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Pirates PIT

198974–88 (0.457)
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GM: Larry Doughty

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
$12M
Surplus $M
+0
Win %
0.457
TAB
-1.2
WAB
-5.9
Roster composition
Roster fWAR
31.1
Dead money %
30%
Depth Players
8.0
Dead WAR
-5.4

Offense

PoorAverageGreat

Pitching & Defense

PoorAverageGreat

Roster

1989 depth chart — stacked by playing time

C

RJunior Ortiz84
LMichael LaValliere65
RDann Bilardello33
RTom Prince21
LBenny Distefano3

1B

RGary Redus72
LBenny Distefano48
RJeff King46
LSid Bream13
RGlenn Wilson⇄10
BBobby Bonilla8
LAndy Van Slyke2

2B

RJosé Lind151
RRafael Belliard20
LKen Oberkfell⇄14
RJeff King7

3B

BBobby Bonilla156
RJeff King13
RRafael Belliard6

SS

RJay Bell78
RRey Quinones⇄76
RRafael Belliard40
RJeff King1

LF

LBarry Bonds156
RBilly Hatcher⇄21
BJohn Cangelosi12
BAlbert Hall5
BR.J. Reynolds5
RGary Redus2

CF

LAndy Van Slyke123
BR.J. Reynolds30
BJohn Cangelosi24
RBilly Hatcher⇄4
RGary Redus2
BAlbert Hall1
RGlenn Wilson⇄1

RF

BR.J. Reynolds72
RGary Redus12
BJohn Cangelosi10
BAlbert Hall6
LSteve Carter5
RBilly Hatcher⇄2
LBenny Distefano1
BBobby Bonilla1
RScott Little1

DH

—

Starters

RDoug Drabek2.2 WAR
LJohn Smiley2.2 WAR
RBob Walk1.8 WAR
RJeff Robinson0.9 WAR
RRick Reed0.6 WAR
LNeal Heaton0.5 WAR
LBob Patterson0.2 WAR
RMike Dunne⇄-0.0 WAR
LMorris Madden-0.1 WAR
RBrian Fisher-0.3 WAR
RRandy Kramer-0.6 WAR

Bullpen

★ RBill Landrum26 sv
LBob Kipper0 h
RDoug Bair0 h
RMike Smith0 h
LBob Patterson0 h
LMiguel Garcia0 h
RLogan Easley0 h
LMorris Madden0 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
Bill Landrum1.1
Jay Bell0.7
Doug Bair0.7
Neal Heaton0.5
Jeff King0.4
Stan Belinda0.3

Key subtractions (gone from 1988)

Player1988 fWAR
Dave LaPoint0.5
Darnell Coles0.4
Randy Milligan0.3
Felix Fermin0.3
Barry Jones0.1
Dave Rucker0.0

Contract Value

WAR translated into tier-adjusted market value, then compared with what the player was paid by Pirates. 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
Barry Bonds 1989 +7.1 +116.5 0.4 +116.1 $0.1M 2.05× –
Bobby Bonilla 1989 +4.3 +42.6 0.7 +41.9 $0.2M 1.25× –
Andy Van Slyke 1989 +3.0 +38.3 2.1 +36.2 $0.7M 1.60× –
John Smiley 1989 +2.2 +26.7 0.2 +26.5 $0.1M 1.49× –
Doug Drabek 1989 +2.2 +26.5 0.3 +26.2 $0.1M 1.49× –
Glenn Wilson↔ 1989 +3.1 +26.3 0.6 +25.7 $0.2M 1.07× –
R.J. Reynolds 1989 +2.3 +22.1 0.4 +21.7 $0.2M 1.22× –
Bob Walk 1989 +1.8 +21.3 0.8 +20.5 $0.4M 1.49× –
Gary Redus 1989 +2.4 +15.3 0.5 +14.8 $0.2M 0.81× –
Bill Landrum 1989 +1.1 +12.3 0.1 +12.2 $0.1M 1.34× –
Michael LaValliere 1989 +1.2 +5.2 0.5 +4.7 $0.4M 0.52× –
John Cangelosi 1989 +0.7 +4.6 0.2 +4.4 $0.2M 0.83× –
Jeff Robinson 1989 +0.9 +4.8 0.8 +4.0 $0.8M 0.67× –
Doug Bair 1989 +0.7 +3.8 0.1 +3.6 $0.2M 0.67× –
Jay Bell 1989 +0.7 +3.5 0.1 +3.4 $0.1M 0.61× –
Rick Reed 1989 +0.6 +3.2 0.1 +3.1 $0.1M 0.67× –
Bob Kipper 1989 +0.5 +2.9 0.2 +2.7 $0.4M 0.67× –
Neal Heaton 1989 +0.5 +2.7 0.7 +2.0 $1.3M 0.67× –
Jeff King 1989 +0.4 +1.8 0.1 +1.7 $0.2M 0.56× –
Billy Hatcher↔ 1989 +0.1 +0.6 0.1 +0.5 $1.1M 0.83× –
Mike Dunne↔ 1989 -0.0 -0.2 0.0 -0.2 – 1.02× –
Jim Gott 1989 -0.0 -0.0 0.6 -0.6 – 0.67× –
Sid Bream 1989 -0.1 -0.5 0.5 -1.0 – 0.56× –
Rafael Belliard 1989 -0.2 -0.9 0.2 -1.1 – 0.61× –
Benny Distefano 1989 -0.3 -1.3 0.1 -1.4 – 0.56× –
Brian Fisher 1989 -0.3 -1.3 0.4 -1.8 – 0.67× –
Jose Lind 1989 -0.4 -1.9 0.2 -2.1 – 0.56× –
Ken Oberkfell↔ 1989 -0.5 -2.2 0.1 -2.3 – 0.56× –
Junior Ortiz 1989 -0.7 -2.7 0.3 -3.0 – 0.52× –
Rey Quinones↔ 1989 -1.1 -5.5 0.2 -5.7 – 0.61× –
Albert Hall 1989 -0.1 -0.8 – – – 0.83× –
Bob Patterson 1989 +0.2 +1.1 – – – 0.67× –
Dann Bilardello 1989 +0.0 +0.2 – – – 0.52× –
Dorn Taylor 1989 -0.0 -0.0 – – – 0.67× –
Logan Easley 1989 -0.2 -1.0 – – – 0.67× –
Miguel Garcia 1989 -0.1 -0.4 – – – 0.67× –
Mike Smith 1989 +0.0 +0.0 – – – 0.67× –
Morris Madden 1989 -0.1 -0.7 – – – 0.67× –
Randy Kramer 1989 -0.6 -3.0 – – – 0.67× –
Roger Samuels 1989 -0.3 -1.4 – – – 0.67× –
Scott Little 1989 +0.1 +0.6 – – – 0.83× –
Scott Medvin 1989 -0.0 -0.0 – – – 0.67× –
Stan Belinda 1989 +0.3 +1.4 – – – 0.67× –
Steve Carter 1989 +0.0 +0.3 – – – 0.83× –
Tom Prince 1989 -0.6 -2.4 – – – 0.52× –
Total—+30.8+358.411.6+352.7—

Trades

Every graded 1989 deal involving the Pirates — best expected value first. Surplus is realized value in $M; 7 total.

1989 · PIT / HOU
PIT · Larry Doughty +$2.4M
Billy Hatcher
HOU · Bill Wood −$2.4M
Glenn Wilson
PIT came out ahead by $2.4M
1989 · WSN / PIT
WSN · Dave Dombrowski +$3.2M
Brett Gideon
PIT · Larry Doughty −$3.2M
Neal Heaton
WSN came out ahead by $3.2M
1989 · PIT / MIL
PIT · Larry Doughty +$0.0M
Lou Thornton
MIL · Harry Dalton +$0.0M
Rubén Rodríguez
Even trade
1989 · BAL / PIT
BAL · Roland Hemond +$0.8M
Tony Chance
PIT · Larry Doughty −$0.8M
Mike Smith
BAL came out ahead by $0.8M
1989 · PIT / SFG
PIT · Larry Doughty +$1.6M
Roger Samuels
SFG · Al Rosen −$1.6M
Ken Oberkfell
PIT came out ahead by $1.6M
1989 · PIT / NYY
PIT · Larry Doughty +$28.0M
Don Slaught
NYY · Bob Quinn −$28.0M
Jeff Robinson, Willie Smith
PIT came out ahead by $28.0M
1989 · SEA / PIT
SEA · Woody Woodward +$8.0M
Mike Dunne, Mike Walker, Mark Merchant
PIT · Larry Doughty −$8.0M
Rey Quiñones, Bill Wilkinson
SEA came out ahead by $8.0M

Current & Historical Payroll

1989 payroll
$11.6M

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 (14)

PlayerAgeSvc1989199019911992199319941995
Andy Van Slyke286.000$2.1M$1.2M$2.2M$4.3M$4.9M$3.5MFREE AGENT
Bob Walk329.000$800k$850k$850k$2.0M$2.2MFREE AGENT
Neal Heaton297.000$650k$700k$1.0MFREE AGENT
Jim Gott297.000$600kFREE AGENT$900k
Glenn Wilson307.000$586kFREE AGENT
Sid Bream286.000$510k$510kFREE AGENT
Gary Redus327.000$500k$500k$600k$825kFREE AGENT
R.J. Reynolds306.000$425k$535kFREE AGENT
Junior Ortiz297.000$300kFREE AGENT
Rafael Belliard277.000$225k$380kFREE AGENT
Doug Bair3913.000$150k$325kFREE AGENT
Ken Oberkfell3312.000$105kFREE AGENT
Dann Bilardello306.000—FREE AGENT
Albert Hall318.000—FREE AGENT

Arbitration-eligible (15)

PlayerAgeSvc1989199019911992199319941995
Jeff Robinson285.000$750kFREE AGENT
Bobby Bonilla263.000$740kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Michael LaValliere285.000$482kFREE AGENT
Brian Fisher274.000$404kARB 3FREE AGENT
Barry Bonds243.000$360kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Doug Drabek263.000$325kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
John Smiley243.000$230kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Bob Kipper244.000$230kARB 3FREE AGENT
Rey Quinones253.000$196kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
John Cangelosi264.000$152kARB 3FREE AGENT
Billy Hatcher285.000$99kFREE AGENT
Jay Bell233.000$85kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Benny Distefano275.000$85kFREE AGENT
Bill Landrum313.000$75kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Bob Patterson304.000—ARB 3FREE AGENT

Pre-arbitration (16)

PlayerAgeSvc1989199019911992199319941995
Jose Lind252.000$180kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Jeff King240.000$68kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Rick Reed241.000$68kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Mike Dunne262.000$37kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Stan Belinda220.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Steve Carter24–—
Logan Easley27–—
Miguel Garcia22–—
Randy Kramer281.000—Pre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Scott Little26–—
Morris Madden28–—
Scott Medvin27–—
Tom Prince242.000—ARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Roger Samuels281.000—Pre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Mike Smith28–—
Dorn Taylor30–—

Graphs

How each 1989 acquisition stacked onto Pirates'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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