Rosternomics
Log in Sign up 𝕏

Athletics OAK

199874–88 (0.457)
‹ Previous Next ›

GM: Billy Beane

Overview

Ranks vs the 30 teams in 1998, or a custom range (defaults to every team-season since 1985, when our data starts).

to

Front Office

PoorAverageGreat
Value
Payroll $M
$22M
Surplus $M
+1
Win %
0.457
TAB
-6.4
WAB
-0.1
Roster composition
Roster fWAR
20.4
Dead money %
26%
Depth Players
3.0
Dead WAR
-6.3

Offense

PoorAverageGreat

Pitching & Defense

PoorAverageGreat

Roster

1998 depth chart — stacked by playing time

C

RA.J. Hinch118
RMike Macfarlane⇄73
RIzzy Molina5

1B

LJason Giambi146
RJack Voigt27
RMike Blowers8
LDave Magadan7
LMatt Stairs6
RKevin Mitchell2
REd Sprague Jr.⇄1
RBrian Lesher1

2B

BScott Spiezio112
RRafael Bournigal48
RKurt Abbott⇄35
BBip Roberts⇄31
RJorge Velandia1
BMark Bellhorn1

3B

RMike Blowers120
LDave Magadan30
REd Sprague Jr.⇄27
LEric Chavez13
BMark Bellhorn5
BBip Roberts⇄3
RJack Voigt2
RJason Wood⇄1

SS

RMiguel Tejada104
RRafael Bournigal38
RJorge Velandia7
BMark Bellhorn2

LF

RRickey Henderson142
LMatt Stairs11
BJason McDonald11
BBip Roberts⇄10
RKevin Mitchell10
RJack Voigt9
RBrian Lesher4
RMike Neill4
RRyan Christenson1

CF

RRyan Christenson113
BJason McDonald33
RRickey Henderson24
BBip Roberts⇄12
RJack Voigt10
RMike Neill2

RF

LBen Grieve151
BJason McDonald25
RRyan Christenson4
BBip Roberts⇄3
RJack Voigt2
LMatt Stairs2

DH

LMatt Stairs119
RKevin Mitchell20
LJason Giambi7
LBen Grieve3
RMike Blowers1
BScott Spiezio1

Starters

LKenny Rogers4.5 WAR
RJimmy Haynes1.7 WAR
RMike Oquist1.4 WAR
RTom Candiotti1.3 WAR
RGil Heredia1.0 WAR
RAriel Prieto-0.1 WAR
RDave Telgheder-0.2 WAR
RBlake Stein-0.4 WAR
RJay Witasick-0.4 WAR

Bullpen

★ RBilly Taylor33 sv
LBuddy Groom0 h
RT.J. Mathews0 h
LMike Mohler0 h
RMike Fetters⇄0 h
RTim Worrell⇄0 h
RAaron Small⇄0 h
LMark Holzemer0 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 1997)

PlayerfWAR
Kenny Rogers4.5
Rickey Henderson1.9
Tom Candiotti1.3
Gil Heredia1.0
Bip Roberts0.8
Mike Fetters0.5

Key subtractions (gone from 1997)

Player1997 fWAR
Mark McGwire3.2
Brent Mayne1.8
George Williams1.5
Geronimo Berroa1.2
Steve Karsay1.0
Andrew Lorraine0.3

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 1998; everyone else is shown as a 1998 season snapshot.

PlayerPeriodfWARTier Market $MPaid $MSurplus $M$ / WARTierContract
Kenny Rogers 1998 +4.5 +78.2 5.0 +73.2 $1.1M 2.19× –
Matt Stairs 1998 +3.1 +33.1 0.3 +32.7 $0.1M 1.33× –
Jason Giambi 1998 +2.6 +22.3 0.3 +21.9 $0.1M 1.07× –
Jimmy Haynes 1998 +1.7 +20.6 0.2 +20.4 $0.1M 1.49× –
Rickey Henderson 1998 +1.9 +18.3 1.1 +17.2 $0.6M 1.22× –
Ben Grieve 1998 +1.5 +14.9 0.2 +14.7 $0.1M 1.22× –
Mike Oquist 1998 +1.4 +11.3 0.2 +11.1 $0.2M 1.02× –
Billy Taylor 1998 +1.1 +11.3 1.1 +10.2 $1.0M 1.34× –
Tom Candiotti 1998 +1.3 +10.8 2.9 +8.0 $2.1M 1.02× –
Gil Heredia 1998 +1.0 +8.1 0.3 +7.9 $0.3M 1.02× –
Jason McDonald 1998 +1.1 +7.1 0.2 +6.9 $0.2M 0.83× –
Dave Magadan 1998 +0.9 +4.3 0.5 +3.8 $0.5M 0.58× –
Buddy Groom 1998 +0.6 +3.3 0.6 +2.7 $1.0M 0.67× –
T.J. Mathews 1998 +0.6 +3.0 0.3 +2.7 $0.6M 0.67× –
Bip Roberts↔ 1998 +0.8 +3.7 1.5 +2.3 $1.8M 0.56× –
Ryan Christenson 1998 +0.3 +2.2 0.2 +2.0 $0.5M 0.83× –
A.J. Hinch 1998 +0.5 +2.1 0.2 +1.9 $0.3M 0.52× –
Tim Worrell↔ 1998 +0.4 +2.3 0.6 +1.7 $1.3M 0.67× –
Mike Fetters↔ 1998 +0.5 +2.8 2.0 +0.8 $3.8M 0.67× –
Eric Chavez 1998 +0.2 +0.8 0.2 +0.6 $1.0M 0.58× –
Mike Mohler 1998 +0.2 +1.0 0.5 +0.5 $2.8M 0.67× –
Mike Macfarlane↔ 1998 +0.2 +1.0 0.7 +0.3 $2.8M 0.52× –
Aaron Small↔ 1998 +0.1 +0.3 0.1 +0.2 $1.7M 0.67× –
Jason Wood↔ 1998 -0.0 -0.1 0.0 -0.1 – 0.58× –
Shane Mack↔ 1998 -0.0 -0.3 0.0 -0.3 – 0.83× –
Mark Holzemer 1998 -0.0 -0.2 0.2 -0.4 – 0.67× –
Scott Spiezio 1998 -0.1 -0.4 0.2 -0.6 – 0.56× –
Dave Telgheder 1998 -0.2 -1.2 0.2 -1.4 – 0.67× –
Miguel Tejada 1998 -0.5 -2.3 0.2 -2.5 – 0.61× –
Kevin Mitchell 1998 -0.6 -3.1 0.2 -3.3 – 0.69× –
Mike Blowers 1998 -0.6 -2.9 0.5 -3.4 – 0.58× –
Rafael Bournigal 1998 -0.7 -3.2 0.4 -3.5 – 0.56× –
Blake Stein 1998 -0.4 -3.6 0.2 -3.7 – 1.02× –
Kurt Abbott↔ 1998 -0.7 -3.3 0.5 -3.8 – 0.56× –
Ed Sprague Jr.↔ 1998 -0.9 -4.1 0.5 -4.6 – 0.58× –
Brian Lesher 1998 +0.0 +0.2 0.2 -0.0 $6.8M 0.83× –
Izzy Molina 1998 +0.0 +0.1 0.2 -0.0 $5.7M 0.52× –
Ariel Prieto 1998 -0.1 -0.5 – – – 1.02× –
Jack Voigt 1998 -0.6 -2.9 – – – 0.56× –
Jay Witasick 1998 -0.4 -2.1 – – – 0.67× –
Jim Dougherty 1998 -0.3 -1.4 – – – 0.67× –
Jorge Velandia 1998 -0.0 -0.1 – – – 0.61× –
Mark Bellhorn 1998 +0.1 +0.4 – – – 0.58× –
Mike Neill 1998 +0.0 +0.2 – – – 0.83× –
Steve Connelly 1998 -0.0 -0.2 – – – 0.67× –
Total—+20.5+231.822.7+216.1—

Trades

Every graded 1998 deal involving the Athletics — best expected value first. Surplus is realized value in $M; 5 total.

1998 · DET / OAK
DET · Randy Smith +$0.8M
Jason Wood
OAK · Billy Beane −$0.8M
Bip Roberts
DET came out ahead by $0.8M
1998 · TOR / OAK
TOR · Gord Ash +$13.6M
Scott Rivette
OAK · Billy Beane −$13.6M
Ed Sprague
TOR came out ahead by $13.6M
1998 · OAK / COL
OAK · Billy Beane +$12.8M
Ara Petrosian
COL · Bob Gebhard −$12.8M
Kurt Abbott
OAK came out ahead by $12.8M
1998 · CLE / OAK
CLE · John Hart +$0.8M
Adam Robinson
OAK · Billy Beane −$0.8M
Tim Worrell
CLE came out ahead by $0.8M
1998 · KCR / OAK
KCR · Herk Robinson +$1.6M
Shane Mack, Greg Hansell
OAK · Billy Beane −$1.6M
Mike Macfarlane
KCR came out ahead by $1.6M

Current & Historical Payroll

1998 payroll
$22.4M

What the front office was committed to as of 1998, 1998–2004. 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)

PlayerAgeSvc1998199920002001200220032004
Kenny Rogers339.000$5.0M$3.1MFREE AGENT
Tom Candiotti4115.000$2.9M$1.8MFREE AGENT
Mike Fetters339.000$2.0MFREE AGENT
Bip Roberts3412.000$1.5MFREE AGENT
Rickey Henderson3919.000$1.1MFREE AGENT
Mike Macfarlane3411.000$698k$600kFREE AGENT
Buddy Groom326.000$595k$850kFREE AGENT
Ed Sprague Jr.307.000$481kFREE AGENT
Mike Blowers339.000$475kFREE AGENT
Dave Magadan3512.000$475kFREE AGENT
Rafael Bournigal326.000$385kFREE AGENT
Matt Stairs306.000$325k$1.9M$3.0MFREE AGENT
Gil Heredia327.000$275k$450k$2.1M$3.3MFREE AGENT
Kevin Mitchell3614.000$225kFREE AGENT
Shane Mack3411.000$20kFREE AGENT
Jack Voigt326.000—FREE AGENT

Arbitration-eligible (13)

PlayerAgeSvc1998199920002001200220032004
Billy Taylor364.000$1.1MARB 3FREE AGENT
Tim Worrell305.000$581kFREE AGENT
Mike Mohler295.000$525kFREE AGENT
Kurt Abbott295.000$455kFREE AGENT
T.J. Mathews283.000$315kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Jason Giambi273.000$315kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Mark Holzemer285.000$250kFREE AGENT
Mike Oquist305.000$215kFREE AGENT
Dave Telgheder315.000$200kFREE AGENT
Jimmy Haynes253.000$188kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Aaron Small264.000$101kARB 3FREE AGENT
Jim Dougherty303.000—ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Ariel Prieto283.000—ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT

Pre-arbitration (16)

PlayerAgeSvc1998199920002001200220032004
Scott Spiezio252.000$205kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Izzy Molina272.000$175kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Jason McDonald261.000$174kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Brian Lesher272.000$174kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Ben Grieve221.000$172kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Miguel Tejada241.000$172kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Eric Chavez200.000$170kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
A.J. Hinch240.000$170kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Blake Stein240.000$170kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Ryan Christenson240.000$170kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Jason Wood280.000$39kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Mark Bellhorn231.000—Pre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Jorge Velandia231.000—Pre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Jay Witasick252.000—ARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Mike Neill28–—
Steve Connelly24–—

Graphs

How each 1998 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).
Privacy Policy · Terms of Service · © 2026 Rosternomics