetter271.000—Pre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Mat Gamel220.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Hernan Iribarren240.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Vinny Rottino280.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Tim Dillard240.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT

Graphs

How each 2008 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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