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Rangers TEX

198870–91 (0.435)
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GM: Tom Grieve

Overview

Ranks vs the 30 teams in 1988, or a custom range (defaults to every team-season since 1985, when our data starts).

to

Front Office

PoorAverageGreat
Value
Payroll $M
$6M
Surplus $M
+3
Win %
0.435
TAB
+0.6
WAB
-3.7
Roster composition
Roster fWAR
27.2
Dead money %
33%
Depth Players
8.0
Dead WAR
-7.2

Offense

PoorAverageGreat

Pitching & Defense

PoorAverageGreat

Roster

1988 depth chart — stacked by playing time

C

LGeno Petralli85
RMike Stanley64
RJim Sundberg⇄38
BChad Kreuter16
BCecil Espy2
RLarry See2

1B

LPete O'Brien155
RBarbaro Garbey7
RMike Stanley7
LJim Steels6
LGeno Petralli2
BCecil Espy1
BCurtis Wilkerson1
RLarry See1
LSteve Kemp1

2B

BCurtis Wilkerson86
BJerry Browne70
RJeff Kunkel28
RSteve Buechele2
LGeno Petralli2
BCecil Espy1
RLarry See1

3B

RSteve Buechele153
RLarry Parrish⇄68
BCurtis Wilkerson11
RJeff Kunkel10
LGeno Petralli9
RBarbaro Garbey3
RMike Stanley2
RLarry See1

SS

RScott Fletcher139
BCurtis Wilkerson24
RJeff Kunkel19
BCecil Espy3

LF

RPete Incaviglia93
BCecil Espy52
RBob Brower26
LJim Steels9
RBarbaro Garbey7
LSteve Kemp5
RJeff Kunkel4
LKevin Reimer1

CF

LOddibe McDowell113
BCecil Espy46
RBob Brower33
RJeff Kunkel2
LJim Steels1

RF

BRuben Sierra153
BCecil Espy8
LJim Steels7
RBob Brower4
RBarbaro Garbey1
LSteve Kemp1

DH

LGeno Petralli21
RPete Incaviglia21
RMike Stanley17
RBob Brower7
RLarry See6
LSteve Kemp6
LKevin Reimer5
RBarbaro Garbey3
BCecil Espy3
LJim Steels2
RJeff Kunkel2
BRuben Sierra1

Starters

RJose Guzman2.9 WAR
RCharlie Hough2.7 WAR
RBobby Witt2.4 WAR
RJeff Russell1.9 WAR
LPaul Kilgus1.7 WAR
LRay Hayward0.4 WAR
RKevin Brown0.3 WAR
LMike Jeffcoat0.0 WAR
RScott May-0.2 WAR

Bullpen

★ LMitch Williams18 sv
RDale Mohorcic⇄0 h
RCraig McMurtry0 h
LEd Vande Berg0 h
RJose Cecena0 h
LGuy Hoffman0 h
RDwayne Henry0 h
RDe Wayne Vaughn0 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 1987)

PlayerfWAR
Jim Sundberg0.6
Ray Hayward0.4
Ed Vande Berg0.3
Kevin Brown0.3
Craig McMurtry0.2
Chad Kreuter0.1

Key subtractions (gone from 1987)

Player1987 fWAR
Greg Harris1.7
Tom O'Malley0.5
Steve Howe0.5
Darrell Porter0.5
Tom Paciorek0.2
Scott Anderson0.1

Contract Value

WAR translated into tier-adjusted market value, then compared with what the player was paid by Rangers. Guaranteed contracts from the 2015-present contract-data period use the known contract period through 1988; everyone else is shown as a 1988 season snapshot.

PlayerPeriodfWARTier Market $MPaid $MSurplus $M$ / WARTierContract
Jose Guzman 1988 +2.9 +45.5 0.2 +45.3 $0.1M 1.96× –
Charlie Hough 1988 +2.7 +42.0 0.8 +41.2 $0.3M 1.96× –
Scott Fletcher 1988 +3.9 +41.1 0.6 +40.5 $0.1M 1.32× –
Steve Buechele 1988 +3.7 +37.2 0.2 +37.0 $0.0M 1.25× –
Pete Incaviglia 1988 +2.5 +32.2 0.3 +31.9 $0.1M 1.60× –
Bobby Witt 1988 +2.4 +28.5 0.1 +28.4 $0.1M 1.49× –
Pete O'Brien 1988 +3.4 +28.9 0.6 +28.3 $0.2M 1.07× –
Jeff Russell 1988 +1.9 +23.2 0.2 +23.0 $0.1M 1.49× –
Ruben Sierra 1988 +2.3 +22.4 0.2 +22.2 $0.1M 1.22× –
Paul Kilgus 1988 +1.7 +20.7 0.1 +20.6 $0.0M 1.49× –
Curtis Wilkerson 1988 +1.8 +11.6 0.3 +11.4 $0.1M 0.82× –
Geno Petralli 1988 +1.5 +9.4 0.1 +9.3 $0.1M 0.76× –
Oddibe McDowell 1988 +1.3 +8.6 0.2 +8.3 $0.2M 0.83× –
Ray Hayward 1988 +0.4 +2.9 0.1 +2.8 $0.2M 1.02× –
Jim Sundberg↔ 1988 +0.6 +2.7 0.4 +2.3 $0.6M 0.52× –
Cecil Espy 1988 +0.3 +1.9 0.1 +1.9 $0.2M 0.83× –
Ed Vande Berg 1988 +0.3 +1.8 0.2 +1.6 $0.6M 0.67× –
Craig McMurtry 1988 +0.2 +0.9 0.1 +0.8 $0.9M 0.67× –
Mitch Williams 1988 +0.1 +0.8 0.2 +0.6 $2.8M 1.34× –
Jose Cecena 1988 -0.2 -0.8 0.1 -0.9 – 0.67× –
Bob Brower 1988 -0.2 -1.1 0.1 -1.2 – 0.83× –
Cecilio Guante↔ 1988 -0.2 -1.7 0.0 -1.7 – 1.34× –
Steve Kemp 1988 -0.3 -1.5 0.2 -1.7 – 0.69× –
Barbaro Garbey 1988 -0.4 -1.7 0.1 -1.8 – 0.56× –
Dale Mohorcic↔ 1988 -0.4 -2.4 0.1 -2.5 – 0.67× –
Guy Hoffman 1988 -0.5 -2.6 0.2 -2.8 – 0.67× –
Mike Stanley 1988 -0.7 -2.8 0.1 -2.9 – 0.52× –
Jerry Browne 1988 -0.8 -3.5 0.1 -3.6 – 0.56× –
Larry Parrish↔ 1988 -1.3 -6.0 0.3 -6.3 – 0.58× –
Jeff Kunkel 1988 +0.0 +0.0 0.1 -0.0 $7.9M 0.56× –
Chad Kreuter 1988 +0.1 +0.5 – – – 0.52× –
De Wayne Vaughn 1988 -0.2 -1.1 – – – 0.67× –
Dwayne Henry 1988 -0.2 -1.1 – – – 0.67× –
Jim Steels 1988 -0.9 -5.7 – – – 0.83× –
Kevin Brown 1988 +0.3 +2.1 – – – 1.02× –
Kevin Reimer 1988 -0.4 -2.0 – – – 0.69× –
Larry See 1988 -0.4 -2.0 – – – 0.69× –
Mike Jeffcoat 1988 +0.0 +0.1 – – – 0.67× –
Scott May 1988 -0.2 -1.3 – – – 0.67× –
Steve Wilson 1988 -0.1 -0.6 – – – 0.67× –
Tony Fossas 1988 +0.0 +0.0 – – – 0.67× –
Total—+26.9+327.16.4+332.0—

Trades

Every graded 1988 deal involving the Rangers — best expected value first. Surplus is realized value in $M; 9 total.

1988 · TEX / CHC
TEX · Tom Grieve +$442.4M
Rafael Palmeiro, Jamie Moyer, Drew Hall
CHC · Jim Frey −$442.4M
Mitch Williams, Paul Kilgus, Steve Wilson, Curt Wilkerson, Luis Benitez, Pablo Delgado
TEX came out ahead by $442.4M
1988 · PIT / TEX
PIT · Larry Doughty +$0.0M
Dave Sax
TEX · Tom Grieve +$0.0M
Bill Merrifield
Even trade
1988 · WSN / TEX
WSN · Bill Stoneman +$0.8M
Scott Anderson
TEX · Tom Grieve −$0.8M
Mike Berger
WSN came out ahead by $0.8M
1988 · TEX / CHC
TEX · Tom Grieve +$3.2M
Ray Hayward
CHC · Jim Frey −$3.2M
Dave Meier, Greg Tabor
TEX came out ahead by $3.2M
1988 · NYY / TEX
NYY · Lou Piniella +$6.4M
Bob Brower
TEX · Tom Grieve −$6.4M
Bob Meacham
NYY came out ahead by $6.4M
1988 · TEX / HOU
TEX · Tom Grieve +$0.0M
Robbie Wine
HOU · Bill Wood +$0.0M
Mike Loynd
Even trade
1988 · WSN / TEX
WSN · Bill Stoneman +$2.4M
Tom O'Malley
TEX · Tom Grieve −$2.4M
Jack Daugherty
WSN came out ahead by $2.4M
1988 · NYY / TEX
NYY · Lou Piniella +$4.8M
Dale Mohorcic
TEX · Tom Grieve −$4.8M
Cecilio Guante
NYY came out ahead by $4.8M
1988 · TEX / CLE
TEX · Tom Grieve +$87.2M
Julio Franco
CLE · Hank Peters −$87.2M
Pete O'Brien, Oddibe McDowell, Jerry Browne
TEX came out ahead by $87.2M

Current & Historical Payroll

1988 payroll
$6.4M

What the front office was committed to as of 1988, 1988–1994. 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 (10)

PlayerAgeSvc1988198919901991199219931994
Charlie Hough4018.000$850k$900k$1.0MFREE AGENT
Scott Fletcher297.000$575k$701kFREE AGENT
Pete O'Brien306.000$562kFREE AGENT
Jim Sundberg3714.000$398k$475kFREE AGENT
Larry Parrish3414.000$312kFREE AGENT
Steve Kemp3311.000$228kFREE AGENT
Guy Hoffman319.000$200kFREE AGENT
Ed Vande Berg296.000$191kFREE AGENT
Geno Petralli286.000$135k$325k$462k$562k$675k$650kFREE AGENT
Cecilio Guante286.000$42k$445kFREE AGENT

Arbitration-eligible (11)

PlayerAgeSvc1988198919901991199219931994
Curtis Wilkerson275.000$252kFREE AGENT
Oddibe McDowell253.000$250kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Jeff Russell265.000$190kFREE AGENT
Steve Buechele263.000$180kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Jose Guzman253.000$170kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Craig McMurtry285.000$150kFREE AGENT
Barbaro Garbey314.000$80kARB 3FREE AGENT
Jeff Kunkel264.000$68kARB 3FREE AGENT
Cecil Espy255.000$62kFREE AGENT
Dwayne Henry264.000—ARB 3FREE AGENT
Mike Jeffcoat285.000—FREE AGENT

Pre-arbitration (20)

PlayerAgeSvc1988198919901991199219931994
Pete Incaviglia242.000$275kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Ruben Sierra222.000$230kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Mitch Williams232.000$200kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Bobby Witt242.000$130kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Dale Mohorcic322.000$121kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Jerry Browne222.000$118kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Bob Brower282.000$98kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Mike Stanley252.000$84kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Paul Kilgus261.000$80kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Ray Hayward272.000$65kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Jose Cecena240.000$62kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Kevin Brown232.000—ARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Tony Fossas300.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Chad Kreuter230.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Scott May26–—
Kevin Reimer240.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Larry See28–—
Jim Steels27–—
De Wayne Vaughn28–—
Steve Wilson230.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT

Graphs

How each 1988 acquisition stacked onto Rangers'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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