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Mets NYM

198598–64 (0.605)
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GM: Frank Cashen

Overview

Ranks vs the 30 teams in 1985, 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
-0
Win %
0.605
TAB
+9.9
WAB
+15.1
Roster composition
Roster fWAR
45.1
Dead money %
20%
Depth Players
8.0
Dead WAR
-4.0

Offense

PoorAverageGreat

Pitching & Defense

PoorAverageGreat

Roster

1985 depth chart — stacked by playing time

C

RGary Carter143
RRonn Reynolds25
LClint Hurdle17

1B

LKeith Hernandez157
RTom Paciorek⇄10
RGary Carter6
LDanny Heep4
RRay Knight1

2B

BWally Backman140
RKelvin Chapman48
RRon Gardenhire5
RRay Knight2
BLarry Bowa⇄1

3B

BHoward Johnson113
RRay Knight73
RRon Gardenhire2
RKelvin Chapman1

SS

RRafael Santana153
RRon Gardenhire13
BLarry Bowa⇄13
BHoward Johnson7
BWally Backman1

LF

RGeorge Foster123
LDanny Heep45
RTom Paciorek⇄19
RJohn Christensen6
BMookie Wilson4
LTerry Blocker3
LClint Hurdle2
RBilly Beane1
BHoward Johnson1
LRusty Staub1

CF

BMookie Wilson83
LLenny Dykstra74
LDarryl Strawberry27
LDanny Heep7
RJohn Christensen2
LTerry Blocker1

RF

LDarryl Strawberry100
RJohn Christensen31
LDanny Heep31
RTom Paciorek⇄18
LClint Hurdle9
RBilly Beane1
RGary Carter1
LRusty Staub1
LTerry Blocker1

DH

—

Starters

RDwight Gooden9.7 WAR
LSid Fernandez3.4 WAR
RRon Darling2.5 WAR
RRick Aguilera2.4 WAR
REd Lynch1.6 WAR
RRoger McDowell1.0 WAR
RTerry Leach0.8 WAR
LBill Latham0.4 WAR
RBruce Berenyi0.2 WAR
RCalvin Schiraldi-0.1 WAR
LTom Gorman-0.4 WAR

Bullpen

★ LJesse Orosco17 sv
RRoger McDowell0 h
RDoug Sisk0 h
LTom Gorman0 h
RTerry Leach0 h
RCalvin Schiraldi0 h
RWes Gardner0 h
LJoe Sambito0 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 1984)

PlayerfWAR
Dwight Gooden9.7
Gary Carter6.7
Keith Hernandez5.0
Darryl Strawberry4.8
Sid Fernandez3.4
Ron Darling2.5

Key subtractions (gone from 1984)

Player1984 fWAR
—

Contract Value

WAR translated into tier-adjusted market value, then compared with what the player was paid by Mets. Guaranteed contracts from the 2015-present contract-data period use the known contract period through 1985; everyone else is shown as a 1985 season snapshot.

PlayerPeriodfWARTier Market $MPaid $MSurplus $M$ / WARTierContract
Dwight Gooden 1985 +9.7 +194.4 0.5 +194.0 $0.0M 2.50× –
Darryl Strawberry 1985 +4.8 +68.1 0.5 +67.6 $0.1M 1.79× –
Gary Carter 1985 +6.7 +68.4 2.0 +66.4 $0.3M 1.28× –
Keith Hernandez 1985 +5.0 +55.2 1.1 +54.1 $0.2M 1.37× –
Ron Darling 1985 +2.5 +39.7 0.2 +39.5 $0.1M 1.96× –
Mookie Wilson 1985 +2.3 +22.6 0.6 +22.0 $0.3M 1.22× –
Ed Lynch 1985 +1.6 +19.4 0.3 +19.0 $0.2M 1.49× –
George Foster 1985 +1.7 +16.8 1.9 +14.8 $1.1M 1.22× –
Wally Backman 1985 +1.8 +11.7 0.2 +11.5 $0.1M 0.82× –
Jesse Orosco 1985 +1.1 +11.9 0.7 +11.3 $0.6M 1.34× –
Roger McDowell 1985 +1.0 +10.4 0.1 +10.3 $0.1M 1.34× –
Danny Heep 1985 +1.0 +6.3 0.3 +6.1 $0.3M 0.83× –
Howard Johnson 1985 +0.6 +2.7 0.1 +2.6 $0.2M 0.58× –
Rusty Staub 1985 +0.3 +2.2 0.3 +1.9 $0.9M 0.83× –
Bruce Berenyi 1985 +0.2 +1.9 0.3 +1.6 $1.4M 1.02× –
Ron Gardenhire 1985 +0.0 +0.0 0.1 -0.1 $24.8M 0.61× –
Tom Paciorek↔ 1985 +0.0 +0.1 0.2 -0.1 $11.7M 0.83× –
Rafael Santana 1985 -0.1 -0.5 0.1 -0.6 – 0.61× –
Larry Bowa↔ 1985 -0.3 -1.2 0.1 -1.3 – 0.61× –
Tom Gorman 1985 -0.4 -2.4 0.1 -2.5 – 0.67× –
Ray Knight 1985 -0.5 -2.1 0.6 -2.7 – 0.58× –
Doug Sisk 1985 -0.6 -3.4 0.3 -3.7 – 0.67× –
Bill Latham 1985 +0.4 +2.0 – – – 0.67× –
Billy Beane 1985 -0.0 -0.0 – – – 0.83× –
Calvin Schiraldi 1985 -0.1 -0.8 – – – 0.67× –
Clint Hurdle 1985 -0.3 -1.4 – – – 0.52× –
Joe Sambito 1985 -0.2 -1.0 – – – 0.67× –
John Christensen 1985 -0.3 -1.7 – – – 0.83× –
Kelvin Chapman 1985 -0.9 -3.9 – – – 0.56× –
Lenny Dykstra 1985 +1.5 +14.7 – – – 1.22× –
Randy Myers 1985 +0.0 +0.2 – – – 0.67× –
Randy Niemann 1985 +0.1 +0.6 – – – 0.67× –
Rick Aguilera 1985 +2.4 +28.8 – – – 1.49× –
Ronn Reynolds 1985 +0.1 +0.3 – – – 0.52× –
Sid Fernandez 1985 +3.4 +52.7 – – – 1.96× –
Terry Blocker 1985 -0.3 -2.2 – – – 0.83× –
Terry Leach 1985 +0.8 +4.2 – – – 0.67× –
Wes Gardner 1985 -0.0 -0.1 – – – 0.67× –
Total—+45.0+614.610.6+511.7—

Trades

Every graded 1985 deal involving the Mets — best expected value first. Surplus is realized value in $M; 8 total.

1985 · NYM / BOS
NYM · Frank Cashen +$85.6M
Tom McCarthy, Bob Ojeda, John Mitchell, Chris Bayer
BOS · Lou Gorman −$85.6M
Calvin Schiraldi, Wes Gardner, John Christensen, La Schelle Tarver
NYM came out ahead by $85.6M
1985 · MIL / KCR / NYM / TEX
MIL · Harry Dalton +$48.8M
Tim Leary, Danny Darwin, Bill Hance
KCR · John Schuerholz −$1.6M
Jim Sundberg
NYM · Frank Cashen −$20.8M
Frank Wills
TEX · Tom Grieve −$26.4M
Don Slaught
MIL came out ahead by $48.8M 4-team
1985 · STL / NYM
STL · Joe McDonald +$73.6M
José Oquendo, Mark Davis
NYM · Frank Cashen −$73.6M
Angel Salazar, John Young
STL came out ahead by $73.6M
1985 · NYM / SEA
NYM · Frank Cashen +$0.0M
Tom Burns
SEA · Hal Keller +$0.0M
Paul Hollins
Even trade
1985 · SEA / NYM
SEA · Hal Keller +$0.0M
Frank Wills
NYM · Frank Cashen +$0.0M
Wray Bergendahl
Even trade
1985 · NYM / CHW
NYM · Frank Cashen +$0.0M
Randy Niemann
CHW · Roland Hemond +$0.0M
Ken Reed, Buck Autry
Even trade
1985 · NYM / SDP
NYM · Frank Cashen +$0.0M
Rick Lancellotti
SDP · Jack McKeon +$0.0M
Rusty Tillman
Even trade
1985 · CHW / NYM
CHW · Roland Hemond +$2.4M
Dave Cochrane
NYM · Frank Cashen −$2.4M
Tom Paciorek
CHW came out ahead by $2.4M

Current & Historical Payroll

1985 payroll
$10.6M

What the front office was committed to as of 1985, 1985–1991. 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 (12)

PlayerAgeSvc1985198619871988198919901991
Gary Carter3111.000$2.0M$2.2M$2.1M$2.2M$2.2MFREE AGENT
George Foster3616.000$1.9M$2.3MFREE AGENT
Keith Hernandez3111.000$1.1M$1.6M$1.8M$1.9M$2.0MFREE AGENT
Jesse Orosco286.000$650k$825k$925kFREE AGENT
Ray Knight3211.000$560k$645kFREE AGENT
Rusty Staub4122.000$300kFREE AGENT
Danny Heep276.000$260k$350kFREE AGENT
Tom Paciorek3815.000$167kFREE AGENT
Larry Bowa3915.000$85kFREE AGENT
Clint Hurdle278.000—FREE AGENT
Randy Niemann296.000—$83kFREE AGENT
Joe Sambito339.000—FREE AGENT

Arbitration-eligible (10)

PlayerAgeSvc1985198619871988198919901991
Mookie Wilson295.000$592kFREE AGENT
Ed Lynch295.000$330kFREE AGENT
Bruce Berenyi305.000$325kFREE AGENT
Doug Sisk273.000$275kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Wally Backman255.000$200kFREE AGENT
Tom Gorman274.000$150kARB 3FREE AGENT
Howard Johnson243.000$115kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Ron Gardenhire274.000$100kARB 3FREE AGENT
Terry Leach314.000—ARB 3FREE AGENT
Ronn Reynolds263.000—ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT

Pre-arbitration (16)

PlayerAgeSvc1985198619871988198919901991
Darryl Strawberry232.000$517kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Dwight Gooden201.000$450kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Ron Darling242.000$230kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Rafael Santana272.000$125kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Roger McDowell240.000$60kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Rick Aguilera230.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Billy Beane231.000—Pre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Terry Blocker250.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Kelvin Chapman29–—
John Christensen241.000—Pre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Lenny Dykstra220.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Sid Fernandez222.000—ARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Wes Gardner241.000—Pre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Bill Latham24–—
Randy Myers220.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Calvin Schiraldi231.000—Pre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT

Graphs

How each 1985 acquisition stacked onto Mets'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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