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Nationals WSN

198981–81 (0.500)
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GM: Dave Dombrowski

Overview

Ranks vs the 30 teams in 1989, 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
-2
Win %
0.500
TAB
-1.6
WAB
-1.3
Roster composition
Roster fWAR
33.0
Dead money %
26%
Depth Players
7.0
Dead WAR
-2.7

Offense

PoorAverageGreat

Pitching & Defense

PoorAverageGreat

Roster

1989 depth chart — stacked by playing time

C

RNelson Santovenia89
RMike Fitzgerald77
LMarty Pevey11
RGilberto Reyes4

1B

RAndres Galarraga147
BWallace Johnson18
LMike Aldrete10
RNelson Santovenia1

2B

LTom Foley108
RDámaso García62
RRex Hudler38
RJunior Noboa13
LJeff Huson9

3B

RTim Wallach153
LTom Foley16
RMike Fitzgerald8
RDámaso García1
LJeff Huson1
RJunior Noboa1

SS

BSpike Owen142
LJeff Huson20
RRex Hudler18
LTom Foley14
RJunior Noboa4

LF

BTim Raines Sr.139
LMike Aldrete16
RRex Hudler14
BOtis Nixon13
RMike Fitzgerald6
LLarry Walker2
RMarquis Grissom1

CF

LDave Martinez103
BOtis Nixon92
RMarquis Grissom22
RRex Hudler5
LMike Aldrete3

RF

RHubie Brooks140
LDave Martinez38
LMike Aldrete19
LLarry Walker13
RRex Hudler4
RMarquis Grissom1
LMarty Pevey1
BOtis Nixon1

DH

—

Starters

RPascual Perez4.2 WAR
RBryn Smith3.0 WAR
RDennis Martinez3.0 WAR
LMark Langston⇄2.7 WAR
RKevin Gross1.8 WAR
RMark Gardner0.2 WAR
RBrian Holman⇄0.1 WAR
LRandy Johnson⇄-0.0 WAR
RRich Thompson0.0 WAR

Bullpen

★ RTim Burke28 sv
RAndy McGaffigan0 h
LJoe Hesketh0 h
LZane Smith⇄0 h
LSteve Frey0 h
RRich Thompson0 h
LJohn Candelaria⇄0 h
RGene Harris⇄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 1988)

PlayerfWAR
Mark Langston2.7
Kevin Gross1.8
Spike Owen0.8
Zane Smith0.5
Mark Gardner0.2
Marquis Grissom0.2

Key subtractions (gone from 1988)

Player1988 fWAR
John Dopson1.1
Mitch Webster0.8
Tracy Jones0.7
Floyd Youmans0.2
Luis Rivera0.2
Tom O'Malley0.1

Contract Value

WAR translated into tier-adjusted market value, then compared with what the player was paid by Nationals. Guaranteed contracts from the 2015-present contract-data period use the known contract period through 1989; everyone else is shown as a 1989 season snapshot.

PlayerPeriodfWARTier Market $MPaid $MSurplus $M$ / WARTierContract
Pascual Perez 1989 +4.2 +73.4 0.8 +72.6 $0.2M 2.19× –
Tim Raines Sr. 1989 +3.9 +55.4 2.1 +53.3 $0.5M 1.79× –
Bryn Smith 1989 +3.0 +47.2 0.6 +46.7 $0.2M 1.96× –
Dennis Martinez 1989 +3.0 +47.4 0.7 +46.6 $0.2M 1.96× –
Mark Langston↔ 1989 +2.7 +42.0 1.0 +41.1 $0.4M 1.96× –
Tim Wallach 1989 +4.0 +40.3 0.9 +39.3 $0.2M 1.25× –
Kevin Gross 1989 +1.8 +21.3 0.8 +20.4 $0.5M 1.49× –
Andres Galarraga 1989 +2.4 +15.4 0.9 +14.5 $0.4M 0.81× –
Nelson Santovenia 1989 +1.6 +10.0 0.1 +9.9 $0.1M 0.76× –
Dave Martinez 1989 +1.4 +9.6 0.2 +9.4 $0.1M 0.83× –
Tim Burke 1989 +0.8 +8.9 0.7 +8.1 $0.9M 1.34× –
Tom Foley 1989 +1.4 +6.4 0.3 +6.1 $0.2M 0.56× –
Mike Fitzgerald 1989 +1.4 +5.9 0.3 +5.5 $0.2M 0.52× –
Otis Nixon 1989 +0.7 +4.4 0.2 +4.2 $0.3M 0.83× –
Spike Owen 1989 +0.8 +4.1 0.6 +3.5 $0.7M 0.61× –
Zane Smith↔ 1989 +0.5 +2.6 0.4 +2.2 $0.8M 0.67× –
Rex Hudler 1989 +0.5 +2.2 0.1 +2.1 $0.2M 0.56× –
Wallace Johnson 1989 +0.5 +2.1 0.2 +1.9 $0.4M 0.56× –
Marquis Grissom 1989 +0.2 +1.1 0.1 +1.1 $0.4M 0.83× –
Andy McGaffigan 1989 +0.3 +1.3 0.6 +0.7 $2.5M 0.67× –
Mike Aldrete 1989 +0.1 +0.8 0.2 +0.6 $1.8M 0.83× –
Jim Dwyer↔ 1989 +0.1 +0.4 0.0 +0.4 $0.4M 0.83× –
Randy Johnson↔ 1989 -0.0 -0.2 0.0 -0.2 – 1.02× –
Gene Harris↔ 1989 -0.0 -0.3 0.0 -0.3 – 0.67× –
Joe Hesketh 1989 -0.1 -0.3 0.4 -0.8 – 0.67× –
John Candelaria↔ 1989 -0.1 -0.4 0.4 -0.9 – 0.67× –
Hubie Brooks 1989 -0.4 -2.9 0.9 -3.9 – 0.83× –
Damaso Garcia 1989 +0.0 +0.2 0.2 -0.0 $4.8M 0.56× –
Rich Thompson 1989 +0.0 +0.0 0.1 -0.0 $8.4M 0.67× –
Brett Gideon 1989 -0.3 -1.5 – – – 0.67× –
Brian Holman↔ 1989 +0.1 +0.7 – – – 0.67× –
Gilberto Reyes 1989 -0.0 -0.1 – – – 0.52× –
Jeff Huson 1989 -0.7 -3.2 – – – 0.61× –
Junior Noboa 1989 -0.2 -0.7 – – – 0.56× –
Larry Walker 1989 -0.1 -0.9 – – – 0.83× –
Mark Gardner 1989 +0.2 +1.6 – – – 1.02× –
Marty Pevey 1989 -0.3 -1.2 – – – 0.52× –
Steve Frey 1989 -0.4 -2.3 – – – 0.67× –
Urbano Lugo 1989 -0.0 -0.1 – – – 0.67× –
Total—+33.0+390.613.8+384.1—

Trades

Every graded 1989 deal involving the Nationals — best expected value first. Surplus is realized value in $M; 9 total.

1989 · SEA / WSN
SEA · Woody Woodward +$680.0M
Randy Johnson, Brian Holman, Gene Harris
WSN · Dave Dombrowski −$680.0M
Mark Langston, Mike Campbell
SEA came out ahead by $680.0M
1989 · NYY / WSN
NYY · Bob Quinn +$0.8M
Mike Blowers
WSN · Dave Dombrowski −$0.8M
John Candelaria
NYY came out ahead by $0.8M
1989 · WSN / ATL
WSN · Dave Dombrowski +$8.0M
Zane Smith
ATL · Bobby Cox −$8.0M
Sergio Valdez, Nate Minchey, Kevin Dean
WSN came out ahead by $8.0M
1989 · MIN / WSN
MIN · Andy MacPhail +$1.6M
Alonzo Powell
WSN · Dave Dombrowski −$1.6M
Jim Dwyer
MIN came out ahead by $1.6M
1989 · CLE / WSN
CLE · Hank Peters +$0.8M
Rick Carriger
WSN · Dave Dombrowski −$0.8M
Doug Piatt
CLE came out ahead by $0.8M
1989 · WSN / LAD
WSN · Dave Dombrowski +$3.2M
Gil Reyes
LAD · Fred Claire −$3.2M
Jeff Fischer
WSN came out ahead by $3.2M
1989 · PHI / WSN
PHI · Lee Thomas +$0.0M
Víctor Rosario
WSN · Dave Dombrowski +$0.0M
Tim Sossamon
Even trade
1989 · NYM / WSN
NYM · Frank Cashen +$8.0M
Mark Bailey, Tom O'Malley
WSN · Dave Dombrowski −$8.0M
Steve Frey
NYM came out ahead by $8.0M
1989 · WSN / PIT
WSN · Dave Dombrowski +$3.2M
Brett Gideon
PIT · Larry Doughty −$3.2M
Neal Heaton
WSN came out ahead by $3.2M

Current & Historical Payroll

1989 payroll
$14.0M

What the front office was committed to as of 1989, 1989–1995. 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 (16)

PlayerAgeSvc1989199019911992199319941995
Tim Raines Sr.2910.000$2.1M$2.1MFREE AGENT
Tim Wallach319.000$950k$1.2MFREE AGENT$1.9M
Hubie Brooks329.000$950kFREE AGENT
Pascual Perez329.000$850kFREE AGENT
Kevin Gross286.000$850k$950kFREE AGENT
Dennis Martinez3513.000$735k$1.4M$3.3M$3.3M$2.8MFREE AGENT
Andy McGaffigan328.000$632kFREE AGENT
Spike Owen286.000$565k$933kFREE AGENT$1.2M
Bryn Smith338.000$550kFREE AGENT
John Candelaria3514.000$436kFREE AGENT
Mike Fitzgerald286.000$335k$525k$700kFREE AGENT
Tom Foley296.000$320k$335kFREE AGENT$365k$160k
Damaso Garcia3211.000$200kFREE AGENT
Otis Nixon306.000$178k$315kFREE AGENT
Wallace Johnson328.000$177k$295kFREE AGENT
Jim Dwyer3916.000$26kFREE AGENT

Arbitration-eligible (10)

PlayerAgeSvc1989199019911992199319941995
Mark Langston285.000$953kFREE AGENT
Andres Galarraga284.000$865kARB 3FREE AGENT
Tim Burke304.000$740kARB 3FREE AGENT
Joe Hesketh305.000$417kFREE AGENT
Zane Smith285.000$392kFREE AGENT
Mike Aldrete283.000$202kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Dave Martinez243.000$185kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Rex Hudler285.000$90kFREE AGENT
Rich Thompson304.000$68kARB 3FREE AGENT
Junior Noboa245.000—FREE AGENT

Pre-arbitration (13)

PlayerAgeSvc1989199019911992199319941995
Nelson Santovenia272.000$98kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Marquis Grissom220.000$68kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Gene Harris240.000$34kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Randy Johnson251.000$17kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Steve Frey250.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Mark Gardner270.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Brett Gideon252.000—ARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Brian Holman241.000—Pre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Jeff Huson241.000—Pre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Urbano Lugo26–—
Marty Pevey26–—
Gilberto Reyes25–—
Larry Walker220.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT

Graphs

How each 1989 acquisition stacked onto Nationals'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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