Mets — Front Office

Overview

Ranks vs the 30 teams in 1989, or a custom range (defaults to every team-season since 1985, when our data starts).

Front Office

PoorAverageGreat

Value

Payroll $M

$21M

Surplus $M

-5

Win %

0.537

TAB

+6.3

WAB

-0.4

Roster composition

Roster fWAR

45.7

Dead money %

31%

Depth Players

9.0

Dead WAR

-1.3

Offense

PoorAverageGreat

Pitching & Defense

PoorAverageGreat

Roster

1989 depth chart — stacked by playing time

C

RBarry Lyons76

LMackey Sasser62

RGary Carter47

RPhil Lombardi16

1B

LDave Magadan87

LKeith Hernandez58

RTim Teufel33

RGary Carter1

BJeff McKnight1

RPhil Lombardi1

2B

BGregg Jefferies123

RTim Teufel40

RKeith Miller23

BJeff McKnight4

3B

BHoward Johnson143

LDave Magadan28

BGregg Jefferies20

LTom O'Malley3

RCraig Shipley2

RKeith Miller2

BJeff McKnight1

LMackey Sasser1

SS

RKevin Elster150

BHoward Johnson31

RKeith Miller8

RCraig Shipley3

BJeff McKnight1

LF

RKevin McReynolds145

RMark Carreon18

BLee Mazzilli⇄4

LLou Thornton3

CF

RJuan Samuel⇄86

RKeith Miller10

BLee Mazzilli⇄1

LLou Thornton1

RF

LDarryl Strawberry131

RMark Carreon21

RKeith Miller4

LLou Thornton2

DH

—

Starters

RDavid Cone3.9 WAR

LSid Fernandez3.7 WAR

RRon Darling2.8 WAR

RDwight Gooden2.0 WAR

LFrank Viola⇄1.8 WAR

LBob Ojeda0.8 WAR

LBlaine Beatty0.0 WAR

RWally Whitehurst-0.1 WAR

LDavid West⇄-0.3 WAR

Bullpen

★ LRandy Myers24 sv

RDon Aase0 h

RRick Aguilera⇄0 h

RJeff Innis0 h

RRoger McDowell⇄0 h

LJeff Musselman⇄0 h

LDavid West⇄0 h

RTerry Leach⇄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 1988)

Player	fWAR
Frank Viola	1.8
Juan Samuel	0.8
Julio Machado	0.4
Lou Thornton	0.3
Tom O'Malley	0.3
Jeff McKnight	0.1

Key subtractions (gone from 1988)

Player	1988 fWAR
Wally Backman	2.7
Gene Walter	0.1
Ed Nunez	0.0
Bob McClure	0.0

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

Player	Period	fWAR	Tier Market $M	Paid $M	Surplus $M	$ / WAR	Tier	Contract
Howard Johnson	1989	+7.0	+80.5	0.8	+79.7	$0.1M	1.43×	–
David Cone	1989	+3.9	+67.5	0.3	+67.2	$0.1M	2.19×	–
Sid Fernandez	1989	+3.7	+65.7	0.8	+64.9	$0.2M	2.19×	–
Darryl Strawberry	1989	+4.3	+61.4	1.5	+59.9	$0.3M	1.79×	–
Kevin McReynolds	1989	+3.4	+43.7	2.0	+41.8	$0.6M	1.60×	–
Ron Darling	1989	+2.8	+43.1	2.0	+41.1	$0.7M	1.96×	–
Randy Myers	1989	+1.6	+24.5	0.3	+24.2	$0.2M	1.95×	–
Dave Magadan	1989	+2.7	+22.8	0.2	+22.7	$0.1M	1.07×	–
Lenny Dykstra↔	1989	+2.2	+21.6	0.2	+21.4	$0.1M	1.22×	–
Dwight Gooden	1989	+2.0	+23.3	2.4	+20.9	$1.2M	1.49×	–
Frank Viola↔	1989	+1.8	+21.5	0.9	+20.6	$0.5M	1.49×	–
Kevin Elster	1989	+2.2	+15.5	0.1	+15.4	$0.1M	0.89×	–
Rick Aguilera↔	1989	+1.7	+13.0	0.2	+12.8	$0.1M	0.98×	–
Mark Carreon	1989	+1.2	+7.9	0.1	+7.8	$0.1M	0.83×	–
Bob Ojeda	1989	+0.8	+6.1	0.9	+5.2	$1.2M	1.02×	–
Gregg Jefferies	1989	+1.1	+5.0	0.1	+4.9	$0.1M	0.56×	–
Juan Samuel↔	1989	+0.8	+5.2	0.9	+4.3	$1.2M	0.83×	–
Mackey Sasser	1989	+1.0	+4.1	0.1	+4.0	$0.1M	0.52×	–
Tim Teufel	1989	+0.9	+4.1	0.6	+3.5	$0.6M	0.56×	–
Lee Mazzilli↔	1989	+0.3	+1.8	0.2	+1.6	$0.8M	0.83×	–
Mookie Wilson↔	1989	+0.3	+2.1	0.6	+1.5	$1.9M	0.83×	–
Tom O'Malley	1989	+0.3	+1.2	0.1	+1.1	$0.5M	0.58×	–
Jeff Innis	1989	+0.1	+0.8	0.1	+0.7	$0.5M	0.67×	–
Barry Lyons	1989	+0.1	+0.4	0.1	+0.3	$1.1M	0.52×	–
Keith Miller	1989	-0.0	-0.2	0.1	-0.3	–	0.56×	–
Roger McDowell↔	1989	-0.0	-0.0	0.3	-0.3	–	0.67×	–
Jeff Musselman↔	1989	-0.1	-0.3	0.2	-0.5	–	0.67×	–
Terry Leach↔	1989	-0.1	-0.5	0.1	-0.6	–	0.67×	–
Keith Hernandez	1989	+0.2	+0.9	2.0	-1.1	$9.5M	0.56×	–
David West↔	1989	-0.3	-1.3	0.0	-1.4	–	0.67×	–
Don Aase	1989	-0.4	-1.9	0.4	-2.3	–	0.67×	–
Gary Carter	1989	-0.1	-0.6	2.2	-2.8	–	0.52×	–
Blaine Beatty	1989	+0.0	+0.1	–	–	–	1.02×	–
Craig Shipley	1989	+0.0	+0.1	–	–	–	0.61×	–
Jeff McKnight	1989	+0.1	+0.6	–	–	–	0.56×	–
John Mitchell	1989	-0.0	-0.1	–	–	–	0.67×	–
Julio Machado	1989	+0.4	+1.9	–	–	–	0.67×	–
Kevin Tapani↔	1989	-0.1	-0.7	–	–	–	0.67×	–
Lou Thornton	1989	+0.3	+1.8	–	–	–	0.83×	–
Manny Hernandez	1989	+0.0	+0.1	–	–	–	0.67×	–
Phil Lombardi	1989	-0.1	-0.6	–	–	–	0.52×	–
Wally Whitehurst	1989	-0.1	-0.3	–	–	–	0.67×	–
Total	—	+45.9	+541.8	20.8	+518.2	—

Trades

Every graded 1989 deal involving the Mets — best expected value first. Surplus is realized value in $M; 10 total.

1989 · MIN / NYM

MIN · Andy MacPhail +$107.2M

Rick Aguilera, David West, Kevin Tapani, Tim Drummond, Jack Savage

NYM · Frank Cashen −$107.2M

Frank Viola

MIN came out ahead by $107.2M

1989 · LAD / NYM

LAD · Fred Claire +$11.2M

Juan Samuel

NYM · Frank Cashen −$11.2M

Alejandro Peña, Mike Marshall

LAD came out ahead by $11.2M

1989 · NYM / WSN

NYM · Frank Cashen +$8.0M

Mark Bailey, Tom O'Malley

WSN · Dave Dombrowski −$8.0M

Steve Frey

NYM came out ahead by $8.0M

1989 · SDP / NYM

SDP · Jack McKeon +$1.6M

Rich Rodriguez

NYM · Frank Cashen −$1.6M

Brad Pounders, Bill Stevenson

SDP came out ahead by $1.6M

1989 · NYM / KCR

NYM · Frank Cashen +$4.8M

Aguedo Vasquez

KCR · John Schuerholz −$4.8M

Terry Leach

NYM came out ahead by $4.8M

1989 · NYM / NYY

NYM · Frank Cashen +$3.2M

Scott Nielsen

NYY · Bob Quinn −$3.2M

Marcus Lawton

NYM came out ahead by $3.2M

1989 · BAL / NYM

BAL · Roland Hemond +$8.0M

John Mitchell, Joaquin Contreras

NYM · Frank Cashen −$8.0M

Keith Hughes, Cesar Mejia

BAL came out ahead by $8.0M

1989 · NYM / TOR

NYM · Frank Cashen +$4.0M

Jeff Musselman, Mike Brady

TOR · Pat Gillick −$4.0M

Mookie Wilson

NYM came out ahead by $4.0M

1989 · PHI / NYM

PHI · Lee Thomas +$212.0M

Lenny Dykstra, Roger McDowell, Tom Edens

NYM · Frank Cashen −$212.0M

Juan Samuel

PHI came out ahead by $212.0M

1989 · CIN / NYM

CIN · Murray Cook +$30.4M

Randy Myers, Kip Gross

NYM · Frank Cashen −$30.4M

John Franco, Don Brown

CIN came out ahead by $30.4M

Current & Historical Payroll

1989 payroll

$20.8M

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 (16)

Player	Age	Svc	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994
Gary Carter	35	15.000	$2.2M	FREE AGENT
Keith Hernandez	35	15.000	$2.0M	FREE AGENT
Ron Darling	28	6.000	$2.0M	$1.6M	$1.0M	FREE AGENT
Kevin McReynolds	29	6.000	$2.0M	$1.3M	$2.3M	FREE AGENT		$2.9M
Darryl Strawberry	27	6.000	$1.5M	$1.9M	FREE AGENT
Bob Ojeda	31	9.000	$925k	$1.3M	FREE AGENT
Frank Viola	29	7.000	$922k	$2.0M	$3.2M	FREE AGENT
Juan Samuel	28	6.000	$910k	FREE AGENT
Sid Fernandez	26	6.000	$795k	$1.7M	$2.2M	$2.2M	$2.1M	FREE AGENT
Howard Johnson	28	7.000	$772k	$1.7M	$2.2M	$2.3M	$2.1M	FREE AGENT
Mookie Wilson	33	9.000	$597k	FREE AGENT
Tim Teufel	30	6.000	$590k	$612k	$529k	FREE AGENT
Don Aase	34	12.000	$400k	FREE AGENT
Lee Mazzilli	34	13.000	$221k	FREE AGENT
Tom O'Malley	28	7.000	$145k	$155k	FREE AGENT
Terry Leach	35	8.000	$106k	FREE AGENT

Arbitration-eligible (12)

Player	Age	Svc	1989	1990	1991	1992
Dwight Gooden	24	5.000	$2.4M	FREE AGENT
David Cone	26	3.000	$332k	ARB 2	ARB 3	FREE AGENT
Randy Myers	26	4.000	$300k	ARB 3	FREE AGENT
Roger McDowell	28	4.000	$276k	ARB 3	FREE AGENT
Rick Aguilera	27	4.000	$237k	ARB 3	FREE AGENT
Lenny Dykstra	26	4.000	$221k	ARB 3	FREE AGENT
Dave Magadan	26	3.000	$170k	ARB 2	ARB 3	FREE AGENT
Jeff Musselman	26	3.000	$160k	ARB 2	ARB 3	FREE AGENT
Kevin Elster	24	3.000	$140k	ARB 2	ARB 3	FREE AGENT
Barry Lyons	29	3.000	$115k	ARB 2	ARB 3	FREE AGENT
John Mitchell	23	3.000	—	ARB 2	ARB 3	FREE AGENT
Craig Shipley	26	3.000	—	ARB 2	ARB 3	FREE AGENT

Pre-arbitration (14)

Player	Age	Svc	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995
Gregg Jefferies	21	2.000	$100k	ARB 1	ARB 2	ARB 3	FREE AGENT
Mackey Sasser	26	2.000	$95k	ARB 1	ARB 2	ARB 3	FREE AGENT
Keith Miller	26	2.000	$85k	ARB 1	ARB 2	ARB 3	FREE AGENT
Jeff Innis	26	2.000	$78k	ARB 1	ARB 2	ARB 3	FREE AGENT
Mark Carreon	25	2.000	$70k	ARB 1	ARB 2	ARB 3	FREE AGENT
David West	24	1.000	$36k	Pre-Arb	ARB 1	ARB 2	ARB 3	FREE AGENT
Blaine Beatty	25	–	—
Manny Hernandez	28	–	—
Phil Lombardi	26	–	—
Julio Machado	23	0.000	—	Pre-Arb	Pre-Arb	ARB 1	ARB 2	ARB 3	FREE AGENT
Jeff McKnight	26	0.000	—	Pre-Arb	Pre-Arb	ARB 1	ARB 2	ARB 3	FREE AGENT
Kevin Tapani	25	0.000	—	Pre-Arb	Pre-Arb	ARB 1	ARB 2	ARB 3	FREE AGENT
Lou Thornton	26	–	—
Wally Whitehurst	25	0.000	—	Pre-Arb	Pre-Arb	ARB 1	ARB 2	ARB 3	FREE AGENT

Graphs

Regime	Seasons	Win %	Playoff %	Pennant %	WS %
WINDOW	290	52.2	31.4	4.8	1.0
CONTEND	308	56.8	64.9	19.2	10.1
FORCED-SPEND	262	48.0	10.3	1.5	1.5
REBUILD	328	43.3	1.2	0.3	0.3

How each 1989 acquisition stacked onto Mets's playoff-odds curve. The side table is ranked by PPA.

East

Central

West

East

Central

West

East

Central

West

East

Central

West

Mets NYM

Overview

Front Office

Offense

Pitching & Defense

Roster

1989 depth chart — stacked by playing time

C

1B

2B

3B

SS

LF

CF

RF

DH

Starters

Bullpen

Key additions (new vs 1988)

Key subtractions (gone from 1988)

Contract Value

Trades

Current & Historical Payroll

Guaranteed / signed (16)

Arbitration-eligible (12)

Pre-arbitration (14)

Graphs

What each regime is worth — every settled team-season since 1985

Mets NYM

Overview

Front Office

Offense All positionsC1B2B3BSSOF (LF/CF/RF)LFCFRFINF (1B/2B/3B/SS)Middle infield (2B/SS)C/DH

Pitching & Defense ALL SP RP

Roster

1989 depth chart — stacked by playing time

C

1B

2B

3B

SS

LF

CF

RF

DH

Starters

Bullpen

Key additions (new vs 1988)

Key subtractions (gone from 1988)

Contract Value

Trades

Current & Historical Payroll

Guaranteed / signed (16)

Arbitration-eligible (12)

Pre-arbitration (14)

Graphs

What each regime is worth — every settled team-season since 1985

Offense

Pitching & Defense