Rosternomics
Log in Sign up 𝕏

Blue Jays TOR

198796–66 (0.593)
‹ Previous Next ›

GM: Pat Gillick

Overview

Ranks vs the 30 teams in 1987, or a custom range (defaults to every team-season since 1985, when our data starts).

to

Front Office

PoorAverageGreat
Value
Payroll $M
$11M
Surplus $M
+3
Win %
0.593
TAB
+14.8
WAB
+14.2
Roster composition
Roster fWAR
48.9
Dead money %
8%
Depth Players
10.0
Dead WAR
-2.4

Offense

PoorAverageGreat

Pitching & Defense

PoorAverageGreat

Roster

1987 depth chart — stacked by playing time

C

LErnie Whitt131
RCharlie Moore44
RJeffrey DeWillis13
LGreg Myers7
RMatt Stark5

1B

LWillie Upshaw146
RCecil Fielder16
LFred McGriff14
RJuan Beníquez⇄5
LRick Leach5

2B

RGarth Iorg91
BNelson Liriano37
RMike Sharperson⇄32
BManuel Lee27
RKelly Gruber8
RGeorge Bell1

3B

RKelly Gruber119
LRance Mulliniks96
RGarth Iorg29
RCecil Fielder2
RGeorge Bell1
RAlexis Infante1

SS

BTony Fernández146
BManuel Lee26
RKelly Gruber21
LRance Mulliniks1

LF

RGeorge Bell148
LRick Leach21
LRob Ducey17
RJuan Beníquez⇄13
LLou Thornton4
RCharlie Moore2

CF

LLloyd Moseby153
RJesse Barfield13
LRob Ducey11
RKelly Gruber2

RF

RJesse Barfield153
LRick Leach22
RJuan Beníquez⇄5
RCharlie Moore3
LRob Ducey3

DH

LFred McGriff76
RCecil Fielder34
LRick Leach18
RJuan Beníquez⇄16
LRance Mulliniks13
RGeorge Bell7
RGarth Iorg1

Starters

LJimmy Key5.6 WAR
RJim Clancy5.0 WAR
RDave Stieb2.5 WAR
LMike Flanagan⇄1.5 WAR
LDavid Wells1.4 WAR
RJose Nunez0.9 WAR
RJoe Johnson0.5 WAR
LJeff Musselman0.1 WAR
RDuane Ward0.1 WAR
LJohn Cerutti-0.1 WAR
RPhil Niekro⇄-0.2 WAR

Bullpen

★ RTom Henke34 sv
RMark Eichhorn0 h
LJeff Musselman0 h
LGary Lavelle⇄0 h
LDavid Wells0 h
RDuane Ward0 h
RDon Gordon⇄0 h
RPhil Niekro⇄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 1986)

PlayerfWAR
Mike Flanagan1.5
David Wells1.4
Jose Antonio Nunez0.9
Nelson Liriano0.5
Rob Ducey0.1
Jeffrey DeWillis0.1

Key subtractions (gone from 1986)

Player1986 fWAR
Doyle Alexander1.1
Cliff Johnson1.0
Dennis Lamp0.5
Jim Acker0.4
Jeff Hearron0.0
Mickey Mahler-0.0

Contract Value

WAR translated into tier-adjusted market value, then compared with what the player was paid by Blue Jays. Guaranteed contracts from the 2015-present contract-data period use the known contract period through 1987; everyone else is shown as a 1987 season snapshot.

PlayerPeriodfWARTier Market $MPaid $MSurplus $M$ / WARTierContract
Jimmy Key 1987 +5.6 +112.4 0.6 +111.8 $0.1M 2.50× –
Jim Clancy 1987 +5.0 +87.5 0.8 +86.7 $0.2M 2.19× –
George Bell 1987 +5.3 +86.7 1.2 +85.6 $0.2M 2.05× –
Tom Henke 1987 +3.3 +67.1 0.3 +66.8 $0.1M 2.57× –
Jesse Barfield 1987 +4.3 +61.6 1.5 +60.1 $0.4M 1.79× –
Tony Fernandez 1987 +4.8 +50.8 0.4 +50.4 $0.1M 1.32× –
Lloyd Moseby 1987 +3.6 +50.9 0.8 +50.1 $0.2M 1.79× –
Dave Stieb 1987 +2.5 +29.4 1.0 +28.4 $0.4M 1.49× –
Ernie Whitt 1987 +3.4 +26.9 0.8 +26.1 $0.2M 1.00× –
Rance Mulliniks 1987 +2.7 +23.9 0.5 +23.4 $0.2M 1.12× –
Mike Flanagan↔ 1987 +1.5 +18.3 0.2 +18.1 $0.1M 1.49× –
Fred McGriff 1987 +1.3 +7.4 0.1 +7.3 $0.0M 0.69× –
Willie Upshaw 1987 +1.4 +6.4 0.9 +5.4 $0.7M 0.56× –
Jose Antonio Nunez 1987 +0.9 +4.6 0.1 +4.5 $0.1M 0.67× –
Rick Leach 1987 +0.7 +4.5 0.3 +4.2 $0.4M 0.83× –
Mark Eichhorn 1987 +0.8 +4.2 0.2 +4.1 $0.2M 0.67× –
Cecil Fielder 1987 +0.7 +3.6 0.1 +3.6 $0.1M 0.69× –
Kelly Gruber 1987 +0.6 +2.7 0.1 +2.6 $0.2M 0.58× –
Nelson Liriano 1987 +0.5 +2.5 0.1 +2.4 $0.1M 0.56× –
Jeff Musselman 1987 +0.1 +0.6 0.1 +0.5 $0.6M 0.67× –
Gary Lavelle↔ 1987 -0.0 -0.0 0.0 -0.1 – 0.67× –
Don Gordon↔ 1987 -0.1 -0.5 0.0 -0.5 – 0.67× –
John Cerutti 1987 -0.1 -0.5 0.1 -0.6 – 0.67× –
Phil Niekro↔ 1987 -0.2 -2.0 0.0 -2.0 – 1.02× –
Charlie Moore 1987 -0.5 -1.9 0.3 -2.1 – 0.52× –
Garth Iorg 1987 -0.7 -3.2 0.4 -3.5 – 0.56× –
Alexis Infante 1987 +0.0 +0.0 – – – 0.58× –
David Wells 1987 +1.4 +7.2 – – – 0.67× –
Duane Ward 1987 +0.1 +0.3 – – – 0.67× –
Greg Myers 1987 -0.1 -0.5 – – – 0.52× –
Jeffrey DeWillis 1987 +0.1 +0.3 – – – 0.52× –
Joe Johnson 1987 +0.5 +3.9 – – – 1.02× –
Juan Beniquez↔ 1987 +0.0 +0.0 – – – 0.69× –
Lou Thornton 1987 -0.1 -0.5 – – – 0.83× –
Manuel Lee 1987 +0.4 +1.6 – – – 0.56× –
Matt Stark 1987 -0.3 -1.2 – – – 0.52× –
Mike Sharperson↔ 1987 -0.3 -1.3 – – – 0.56× –
Rob Ducey 1987 +0.1 +0.5 – – – 0.83× –
Total—+49.2+654.210.9+633.3—

Trades

Every graded 1987 deal involving the Blue Jays — best expected value first. Surplus is realized value in $M; 5 total.

1987 · BAL / TOR
BAL · Hank Peters +$3.2M
Oswaldo Peraza, José Mesa
TOR · Pat Gillick −$3.2M
Mike Flanagan
BAL came out ahead by $3.2M
1987 · KCR / TOR
KCR · John Schuerholz +$20.0M
Luis Aquino
TOR · Pat Gillick −$20.0M
Juan Beníquez
KCR came out ahead by $20.0M
1987 · TOR / ATL
TOR · Pat Gillick +$12.8M
Craig McMurtry
ATL · Bobby Cox −$12.8M
Dámaso García, Luis Leal
TOR came out ahead by $12.8M
1987 · TOR / LAD
TOR · Pat Gillick +$197.6M
Juan Guzmán
LAD · Al Campanis −$197.6M
Mike Sharperson
TOR came out ahead by $197.6M
1987 · CLE / TOR
CLE · Joe Klein +$1.6M
Darryl Landrum, Don Gordon
TOR · Pat Gillick −$1.6M
Phil Niekro
CLE came out ahead by $1.6M

Current & Historical Payroll

1987 payroll
$10.7M

What the front office was committed to as of 1987, 1987–1993. 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 (15)

PlayerAgeSvc1987198819891990199119921993
Jesse Barfield276.000$1.5M$1.4M$1.1MFREE AGENT
George Bell276.000$1.2M$1.9M$1.9M$2.0MFREE AGENT
Dave Stieb298.000$1.0M$1.0M$1.5M$2.8M$3.0M$3.2MFREE AGENT
Willie Upshaw309.000$940kFREE AGENT
Jim Clancy3110.000$850k$900kFREE AGENT
Lloyd Moseby277.000$808k$858k$1.4MFREE AGENT
Ernie Whitt3511.000$750k$750k$800kFREE AGENT
Rance Mulliniks3110.000$475k$600k$650k$520k$725k$775kFREE AGENT
Garth Iorg329.000$380kFREE AGENT
Rick Leach306.000$259k$300kFREE AGENT
Charlie Moore3414.000$256kFREE AGENT
Mike Flanagan3512.000$190k$550k$888k$1.0MFREE AGENT
Gary Lavelle3813.000$50kFREE AGENT
Phil Niekro4823.000$11kFREE AGENT
Juan Beniquez3716.000—$400kFREE AGENT

Arbitration-eligible (5)

PlayerAgeSvc1987198819891990199119921993
Jimmy Key263.000$554kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Tony Fernandez254.000$400kARB 3FREE AGENT
Tom Henke295.000$331kFREE AGENT
Mark Eichhorn265.000$166kFREE AGENT
Kelly Gruber253.000$96kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT

Pre-arbitration (18)

PlayerAgeSvc1987198819891990199119921993
John Cerutti272.000$115kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Cecil Fielder232.000$78kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Jose Antonio Nunez230.000$62kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Nelson Liriano230.000$62kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Fred McGriff231.000$62kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Jeff Musselman241.000$62kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Don Gordon271.000$14kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Jeffrey DeWillis22–—
Rob Ducey220.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Alexis Infante250.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Joe Johnson252.000—ARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Manuel Lee222.000—ARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Greg Myers210.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Mike Sharperson250.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Matt Stark22–—
Lou Thornton24–—
Duane Ward231.000—Pre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
David Wells240.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT

Graphs

How each 1987 acquisition stacked onto Blue Jays'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