Rosternomics
Log in Sign up 𝕏

Mets NYM

198987–75 (0.537)
‹ Previous Next ›

GM: Frank Cashen

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
$21M
Surplus $M
-5
Win %
0.537
TAB
+6.4
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)

PlayerfWAR
Frank Viola1.8
Juan Samuel0.8
Julio Machado0.4
Lou Thornton0.3
Tom O'Malley0.3
Jeff McKnight0.1

Key subtractions (gone from 1988)

Player1988 fWAR
Wally Backman2.7
Gene Walter0.1
Ed Nunez0.0
Bob McClure0.0

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.

PlayerPeriodfWARTier Market $MPaid $MSurplus $M$ / WARTierContract
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+541.820.8+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)

PlayerAgeSvc1989199019911992199319941995
Gary Carter3515.000$2.2MFREE AGENT
Keith Hernandez3515.000$2.0MFREE AGENT
Ron Darling286.000$2.0M$1.6M$1.0MFREE AGENT
Kevin McReynolds296.000$2.0M$1.3M$2.3MFREE AGENT$2.9M
Darryl Strawberry276.000$1.5M$1.9MFREE AGENT
Bob Ojeda319.000$925k$1.3MFREE AGENT
Frank Viola297.000$922k$2.0M$3.2MFREE AGENT
Juan Samuel286.000$910kFREE AGENT
Sid Fernandez266.000$795k$1.7M$2.2M$2.2M$2.1MFREE AGENT
Howard Johnson287.000$772k$1.7M$2.2M$2.3M$2.1MFREE AGENT
Mookie Wilson339.000$597kFREE AGENT
Tim Teufel306.000$590k$612k$529kFREE AGENT
Don Aase3412.000$400kFREE AGENT
Lee Mazzilli3413.000$221kFREE AGENT
Tom O'Malley287.000$145k$155kFREE AGENT
Terry Leach358.000$106kFREE AGENT

Arbitration-eligible (12)

PlayerAgeSvc1989199019911992199319941995
Dwight Gooden245.000$2.4MFREE AGENT
David Cone263.000$332kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Randy Myers264.000$300kARB 3FREE AGENT
Roger McDowell284.000$276kARB 3FREE AGENT
Rick Aguilera274.000$237kARB 3FREE AGENT
Lenny Dykstra264.000$221kARB 3FREE AGENT
Dave Magadan263.000$170kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Jeff Musselman263.000$160kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Kevin Elster243.000$140kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Barry Lyons293.000$115kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
John Mitchell233.000—ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Craig Shipley263.000—ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT

Pre-arbitration (14)

PlayerAgeSvc1989199019911992199319941995
Gregg Jefferies212.000$100kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Mackey Sasser262.000$95kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Keith Miller262.000$85kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Jeff Innis262.000$78kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Mark Carreon252.000$70kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
David West241.000$36kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Blaine Beatty25–—
Manny Hernandez28–—
Phil Lombardi26–—
Julio Machado230.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Jeff McKnight260.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Kevin Tapani250.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Lou Thornton26–—
Wally Whitehurst250.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT

Graphs

How each 1989 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).
Privacy Policy · Terms of Service · © 2026 Rosternomics