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Mets NYM

198792–70 (0.568)
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GM: Frank Cashen

Overview

Ranks vs the 30 teams in 1987, or a custom range (defaults to every team-season since 1985, when our data starts).

to

Front Office

PoorAverageGreat
Value
Payroll $M
$14M
Surplus $M
-1
Win %
0.568
TAB
+10.7
WAB
+6.7
Roster composition
Roster fWAR
48.2
Dead money %
16%
Depth Players
10.0
Dead WAR
-0.4

Offense

PoorAverageGreat

Pitching & Defense

PoorAverageGreat

Roster

1987 depth chart — stacked by playing time

C

RGary Carter135
RBarry Lyons49

1B

LKeith Hernandez154
LDave Magadan14
BLee Mazzilli13
BGregg Jefferies6
RGary Carter4
RRandy Milligan3
RBill Almon⇄2
LClint Hurdle1
RTim Teufel1

2B

RTim Teufel92
BWally Backman88
RKeith Miller16
RBill Almon⇄10

3B

BHoward Johnson140
LDave Magadan50

SS

RRafael Santana138
BHoward Johnson38
RBill Almon⇄26
RAl Pedrique⇄5
RKevin Elster3

LF

RKevin McReynolds150
BMookie Wilson20
BLee Mazzilli12
RMark Carreon5
BHoward Johnson2

CF

LLenny Dykstra118
BMookie Wilson88
BLee Mazzilli2

RF

LDarryl Strawberry151
BMookie Wilson14
BLee Mazzilli13
RBill Almon⇄1
RGary Carter1

DH

—

Starters

RDwight Gooden4.8 WAR
LSid Fernandez2.1 WAR
RRon Darling2.0 WAR
RRick Aguilera1.9 WAR
RJohn Mitchell1.7 WAR
RTerry Leach0.9 WAR
LBob Ojeda0.5 WAR
RDavid Cone0.4 WAR
LJohn Candelaria⇄0.3 WAR
RJeff Innis0.1 WAR
RDon Schulze-0.1 WAR
RTom Edens-0.2 WAR

Bullpen

★ RRoger McDowell25 sv
LJesse Orosco0 h
RDoug Sisk0 h
LRandy Myers0 h
LGene Walter0 h
RJeff Innis0 h
RDon Schulze0 h
LJohn Candelaria⇄0 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 1986)

PlayerfWAR
Kevin McReynolds2.2
Keith Miller1.1
David Cone0.4
John Candelaria0.3
Gregg Jefferies0.1
Jeff Innis0.1

Key subtractions (gone from 1986)

Player1986 fWAR
Kevin Mitchell2.7
Ray Knight2.7
Danny Heep0.8
John Gibbons0.6
Rick Anderson0.5
Ed Hearn0.4

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 1987; everyone else is shown as a 1987 season snapshot.

PlayerPeriodfWARTier Market $MPaid $MSurplus $M$ / WARTierContract
Darryl Strawberry 1987 +5.5 +90.0 1.2 +88.8 $0.2M 2.05× –
Dwight Gooden 1987 +4.8 +83.7 1.5 +82.2 $0.3M 2.19× –
Howard Johnson 1987 +4.3 +42.5 0.3 +42.2 $0.1M 1.25× –
Lenny Dykstra 1987 +3.1 +39.5 0.2 +39.3 $0.1M 1.60× –
Keith Hernandez 1987 +3.6 +34.5 1.8 +32.7 $0.5M 1.20× –
Tim Teufel 1987 +3.1 +27.0 0.3 +26.7 $0.1M 1.07× –
Sid Fernandez 1987 +2.1 +24.6 0.3 +24.2 $0.1M 1.49× –
Randy Myers 1987 +1.5 +23.8 0.1 +23.7 $0.0M 1.95× –
Ron Darling 1987 +2.0 +24.0 1.1 +23.0 $0.5M 1.49× –
Rick Aguilera 1987 +1.9 +23.0 0.2 +22.8 $0.1M 1.49× –
Mookie Wilson 1987 +2.4 +23.1 0.8 +22.3 $0.3M 1.22× –
Kevin McReynolds 1987 +2.2 +21.4 0.6 +20.7 $0.3M 1.22× –
Jesse Orosco 1987 +1.5 +15.9 0.9 +14.9 $0.6M 1.34× –
Dave Magadan 1987 +1.8 +12.4 0.1 +12.4 $0.0M 0.85× –
Keith Miller 1987 +1.1 +4.8 0.1 +4.8 $0.1M 0.56× –
Terry Leach 1987 +0.9 +4.6 0.1 +4.5 $0.1M 0.67× –
Lee Mazzilli 1987 +1.0 +4.2 0.1 +4.2 $0.1M 0.56× –
Gary Carter 1987 +1.4 +6.0 2.1 +4.0 $1.4M 0.52× –
Rafael Santana 1987 +0.7 +3.6 0.2 +3.3 $0.3M 0.61× –
Bob Ojeda 1987 +0.5 +3.7 0.7 +3.0 $1.4M 1.02× –
David Cone 1987 +0.4 +3.0 0.1 +3.0 $0.2M 1.02× –
John Candelaria↔ 1987 +0.3 +2.4 0.1 +2.3 $0.3M 1.02× –
Doug Sisk 1987 +0.3 +1.8 0.3 +1.5 $1.0M 0.67× –
Roger McDowell 1987 +0.1 +1.3 0.3 +1.0 $2.4M 1.34× –
Barry Lyons 1987 +0.0 +0.1 0.1 +0.1 $2.1M 0.52× –
Bill Almon↔ 1987 +0.0 +0.2 0.2 +0.1 $3.8M 0.61× –
Wally Backman 1987 +0.1 +0.3 0.6 -0.2 $8.0M 0.56× –
Al Pedrique↔ 1987 -0.1 -0.5 – – – 0.61× –
Bob Gibson 1987 +0.0 +0.1 – – – 0.67× –
Clint Hurdle 1987 +0.0 +0.0 – – – 0.56× –
Don Schulze 1987 -0.1 -0.4 – – – 1.02× –
Gene Walter 1987 -0.0 -0.2 – – – 0.67× –
Gregg Jefferies 1987 +0.1 +0.5 – – – 0.56× –
Jeff Innis 1987 +0.1 +0.4 – – – 0.67× –
John Mitchell 1987 +1.7 +20.2 – – – 1.49× –
Kevin Elster 1987 +0.1 +0.7 – – – 0.61× –
Mark Carreon 1987 -0.1 -0.5 – – – 0.83× –
Randy Milligan 1987 +0.0 +0.1 – – – 0.56× –
Tom Edens 1987 -0.2 -1.3 – – – 1.02× –
Total—+48.1+540.514.4+507.5—

Trades

Every graded 1987 deal involving the Mets — best expected value first. Surplus is realized value in $M; 10 total.

1987 · ANA / NYM
ANA · Mike Port +$8.8M
Shane Young, Jeff Richardson
NYM · Frank Cashen −$8.8M
John Candelaria
ANA came out ahead by $8.8M
1987 · CLE / NYM
CLE · Joe Klein +$1.6M
Ricky Nelson
NYM · Frank Cashen −$1.6M
Don Schulze
CLE came out ahead by $1.6M
1987 · MIN / NYM
MIN · Andy MacPhail +$0.0M
Jason Felice
NYM · Frank Cashen +$0.0M
Bill Latham
Even trade
1987 · NYM / ATL
NYM · Frank Cashen +$6.4M
Kevin Brown
ATL · Bobby Cox −$6.4M
Terry Blocker
NYM came out ahead by $6.4M
1987 · NYM / BAL
NYM · Frank Cashen +$4.8M
Blaine Beatty, Greg Talamantez
BAL · Hank Peters −$4.8M
Doug Sisk
NYM came out ahead by $4.8M
1987 · PIT / NYM
PIT · Syd Thrift +$5.6M
Al Pedrique, Scott Little
NYM · Frank Cashen −$5.6M
Bill Almon
PIT came out ahead by $5.6M
1987 · NYM / NYY
NYM · Frank Cashen +$8.0M
Darren Reed, Phil Lombardi, Steve Frey
NYY · Woody Woodward −$8.0M
Rafael Santana, Victor Garcia
NYM came out ahead by $8.0M
1987 · CLE / NYM
CLE · Joe Klein +$0.0M
Mike Westbrook
NYM · Frank Cashen +$0.0M
José Román
Even trade
1987 · NYM / KCR
NYM · Frank Cashen +$238.4M
David Cone, Chris Jelic
KCR · John Schuerholz −$238.4M
Ed Hearn, Rick Anderson, Mauro Gozzo
NYM came out ahead by $238.4M
1987 · OAK / NYM / LAD
OAK · Sandy Alderson +$83.2M
Bob Welch, Matt Young
NYM · Frank Cashen +$32.0M
Kevin Tapani, Wally Whitehurst, Jack Savage
LAD · Al Campanis −$115.2M
Jesse Orosco, Alfredo Griffin, Jay Howell
OAK came out ahead by $83.2M 3-team

Current & Historical Payroll

1987 payroll
$14.1M

What the front office was committed to as of 1987, 1987–1993. 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)

PlayerAgeSvc1987198819891990199119921993
Gary Carter3313.000$2.1M$2.2M$2.2MFREE AGENT
Keith Hernandez3313.000$1.8M$1.9M$2.0MFREE AGENT
Jesse Orosco308.000$925kFREE AGENT
Mookie Wilson317.000$800k$900k$597kFREE AGENT
Bob Ojeda297.000$650k$725k$925k$1.3MFREE AGENT
Wally Backman277.000$550k$650kFREE AGENT
Bill Almon3413.000$180kFREE AGENT
John Candelaria3312.000$104kFREE AGENT
Terry Leach336.000$95k$190k$319kFREE AGENT
Lee Mazzilli3211.000$62k$350k$221kFREE AGENT
Clint Hurdle2910.000—FREE AGENT

Arbitration-eligible (10)

PlayerAgeSvc1987198819891990199119921993
Dwight Gooden223.000$1.5MARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Darryl Strawberry254.000$1.2MARB 3FREE AGENT
Ron Darling264.000$1.1MARB 3FREE AGENT
Kevin McReynolds274.000$625kARB 3FREE AGENT
Doug Sisk295.000$330kFREE AGENT
Sid Fernandez244.000$308kARB 3FREE AGENT
Howard Johnson265.000$298kFREE AGENT
Tim Teufel284.000$278kARB 3FREE AGENT
Rafael Santana294.000$250kARB 3FREE AGENT
Don Schulze244.000—ARB 3FREE AGENT

Pre-arbitration (18)

PlayerAgeSvc1987198819891990199119921993
Roger McDowell262.000$305kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Lenny Dykstra242.000$202kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Rick Aguilera252.000$195kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Randy Myers242.000$68kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
David Cone241.000$62kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Keith Miller240.000$62kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Barry Lyons271.000$62kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Dave Magadan241.000$62kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Mark Carreon230.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Tom Edens260.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Kevin Elster221.000—Pre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Bob Gibson30–—
Jeff Innis240.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Gregg Jefferies190.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Randy Milligan250.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
John Mitchell211.000—Pre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Al Pedrique260.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Gene Walter262.000—ARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT

Graphs

How each 1987 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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