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Cardinals STL

198679–82 (0.491)
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GM: Dal Maxvill

Overview

Ranks vs the 30 teams in 1986, or a custom range (defaults to every team-season since 1985, when our data starts).

to

Front Office

PoorAverageGreat
Value
Payroll $M
$10M
Surplus $M
-1
Win %
0.491
TAB
-4.7
WAB
-0.8
Roster composition
Roster fWAR
27.8
Dead money %
20%
Depth Players
6.0
Dead WAR
-2.5

Offense

PoorAverageGreat

Pitching & Defense

PoorAverageGreat

Roster

1986 depth chart — stacked by playing time

C

LMichael LaValliere108
RSteve Lake⇄26
LClint Hurdle5
RAlan Knicely2

1B

RJack Clark64
LClint Hurdle39
LAndy Van Slyke38
RAlan Knicely29
LMike Laga⇄18
RJim Lindeman17

2B

BTom Herr152
BJosé Oquendo21
RTom Lawless7
RFred Manrique1

3B

BTerry Pendleton156
RTom Lawless12
RFred Manrique4
LClint Hurdle4
BJosé Oquendo1
RJim Lindeman1

SS

BOzzie Smith144
BJosé Oquendo29

LF

BVince Coleman131
LCurt Ford24
RTito Landrum9
LClint Hurdle5
LJohn Morris4
BJerry White3
LAndy Van Slyke2
BJosé Oquendo1
RJim Lindeman1
RMike Heath⇄1
RTom Lawless1

CF

BWillie McGee121
LAndy Van Slyke27
BVince Coleman20
RTito Landrum4
LJohn Morris4

RF

LAndy Van Slyke86
RTito Landrum70
LCurt Ford40
LJohn Morris25
LClint Hurdle5
BJerry White3
RTodd Worrell2
BTerry Pendleton1
RMike Heath⇄1

DH

—

Starters

RDanny Cox2.8 WAR
RBob Forsch2.6 WAR
LJohn Tudor2.1 WAR
LRicky Horton1.1 WAR
LGreg Mathews0.5 WAR
LTim Conroy0.2 WAR
RKurt Kepshire-0.1 WAR
RRick Ownbey-0.2 WAR
RRay Burris-0.7 WAR

Bullpen

★ RTodd Worrell36 sv
LPat Perry0 h
LKen Dayley0 h
RRay Soff0 h
RGreg Bargar0 h
RRick Ownbey0 h
RJoe Boever0 h
RJeff Lahti0 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 1985)

PlayerfWAR
Mike Laga0.5
Greg Mathews0.5
Steve Lake0.5
John Morris0.3
Mike Heath0.2
Tim Conroy0.2

Key subtractions (gone from 1985)

Player1985 fWAR
Joaquin Andujar2.9
Darrell Porter2.1
Cesar Cedeno1.4
Lonnie Smith0.4
Bill Campbell0.3
Matt Keough0.2

Contract Value

WAR translated into tier-adjusted market value, then compared with what the player was paid by Cardinals. Guaranteed contracts from the 2015-present contract-data period use the known contract period through 1986; everyone else is shown as a 1986 season snapshot.

PlayerPeriodfWARTier Market $MPaid $MSurplus $M$ / WARTierContract
Ozzie Smith 1986 +4.9 +51.4 1.9 +49.4 $0.4M 1.32× –
Andy Van Slyke 1986 +3.4 +43.2 0.3 +42.9 $0.1M 1.60× –
Danny Cox 1986 +2.8 +43.1 0.4 +42.7 $0.1M 1.96× –
Bob Forsch 1986 +2.6 +40.4 0.5 +39.8 $0.2M 1.96× –
John Tudor 1986 +2.1 +24.4 1.0 +23.4 $0.5M 1.49× –
Tom Herr 1986 +2.0 +13.2 0.8 +12.4 $0.4M 0.82× –
Ken Dayley 1986 +1.1 +11.8 0.3 +11.5 $0.3M 1.34× –
Jack Clark 1986 +1.6 +10.2 1.3 +8.9 $0.8M 0.81× –
Willie McGee 1986 +1.3 +8.8 0.5 +8.3 $0.4M 0.83× –
Curt Ford 1986 +1.0 +6.8 0.1 +6.7 $0.1M 0.83× –
Michael LaValliere 1986 +1.4 +5.9 0.1 +5.8 $0.0M 0.52× –
Ricky Horton 1986 +1.1 +6.1 0.3 +5.8 $0.2M 0.67× –
Vince Coleman 1986 +0.9 +5.9 0.1 +5.8 $0.2M 0.83× –
Terry Pendleton 1986 +1.1 +5.1 0.2 +4.9 $0.2M 0.58× –
Greg Mathews 1986 +0.5 +3.8 0.1 +3.7 $0.1M 1.02× –
Todd Worrell 1986 +0.3 +3.1 0.1 +3.0 $0.3M 1.34× –
Mike Laga↔ 1986 +0.5 +2.3 0.0 +2.2 $0.1M 0.56× –
John Morris 1986 +0.3 +2.2 0.1 +2.1 $0.2M 0.83× –
Tito Landrum 1986 +0.3 +2.2 0.2 +2.0 $0.7M 0.83× –
Steve Lake↔ 1986 +0.5 +1.9 0.0 +1.8 $0.1M 0.52× –
Tim Conroy 1986 +0.2 +1.3 0.1 +1.2 $0.7M 1.02× –
José Oquendo 1986 +0.2 +0.8 0.1 +0.7 $0.5M 0.61× –
Mike Heath↔ 1986 +0.2 +1.1 0.4 +0.7 $2.2M 0.83× –
Clint Hurdle 1986 -0.0 -0.0 0.1 -0.1 – 0.56× –
Jeff Lahti 1986 +0.1 +0.4 0.5 -0.1 $6.8M 0.67× –
Tom Lawless 1986 -0.1 -0.3 0.1 -0.4 – 0.58× –
Ray Soff 1986 -0.1 -0.7 0.1 -0.7 – 0.67× –
Jerry White 1986 -0.1 -0.8 0.1 -0.9 – 0.83× –
Pat Perry 1986 -0.6 -3.3 0.1 -3.4 – 0.67× –
Alan Knicely 1986 +0.0 +0.0 – – – 0.56× –
Bill Earley 1986 +0.0 +0.1 – – – 0.67× –
Fred Manrique 1986 -0.0 -0.1 – – – 0.58× –
Greg Bargar 1986 -0.3 -1.7 – – – 0.67× –
Jim Lindeman 1986 +0.1 +0.2 – – – 0.56× –
Joe Boever 1986 -0.2 -1.0 – – – 0.67× –
Kurt Kepshire 1986 -0.1 -1.2 – – – 1.02× –
Ray Burris 1986 -0.7 -3.5 – – – 0.67× –
Rick Ownbey 1986 -0.2 -1.1 – – – 0.67× –
Total—+28.1+282.09.9+280.1—

Trades

Every graded 1986 deal involving the Cardinals — best expected value first. Surplus is realized value in $M; 3 total.

1986 · STL / WSN
STL · Dal Maxvill +$4.0M
Fred Manrique
WSN · Murray Cook −$4.0M
Tom Nieto
STL came out ahead by $4.0M
1986 · CHW / STL
CHW · Ken Harrelson +$9.6M
Fred Manrique
STL · Dal Maxvill −$9.6M
Bill Dawley
CHW came out ahead by $9.6M
1986 · STL / DET
STL · Dal Maxvill +$23.2M
Ken Hill, Mike Laga
DET · Bill Lajoie −$23.2M
Mike Heath
STL came out ahead by $23.2M

Current & Historical Payroll

1986 payroll
$9.8M

What the front office was committed to as of 1986, 1986–1992. 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 (12)

PlayerAgeSvc1986198719881989199019911992
Ozzie Smith318.000$1.9M$1.9M$2.3M$2.2M$2.0M$2.2M$2.0M
Jack Clark3011.000$1.3M$1.3MFREE AGENT
John Tudor327.000$1.0M$1.1M$791kFREE AGENT$350k
Tom Herr307.000$750k$925k$745kFREE AGENT
Bob Forsch3612.000$527k$750k$335kFREE AGENT
Mike Heath318.000$365kFREE AGENT
Tito Landrum316.000$237k$39kFREE AGENT
Clint Hurdle289.000$120kFREE AGENT
Tim Conroy268.000$114k$115kFREE AGENT
Jerry White3312.000$100kFREE AGENT
Ray Burris3513.000—FREE AGENT
Alan Knicely317.000—FREE AGENT

Arbitration-eligible (10)

PlayerAgeSvc1986198719881989199019911992
Willie McGee274.000$500kARB 3FREE AGENT
Jeff Lahti294.000$450kARB 3FREE AGENT
Danny Cox263.000$400kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Andy Van Slyke253.000$335kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Ken Dayley274.000$300kARB 3FREE AGENT
Tom Lawless294.000$100kARB 3FREE AGENT
José Oquendo223.000$79kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Steve Lake293.000$43kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Mike Laga264.000$40kARB 3FREE AGENT
Fred Manrique245.000—FREE AGENT

Pre-arbitration (16)

PlayerAgeSvc1986198719881989199019911992
Ricky Horton262.000$275kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Terry Pendleton252.000$190kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Vince Coleman241.000$150kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Todd Worrell261.000$100kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Michael LaValliere252.000$70kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Pat Perry271.000$65kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Greg Mathews240.000$60kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Curt Ford251.000$60kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Ray Soff270.000$60kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
John Morris250.000$60kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Greg Bargar27–—
Joe Boever251.000—Pre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Bill Earley30–—
Kurt Kepshire262.000—ARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Jim Lindeman240.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Rick Ownbey28–—

Graphs

How each 1986 acquisition stacked onto Cardinals'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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