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Athletics OAK

198781–81 (0.500)
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GM: Sandy Alderson

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
$13M
Surplus $M
-2
Win %
0.500
TAB
+0.8
WAB
-2.9
Roster composition
Roster fWAR
36.9
Dead money %
48%
Depth Players
5.0
Dead WAR
-3.1

Offense

PoorAverageGreat

Pitching & Defense

PoorAverageGreat

Roster

1987 depth chart — stacked by playing time

C

RTerry Steinbach107
BMickey Tettleton80
RMatt Sinatro6
RBrian Harper6
LJerry Willard4

1B

RMark McGwire145
RCarney Lansford17
LRob Nelson⇄7
RRon Cey7
BStan Javier6
LDwayne Murphy1
BMickey Tettleton1
RTerry Steinbach1

2B

BTony Phillips88
BTony Bernazard⇄60
RMike Gallego31
RJohnnie LeMaster5
LDwayne Murphy1
BAlfredo Griffin1

3B

RCarney Lansford142
RMike Gallego24
BTony Phillips11
RTerry Steinbach10
RMark McGwire8
RJohnnie LeMaster7
RRon Cey3
LJerry Willard1

SS

BAlfredo Griffin137
RMike Gallego16
BWalt Weiss11
BTony Phillips9
RJohnnie LeMaster7

LF

RJosé Canseco130
LLuis Polonia35
BStan Javier8
RSteve Henderson5
RBrian Harper1
BTony Phillips1

CF

LDwayne Murphy79
LLuis Polonia69
BStan Javier52

RF

LMike Davis124
RSteve Henderson28
LReggie Jackson20
BStan Javier15
LLuis Polonia8
RMark McGwire3
RAlejandro Sanchez1
BTony Phillips1

DH

LReggie Jackson63
RJosé Canseco29
RRon Cey25
LMike Davis12
LLuis Polonia8
RTerry Steinbach7
RBrian Harper4
RCarney Lansford4
RSteve Henderson4
LJerry Willard2
BMickey Tettleton1
BTony Bernazard⇄1

Starters

RDave Stewart4.8 WAR
RDennis Eckersley3.4 WAR
RGene Nelson1.8 WAR
RSteve Ontiveros1.7 WAR
LCurt Young1.5 WAR
REric Plunk1.1 WAR
RJose Rijo0.8 WAR
RStorm Davis⇄0.7 WAR
RDennis Lamp0.5 WAR
RMoose Haas0.1 WAR
LRick Honeycutt⇄0.1 WAR
RChris Codiroli-0.0 WAR
RJoaquin Andujar-0.1 WAR

Bullpen

★ RDennis Eckersley16 sv
LDave Leiper⇄0 h
RJay Howell0 h
LGreg Cadaret0 h
RRick Rodriguez0 h
LBill Krueger⇄0 h
LRick Honeycutt⇄0 h
LGary Lavelle⇄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
Dennis Eckersley3.4
Gene Nelson1.8
Luis Polonia1.1
Storm Davis0.7
Walt Weiss0.6
Dennis Lamp0.5

Key subtractions (gone from 1986)

Player1986 fWAR
Donnie Hill1.5
Bruce Bochte0.8
Bill Mooneyham0.7
Doug Bair0.4
Lenn Sakata0.3
Fernando Arroyo0.0

Contract Value

WAR translated into tier-adjusted market value, then compared with what the player was paid by Athletics. 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
Dave Stewart 1987 +4.8 +84.5 0.6 +83.9 $0.1M 2.19× –
Dennis Eckersley 1987 +3.4 +70.8 0.8 +69.9 $0.2M 2.57× –
Mark McGwire 1987 +5.1 +56.3 0.1 +56.2 $0.0M 1.37× –
Carney Lansford 1987 +4.7 +46.9 1.3 +45.6 $0.3M 1.25× –
Terry Steinbach 1987 +3.2 +25.9 0.1 +25.8 $0.0M 1.00× –
Steve Ontiveros 1987 +1.7 +19.7 0.1 +19.6 $0.1M 1.49× –
Jose Canseco 1987 +1.9 +18.9 0.2 +18.7 $0.1M 1.22× –
Gene Nelson 1987 +1.8 +14.1 0.4 +13.7 $0.2M 0.98× –
Curt Young 1987 +1.5 +11.9 0.2 +11.7 $0.1M 1.02× –
Tony Phillips 1987 +1.8 +12.1 0.4 +11.6 $0.2M 0.82× –
Dwayne Murphy 1987 +1.4 +9.2 0.8 +8.5 $0.5M 0.83× –
Mike Davis 1987 +1.3 +8.8 0.8 +8.0 $0.6M 0.83× –
Luis Polonia 1987 +1.1 +7.1 0.1 +7.1 $0.1M 0.83× –
Eric Plunk 1987 +1.1 +5.7 0.1 +5.6 $0.1M 0.67× –
Storm Davis↔ 1987 +0.7 +5.6 0.1 +5.5 $0.2M 1.02× –
Alfredo Griffin 1987 +1.1 +5.3 0.6 +4.7 $0.6M 0.61× –
Dave Leiper↔ 1987 +0.3 +1.5 0.1 +1.5 $0.2M 0.67× –
Gary Lavelle↔ 1987 +0.2 +0.9 0.0 +0.9 $0.1M 0.67× –
Moose Haas 1987 +0.1 +1.2 0.6 +0.6 $4.1M 1.02× –
Mickey Tettleton 1987 +0.1 +0.4 0.1 +0.3 $1.2M 0.52× –
Rick Honeycutt↔ 1987 +0.1 +0.5 0.2 +0.3 $2.9M 1.02× –
Tony Bernazard↔ 1987 +0.1 +0.5 0.3 +0.2 $2.6M 0.56× –
Jay Howell 1987 +0.0 +0.1 0.5 -0.4 $64.9M 1.34× –
Steve Henderson 1987 -0.1 -0.4 0.1 -0.5 – 0.83× –
Brian Harper 1987 -0.2 -1.0 0.1 -1.0 – 0.69× –
Ron Cey 1987 +0.0 +0.1 1.1 -1.0 $60.1M 0.69× –
Greg Cadaret 1987 -0.3 -1.9 0.1 -1.9 – 0.67× –
Joaquin Andujar 1987 -0.1 -0.7 1.4 -2.0 – 1.02× –
Bill Caudill 1987 -0.1 -0.7 1.6 -2.3 – 0.67× –
Stan Javier 1987 -0.7 -4.6 0.1 -4.7 – 0.83× –
Alejandro Sanchez 1987 -0.1 -0.5 – – – 0.83× –
Bill Krueger↔ 1987 -0.1 -0.8 – – – 0.67× –
Chris Codiroli 1987 -0.0 -0.2 – – – 1.02× –
Dave Otto 1987 -0.0 -0.0 – – – 0.67× –
Dave Vonohlen 1987 -0.0 -0.0 – – – 0.67× –
Dennis Lamp 1987 +0.5 +2.7 – – – 0.67× –
Jerry Willard 1987 -0.0 -0.2 – – – 0.69× –
Johnnie LeMaster 1987 -0.4 -1.9 – – – 0.58× –
Jose Rijo 1987 +0.8 +6.3 – – – 1.02× –
Matt Sinatro 1987 -0.1 -0.3 – – – 0.52× –
Mike Gallego 1987 +0.5 +2.2 – – – 0.56× –
Reggie Jackson 1987 -0.6 -3.2 – – – 0.69× –
Rick Rodriguez 1987 -0.0 -0.2 – – – 0.67× –
Rob Nelson↔ 1987 -0.3 -1.3 – – – 0.56× –
Walt Weiss 1987 +0.6 +3.1 – – – 0.61× –
Total—+36.8+404.413.0+386.1—

Trades

Every graded 1987 deal involving the Athletics — best expected value first. Surplus is realized value in $M; 12 total.

1987 · OAK / CHC
OAK · Sandy Alderson +$125.6M
Dennis Eckersley, Dan Rohn
CHC · Dallas Green −$125.6M
Dave Wilder, Brian Guinn, Mark Leonette
OAK came out ahead by $125.6M
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
1987 · OAK / SDP
OAK · Sandy Alderson +$9.6M
Storm Davis
SDP · Jack McKeon −$9.6M
Dave Leiper, Rob Nelson
OAK came out ahead by $9.6M
1987 · LAD / OAK
LAD · Al Campanis +$139.2M
Tim Belcher
OAK · Sandy Alderson −$139.2M
Rick Honeycutt
LAD came out ahead by $139.2M
1987 · CLE / OAK
CLE · Joe Klein +$3.2M
Brian Dorsett, Darrel Akerfelds
OAK · Sandy Alderson −$3.2M
Tony Bernazard
CLE came out ahead by $3.2M
1987 · CHC / OAK
CHC · Dallas Green +$10.4M
Luis Quiñones
OAK · Sandy Alderson −$10.4M
Ron Cey
CHC came out ahead by $10.4M
1987 · OAK / MIL
OAK · Sandy Alderson +$0.0M
Curt Brown
MIL · Harry Dalton +$0.0M
Eric Broersma
Even trade
1987 · OAK / CLE
OAK · Sandy Alderson +$6.4M
Curt Wardle
CLE · Joe Klein −$6.4M
Jeff Kaiser
OAK came out ahead by $6.4M
1987 · OAK / TEX
OAK · Sandy Alderson +$0.0M
Kirk Killingsworth, Tom Duggan
TEX · Tom Grieve +$0.0M
José Tolentino
Even trade
1987 · OAK / LAD
OAK · Sandy Alderson +$1.6M
Tim Meeks
LAD · Al Campanis −$1.6M
Bill Krueger
OAK came out ahead by $1.6M
1987 · OAK / MIL
OAK · Sandy Alderson +$0.0M
Russ McGinnis
MIL · Harry Dalton +$0.0M
Bill Mooneyham
Even trade
1987 · CIN / OAK
CIN · Bill Bergesch +$305.6M
José Rijo, Tim Birtsas
OAK · Sandy Alderson −$305.6M
Dave Parker
CIN came out ahead by $305.6M

Current & Historical Payroll

1987 payroll
$12.6M

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 (21)

PlayerAgeSvc1987198819891990199119921993
Bill Caudill308.000$1.6MFREE AGENT
Joaquin Andujar3411.000$1.4MFREE AGENT
Carney Lansford309.000$1.3M$1.3M$1.4M$1.3M$1.3M$1.1MFREE AGENT
Ron Cey3916.000$1.1MFREE AGENT
Dennis Eckersley3212.000$833k$650k$1.1M$788k$3.0M$3.1M$3.8M
Mike Davis287.000$780kFREE AGENT
Dwayne Murphy329.000$759kFREE AGENT
Alfredo Griffin2911.000$608kFREE AGENT
Moose Haas3111.000$579kFREE AGENT
Dave Stewart309.000$550k$600k$1.2M$950k$3.2M$3.2MFREE AGENT
Jay Howell317.000$530kFREE AGENT
Gene Nelson266.000$365k$450k$615k$650k$1.1M$1.2MFREE AGENT
Tony Bernazard308.000$274kFREE AGENT
Rick Honeycutt3310.000$166k$855k$650k$750k$1.4M$1.4M$725k
Steve Henderson3410.000$75kFREE AGENT
Brian Harper278.000$70kFREE AGENT
Gary Lavelle3813.000$13kFREE AGENT
Reggie Jackson4120.000—FREE AGENT
Dennis Lamp3410.000—FREE AGENT
Johnnie LeMaster3312.000—FREE AGENT
Matt Sinatro276.000—$700kFREE AGENT

Arbitration-eligible (10)

PlayerAgeSvc1987198819891990199119921993
Tony Phillips285.000$425kFREE AGENT
Curt Young274.000$172kARB 3FREE AGENT
Mickey Tettleton263.000$120kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Storm Davis255.000$116kFREE AGENT
Stan Javier233.000$75kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Dave Leiper253.000$58kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Chris Codiroli295.000—FREE AGENT
Bill Krueger294.000—ARB 3FREE AGENT
Jose Rijo223.000—ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Jerry Willard273.000—ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT

Pre-arbitration (14)

PlayerAgeSvc1987198819891990199119921993
Jose Canseco222.000$180kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Steve Ontiveros262.000$132kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Eric Plunk231.000$78kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Mark McGwire231.000$72kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Greg Cadaret250.000$62kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Luis Polonia230.000$62kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Terry Steinbach251.000$62kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Mike Gallego262.000—ARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Rob Nelson231.000—Pre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Dave Otto220.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Rick Rodriguez26–—
Alejandro Sanchez28–—
Dave Vonohlen28–—
Walt Weiss230.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT

Graphs

How each 1987 acquisition stacked onto Athletics'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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