Rosternomics
Log in Sign up 𝕏

Pirates PIT

199869–93 (0.426)
‹ Previous Next ›

GM: Cam Bonifay

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
$14M
Surplus $M
+11
Win %
0.426
TAB
+1.6
WAB
+0.6
Roster composition
Roster fWAR
23.0
Dead money %
46%
Depth Players
5.0
Dead WAR
-7.2

Offense

PoorAverageGreat

Pitching & Defense

PoorAverageGreat

Roster

1998 depth chart — stacked by playing time

C

RJason Kendall144
RKeith Osik26
RTim Laker⇄3

1B

RKevin Young157
RMark Smith6
RFreddy Garcia4
RTim Laker⇄4
BDoug Strange3

2B

LTony Womack152
RKevin Polcovich15
BDoug Strange9
LChance Sanford1

3B

RAramis Ramirez71
RFreddy Garcia47
BDoug Strange42
RKevin Polcovich8
RKeith Osik7
LChance Sanford5

SS

RLou Collier107
RKevin Polcovich54
BAbraham O. Nunez23
LTony Womack2
LChance Sanford1

LF

LAl Martin114
BTurner Ward41
RManny Martinez26
RMark Smith16
REmil Brown9
BAdrian Brown3
LSteve Bieser1

CF

BTurner Ward48
RManny Martinez37
BAdrian Brown34
LTony Womack5
RJose Guillen2
REmil Brown1

RF

RJose Guillen149
BTurner Ward22
RMark Smith9
RManny Martinez3
REmil Brown1
BAdrian Brown1

DH

RMark Smith3
LAl Martin1
BTurner Ward1

Starters

RFrancisco Cordova3.2 WAR
RJon Lieber2.7 WAR
RJason Schmidt2.5 WAR
LChris Peters2.1 WAR
RJose Silva1.7 WAR
RMike Williams1.5 WAR
RTodd Van Poppel⇄0.7 WAR
REsteban Loaiza⇄0.5 WAR
RElmer Dessens0.0 WAR
LSean Lawrence-0.3 WAR

Bullpen

★ RRich Loiselle19 sv
LJason Christiansen0 h
LRicardo Rincon0 h
RMike Williams0 h
LJeff Tabaka0 h
RJavier Martinez0 h
RMarc Wilkins0 h
RJeff McCurry0 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
Mike Williams1.5
Todd Van Poppel0.7
Manny Martinez0.3
Tim Laker0.1
Steve Bieser0.0
Jeff Tabaka-0.1

Key subtractions (gone from 1997)

Player1997 fWAR
Joe Randa3.7
Steve Cooke1.0
Shawon Dunston0.9
Dale Sveum0.4
Jeff Wallace0.2
Kevin Elster0.0

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

PlayerPeriodfWARTier Market $MPaid $MSurplus $M$ / WARTierContract
Jason Kendall 1998 +5.8 +58.9 0.6 +58.3 $0.1M 1.28× –
Francisco Cordova 1998 +3.2 +49.8 0.5 +49.3 $0.2M 1.96× –
Jon Lieber 1998 +2.7 +41.7 1.4 +40.2 $0.5M 1.96× –
Jason Schmidt 1998 +2.5 +39.5 0.5 +39.0 $0.2M 1.96× –
Jason Christiansen 1998 +1.8 +27.5 0.3 +27.1 $0.2M 1.95× –
Chris Peters 1998 +2.1 +25.3 0.2 +25.1 $0.1M 1.49× –
Jose Silva 1998 +1.7 +20.6 0.2 +20.4 $0.1M 1.49× –
Jermaine Allensworth↔ 1998 +1.7 +16.8 0.1 +16.7 $0.1M 1.22× –
Mike Williams 1998 +1.5 +12.0 0.3 +11.7 $0.2M 0.98× –
Kevin Young 1998 +1.7 +11.0 1.6 +9.4 $0.9M 0.81× –
Turner Ward 1998 +1.2 +8.2 0.8 +7.4 $0.7M 0.83× –
Ricardo Rincon 1998 +0.7 +7.2 0.2 +6.9 $0.4M 1.34× –
Rich Loiselle 1998 +0.4 +4.5 0.3 +4.2 $0.7M 1.34× –
Esteban Loaiza↔ 1998 +0.5 +4.3 0.3 +4.0 $0.5M 1.02× –
Todd Van Poppel↔ 1998 +0.7 +3.6 0.2 +3.3 $0.4M 0.67× –
Tony Womack 1998 +0.7 +3.0 0.3 +2.7 $0.4M 0.56× –
Adrian Brown 1998 +0.3 +2.3 0.2 +2.1 $0.5M 0.83× –
Manny Martinez 1998 +0.3 +1.7 0.2 +1.6 $0.7M 0.83× –
Freddy Garcia 1998 +0.3 +1.6 0.2 +1.4 $0.6M 0.58× –
Lou Collier 1998 +0.1 +0.5 0.2 +0.3 $1.9M 0.61× –
Marc Wilkins 1998 +0.1 +0.6 0.3 +0.3 $2.4M 0.67× –
Keith Osik 1998 -0.1 -0.6 0.3 -0.9 – 0.52× –
Jeff Tabaka 1998 -0.1 -0.7 0.3 -1.0 – 0.67× –
Sean Lawrence 1998 -0.3 -1.4 0.2 -1.5 – 0.67× –
Jeff McCurry 1998 -0.3 -1.7 0.2 -1.9 – 0.67× –
Javier Martinez 1998 -0.3 -1.8 0.2 -2.0 – 0.67× –
Kevin Polcovich 1998 -0.4 -2.1 0.2 -2.3 – 0.61× –
Jose Guillen 1998 -0.4 -2.5 0.3 -2.8 – 0.83× –
Aramis Ramirez 1998 -1.0 -4.5 0.2 -4.7 – 0.58× –
Mark Smith 1998 -0.8 -5.1 0.3 -5.3 – 0.83× –
Al Martin 1998 -0.8 -5.6 2.6 -8.2 – 0.83× –
Doug Strange 1998 -1.8 -8.4 0.6 -9.0 – 0.58× –
Elmer Dessens 1998 +0.0 +0.2 0.2 +0.0 $4.3M 0.67× –
Abraham O. Nunez 1998 -0.1 -0.4 – – – 0.61× –
Chance Sanford 1998 -0.7 -3.1 – – – 0.58× –
Emil Brown 1998 -0.1 -0.3 – – – 0.83× –
Steve Bieser 1998 +0.0 +0.3 – – – 0.83× –
Tim Laker↔ 1998 +0.1 +0.4 – – – 0.56× –
Total—+22.9+303.314.5+291.8—

Trades

Every graded 1998 deal involving the Pirates — best expected value first. Surplus is realized value in $M; 4 total.

1998 · PIT / CLE
PIT · Cam Bonifay +$401.6M
Brian Giles
CLE · John Hart −$401.6M
Ricardo Rincón
PIT came out ahead by $401.6M
1998 · CHC / PIT
CHC · Ed Lynch +$213.6M
Jon Lieber
PIT · Cam Bonifay −$213.6M
Brant Brown
CHC came out ahead by $213.6M
1998 · PIT / KCR
PIT · Cam Bonifay +$1.6M
Manuel Bernal
KCR · Herk Robinson −$1.6M
Jermaine Allensworth
PIT came out ahead by $1.6M
1998 · TEX / PIT
TEX · Douglas Melvin +$11.2M
Esteban Loaiza
PIT · Cam Bonifay −$11.2M
Warren Morris, Todd Van Poppel
TEX came out ahead by $11.2M

Current & Historical Payroll

1998 payroll
$14.4M

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 (7)

PlayerAgeSvc1998199920002001200220032004
Al Martin306.000$2.6M$2.7MFREE AGENT
Kevin Young296.000$1.6M$2.1M$5.6M$6.1M$5.6M$6.6MFREE AGENT
Turner Ward338.000$825k$706kFREE AGENT
Doug Strange349.000$575kFREE AGENT
Mike Williams296.000$350k$650k$1.0M$738k$2.0M$2.1MFREE AGENT
Todd Van Poppel267.000$245kFREE AGENT
Tim Laker286.000—FREE AGENT

Arbitration-eligible (9)

PlayerAgeSvc1998199920002001200220032004
Jon Lieber284.000$1.4MARB 3FREE AGENT
Jason Schmidt253.000$500kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Jason Christiansen283.000$320kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Jeff Tabaka344.000$300kARB 3FREE AGENT
Tony Womack285.000$290kFREE AGENT
Esteban Loaiza263.000$270kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Mark Smith284.000$260kARB 3FREE AGENT
Jeff McCurry283.000$205kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Freddy Garcia253.000$190kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT

Pre-arbitration (22)

PlayerAgeSvc1998199920002001200220032004
Jason Kendall242.000$600kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Francisco Cordova262.000$500kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Marc Wilkins272.000$275kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Keith Osik292.000$275kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Rich Loiselle262.000$275kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Jose Guillen221.000$255kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Ricardo Rincon281.000$245kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Chris Peters262.000$205kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Kevin Polcovich281.000$200kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Manny Martinez272.000$190kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Elmer Dessens272.000$180kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Jose Silva242.000$180kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Adrian Brown241.000$178kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Lou Collier241.000$176kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Aramis Ramirez200.000$170kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Javier Martinez210.000$170kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Sean Lawrence270.000$170kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Jermaine Allensworth262.000$135kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Steve Bieser301.000—Pre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Emil Brown231.000—Pre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Abraham O. Nunez221.000—Pre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Chance Sanford26–—

Graphs

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