Rosternomics
Log in Sign up 𝕏

Pirates PIT

200867–95 (0.414)
‹ Previous Next ›

GM: Neal Huntington

Overview

Ranks vs the 30 teams in 2008, or a custom range (defaults to every team-season since 1985, when our data starts).

to

Front Office

PoorAverageGreat
Value
Payroll $M
$47M
Surplus $M
-4
Win %
0.414
TAB
-9.7
WAB
-7.0
Roster composition
Roster fWAR
17.0
Dead money %
52%
Depth Players
5.0
Dead WAR
-9.6

Offense

PoorAverageGreat

Pitching & Defense

PoorAverageGreat

Roster

2008 depth chart — stacked by playing time

C

BRyan Doumit106
RRaúl Chávez35
RRonny Paulino32
RRobinzon Díaz⇄1

1B

LAdam LaRoche129
LDoug Mientkiewicz37
RChris Gomez5
BRyan Doumit1

2B

RFreddy Sanchez131
RLuis Rivas29
RChris Gomez18
RLuis Alfonso Cruz2

3B

RAndy LaRoche⇄59
LDoug Mientkiewicz33
RChris Gomez20
RLuis Rivas1

SS

RJack Wilson80
RBrian Bixler39
RLuis Rivas31
RLuis Alfonso Cruz20
RChris Gomez13

LF

RJason Michaels⇄34
LBrandon Moss⇄24
LNyjer Morgan22
LNate McLouth4
RSteve Pearce1

CF

LNate McLouth149
LNyjer Morgan17
RJason Michaels⇄8

RF

RJason Michaels⇄43
RSteve Pearce29
LBrandon Moss⇄21
LDoug Mientkiewicz10
LNyjer Morgan6
LNate McLouth2

DH

LAdam LaRoche2
RFreddy Sanchez1
BRyan Doumit1

Starters

LPaul Maholm3.3 WAR
LZach Duke2.8 WAR
RIan Snell2.2 WAR
RJeff Karstens0.6 WAR
LPhil Dumatrait0.4 WAR
RTy Taubenheim0.3 WAR
RYoslan Herrera0.2 WAR
RJason Davis0.1 WAR
RRoss Ohlendorf⇄0.1 WAR
RJimmy Barthmaier-0.3 WAR
RMatt Morris-0.3 WAR
RJohn Van Benschoten-0.6 WAR
LTom Gorzelanny-0.7 WAR

Bullpen

★ RMatt Capps21 sv
LJohn Grabow16 h
RTyler Yates13 h
RDenny Bautista⇄10 h
LSean Burnett8 h
RFranquelis Osoria3 h
RT.J. Beam2 h
LDamaso Marte⇄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 2007)

PlayerfWAR
Doug Mientkiewicz0.8
Jeff Karstens0.6
Tyler Yates0.5
Raul Chavez0.4
Phil Dumatrait0.4
Ty Taubenheim0.3

Key subtractions (gone from 2007)

Player2007 fWAR
Josh Phelps1.4
Shawn Chacon0.6
Shane Youman0.3
Salomon Torres0.1
John Wasdin0.1
Carlos Maldonado0.1

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 2008; everyone else is shown as a 2008 season snapshot.

PlayerPeriodfWARTier Market $MPaid $MSurplus $M$ / WARTierContract
Nate McLouth 2008 +3.8 +54.4 0.4 +54.0 $0.1M 1.79× –
Paul Maholm 2008 +3.3 +50.9 0.4 +50.5 $0.1M 1.96× –
Zach Duke 2008 +2.8 +43.7 0.4 +43.3 $0.1M 1.96× –
Ian Snell 2008 +2.2 +26.2 0.4 +25.8 $0.2M 1.49× –
Xavier Nady↔ 2008 +2.3 +21.9 2.0 +19.9 $0.9M 1.22× –
Matt Capps 2008 +1.3 +14.1 0.4 +13.6 $0.3M 1.34× –
Jason Bay↔ 2008 +1.8 +17.6 4.1 +13.5 $2.3M 1.22× –
Nyjer Morgan 2008 +0.9 +6.1 0.4 +5.7 $0.4M 0.83× –
Jeff Karstens 2008 +0.6 +4.7 0.4 +4.3 $0.7M 1.02× –
Tyler Yates 2008 +0.5 +5.0 0.8 +4.2 $1.7M 1.34× –
Damaso Marte↔ 2008 +1.0 +5.3 1.4 +3.9 $1.4M 0.67× –
Phil Dumatrait 2008 +0.4 +3.5 0.4 +3.1 $0.9M 1.02× –
Doug Mientkiewicz 2008 +0.8 +3.4 0.8 +2.7 $1.0M 0.56× –
John Grabow 2008 +0.4 +3.8 1.1 +2.7 $3.2M 1.34× –
Adam LaRoche 2008 +1.3 +5.9 5.0 +0.9 $3.8M 0.56× –
Brandon Moss↔ 2008 +0.1 +1.0 0.2 +0.7 $1.5M 0.83× –
Ross Ohlendorf↔ 2008 +0.1 +0.6 0.1 +0.6 $0.8M 1.02× –
Ronny Paulino 2008 +0.2 +0.6 0.4 +0.2 $2.7M 0.52× –
Denny Bautista↔ 2008 +0.0 +0.1 0.3 -0.2 $24.1M 0.67× –
Franquelis Osoria 2008 -0.1 -0.4 0.4 -0.8 – 0.67× –
José Bautista↔ 2008 +0.1 +0.7 1.5 -0.8 $14.6M 0.83× –
Jack Wilson 2008 +1.1 +5.2 6.7 -1.5 $6.3M 0.61× –
Chris Gomez 2008 -0.2 -1.0 1.0 -2.0 – 0.58× –
Freddy Sanchez 2008 +0.5 +2.2 4.2 -2.0 $8.5M 0.56× –
Evan Meek 2008 -0.3 -1.8 0.4 -2.2 – 0.67× –
Jason Michaels↔ 2008 -0.3 -1.7 1.8 -3.5 – 0.83× –
Andy LaRoche↔ 2008 -0.8 -3.9 0.3 -4.1 – 0.58× –
Luis Rivas 2008 -0.8 -3.8 0.5 -4.3 – 0.61× –
Tom Gorzelanny 2008 -0.7 -5.7 0.4 -6.1 – 1.02× –
Matt Morris 2008 -0.3 -2.2 10.0 -12.2 – 1.02× –
Ryan Doumit 2008 -3.1 -12.8 0.4 -13.2 – 0.52× –
Brian Bixler 2008 -0.8 -3.7 – – – 0.61× –
Craig Hansen↔ 2008 -0.3 -3.6 – – – 1.34× –
Jason Davis 2008 +0.1 +0.3 – – – 0.67× –
Jesse Chavez 2008 +0.1 +0.3 – – – 0.67× –
Jimmy Barthmaier 2008 -0.3 -2.1 – – – 1.02× –
John Van Benschoten 2008 -0.6 -4.7 – – – 1.02× –
Luis Alfonso Cruz 2008 -0.2 -0.9 – – – 0.61× –
Marino Salas 2008 -0.4 -2.3 – – – 0.67× –
Raul Chavez 2008 +0.4 +1.8 – – – 0.52× –
Robinzon Diaz↔ 2008 +0.2 +0.8 – – – 0.52× –
Romulo Sanchez 2008 +0.0 +0.3 – – – 0.67× –
Sean Burnett 2008 -0.3 -1.5 – – – 0.67× –
Steve Pearce 2008 -0.1 -0.8 – – – 0.83× –
T.J. Beam 2008 -0.1 -0.5 – – – 0.67× –
Ty Taubenheim 2008 +0.3 +2.5 – – – 1.02× –
Yoslan Herrera 2008 +0.2 +1.6 – – – 1.02× –
Total—+17.1+231.147.0+196.7—

Trades

Every graded 2008 deal involving the Pirates — best expected value first. Surplus is realized value in $M; 6 total.

2008 · PIT / NYY
PIT · Neal Huntington +$25.6M
Jeff Karstens, Ross Ohlendorf, Daniel McCutchen, José Tábata
NYY · Brian Cashman −$25.6M
Xavier Nady, Dámaso Marte
PIT came out ahead by $25.6M
2008 · BOS / LAD / PIT
BOS · Theo Epstein +$112.0M
Jason Bay
LAD · Ned Colletti −$44.8M
Manny Ramirez
PIT · Neal Huntington −$67.2M
Craig Hansen, Brandon Moss, Andy LaRoche, Bryan Morris
BOS came out ahead by $112.0M 3-team
2008 · TOR / PIT
TOR · JP Ricciardi +$206.4M
José Bautista
PIT · Neal Huntington −$206.4M
Robinzon Díaz
TOR came out ahead by $206.4M
2008 · DET / PIT
DET · Dave Dombrowski +$0.8M
Kyle Pearson
PIT · Neal Huntington −$0.8M
Denny Bautista
DET came out ahead by $0.8M
2008 · ATL / PIT
ATL · Frank Wren +$2.4M
Todd Redmond
PIT · Neal Huntington −$2.4M
Tyler Yates
ATL came out ahead by $2.4M
2008 · PHI / PIT
PHI · Pat Gillick +$11.2M
Ronny Paulino
PIT · Neal Huntington −$11.2M
Jason Jaramillo
PHI came out ahead by $11.2M

Current & Historical Payroll

2008 payroll
$47.0M

What the front office was committed to as of 2008, 2008–2014. 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 (11)

PlayerAgeSvc2008200920102011201220132014
Matt Morris3311.000$10.0MFREE AGENT
Jack Wilson307.000$6.7M$5.2MFREE AGENT
Freddy Sanchez306.000$4.2M$4.8MFREE AGENT
Xavier Nady298.000$2.0MFREE AGENT
Jason Michaels327.000$1.8MFREE AGENT
Damaso Marte339.000$1.4MFREE AGENT
Chris Gomez3715.000$1.0MFREE AGENT
Doug Mientkiewicz3410.000$750kFREE AGENT
Luis Rivas288.000$525kFREE AGENT
Raul Chavez3512.000—FREE AGENT
Jason Davis286.000—FREE AGENT

Arbitration-eligible (17)

PlayerAgeSvc2008200920102011201220132014
Adam LaRoche284.000$5.0MARB 3FREE AGENT
Jason Bay295.000$4.1MFREE AGENT
José Bautista274.000$1.5MARB 3FREE AGENT
John Grabow295.000$1.1MFREE AGENT
Tyler Yates304.000$800kARB 3FREE AGENT
Matt Capps243.000$436kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Ian Snell264.000$435kARB 3FREE AGENT
Nate McLouth263.000$425kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Paul Maholm263.000$424kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Ronny Paulino273.000$424kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Tom Gorzelanny253.000$419kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Ryan Doumit273.000$412kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Zach Duke253.000$400kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Franquelis Osoria263.000$393kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Denny Bautista274.000$271kARB 3FREE AGENT
Sean Burnett254.000—ARB 3FREE AGENT
Craig Hansen243.000—ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT

Pre-arbitration (19)

PlayerAgeSvc2008200920102011201220132014
Jeff Karstens252.000$393kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Nyjer Morgan271.000$391kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Phil Dumatrait261.000$390kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Evan Meek250.000$390kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Andy LaRoche241.000$253kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Brandon Moss241.000$222kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Ross Ohlendorf251.000$65kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
John Van Benschoten28–—
Robinzon Diaz24–—
Marino Salas26–—
Brian Bixler250.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Jimmy Barthmaier24–—
Jesse Chavez240.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
T.J. Beam27–—
Romulo Sanchez24–—
Steve Pearce251.000—Pre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Ty Taubenheim25–—
Luis Alfonso Cruz240.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Yoslan Herrera27–—

Graphs

How each 2008 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