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Nationals WSN

199085–77 (0.525)
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GM: Dave Dombrowski

Overview

Ranks vs the 30 teams in 1990, or a custom range (defaults to every team-season since 1985, when our data starts).

to

Front Office

PoorAverageGreat
Value
Payroll $M
$16M
Surplus $M
-2
Win %
0.525
TAB
-1.5
WAB
+3.8
Roster composition
Roster fWAR
32.0
Dead money %
18%
Depth Players
9.0
Dead WAR
-5.1

Offense

PoorAverageGreat

Pitching & Defense

PoorAverageGreat

Roster

1990 depth chart — stacked by playing time

C

RMike Fitzgerald98
RNelson Santovenia51
LJerry Goff38
ROrlando Mercado⇄8

1B

RAndres Galarraga154
LMike Aldrete18
BWallace Johnson7
LJerry Goff3
LTom Foley1

2B

LDelino DeShields128
RJunior Noboa31
LTom Foley20
RRex Hudler⇄4
RJohnny Paredes⇄3

3B

RTim Wallach161
RJunior Noboa8
LTom Foley7
LJerry Goff3

SS

BSpike Owen148
LTom Foley45
RJunior Noboa7
BOtis Nixon1

LF

BTim Raines Sr.123
LMike Aldrete26
BOtis Nixon21
RMarquis Grissom18
RRolando Roomes⇄10
RMoises Alou⇄3
RJunior Noboa2
RMike Fitzgerald1

CF

LDave Martinez103
BOtis Nixon71
RMarquis Grissom35
RMoises Alou⇄2
RRolando Roomes⇄1

RF

LLarry Walker124
RMarquis Grissom40
LDave Martinez22
LMike Aldrete14
RJunior Noboa7
RMike Fitzgerald5
RRolando Roomes⇄5
RMoises Alou⇄2

DH

—

Starters

RDennis Martinez4.3 WAR
RKevin Gross2.9 WAR
RMark Gardner2.1 WAR
LZane Smith⇄2.0 WAR
ROil Can Boyd1.6 WAR
LBrian Barnes0.6 WAR
LChris Nabholz0.5 WAR
RBill Sampen0.5 WAR
RScott Anderson0.3 WAR
RHoward Farmer-0.6 WAR

Bullpen

★ RTim Burke20 sv
RBill Sampen0 h
LSteve Frey0 h
LDrew Hall0 h
RDave Schmidt0 h
RDale Mohorcic0 h
RMel Rojas0 h
LScott Ruskin⇄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 1989)

PlayerfWAR
Delino DeShields2.1
Oil Can Boyd1.6
Brian Barnes0.6
Bill Sampen0.5
Chris Nabholz0.5
Scott Anderson0.3

Key subtractions (gone from 1989)

Player1989 fWAR
Pascual Perez4.2
Bryn Smith3.0
Mark Langston2.7
Andy McGaffigan0.3
Brian Holman0.1
Jim Dwyer0.1

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 1990; everyone else is shown as a 1990 season snapshot.

PlayerPeriodfWARTier Market $MPaid $MSurplus $M$ / WARTierContract
Dennis Martinez 1990 +4.3 +76.2 1.4 +74.8 $0.3M 2.19× –
Kevin Gross 1990 +2.9 +44.8 0.9 +43.9 $0.3M 1.96× –
Larry Walker 1990 +3.0 +38.1 0.1 +38.0 $0.0M 1.60× –
Tim Wallach 1990 +3.7 +36.8 1.2 +35.6 $0.3M 1.25× –
Mark Gardner 1990 +2.1 +25.2 0.1 +25.1 $0.0M 1.49× –
Zane Smith↔ 1990 +2.0 +23.4 0.6 +22.8 $0.3M 1.49× –
Tim Raines Sr. 1990 +2.4 +23.6 2.1 +21.6 $0.8M 1.22× –
Mike Fitzgerald 1990 +2.5 +20.3 0.5 +19.8 $0.2M 1.00× –
Dave Martinez 1990 +2.0 +19.7 0.4 +19.3 $0.2M 1.22× –
Oil Can Boyd 1990 +1.6 +18.5 0.4 +18.1 $0.3M 1.49× –
Delino DeShields 1990 +2.1 +13.5 0.1 +13.4 $0.0M 0.82× –
Otis Nixon 1990 +1.4 +9.5 0.3 +9.1 $0.2M 0.83× –
Marquis Grissom 1990 +1.1 +7.0 0.1 +6.9 $0.1M 0.83× –
Tim Burke 1990 +0.6 +6.4 1.6 +4.8 $2.7M 1.34× –
Andres Galarraga 1990 +1.4 +6.4 1.9 +4.5 $1.4M 0.56× –
Mike Aldrete 1990 +0.7 +4.4 0.3 +4.1 $0.4M 0.83× –
Chris Nabholz 1990 +0.5 +4.0 0.1 +3.9 $0.2M 1.02× –
Bill Sampen 1990 +0.5 +2.9 0.1 +2.8 $0.2M 0.67× –
Spike Owen 1990 +0.7 +3.4 0.9 +2.5 $1.3M 0.61× –
Dave Schmidt 1990 +0.3 +3.0 0.7 +2.4 $2.3M 1.34× –
Scott Ruskin↔ 1990 +0.3 +1.4 0.0 +1.4 $0.1M 0.67× –
Johnny Paredes↔ 1990 +0.1 +0.2 0.0 +0.2 $0.6M 0.56× –
Joe Hesketh↔ 1990 +0.0 +0.2 0.0 +0.1 $0.5M 0.67× –
Rich Thompson 1990 +0.0 +0.0 0.1 -0.1 $16.2M 0.67× –
Rolando Roomes↔ 1990 -0.1 -0.3 0.0 -0.4 – 0.83× –
Brett Gideon 1990 -0.1 -0.6 0.1 -0.7 – 0.67× –
John Costello↔ 1990 -0.2 -1.1 0.1 -1.2 – 0.67× –
Moises Alou↔ 1990 -0.2 -1.2 0.1 -1.2 – 0.83× –
Tom Foley 1990 -0.2 -0.8 0.3 -1.2 – 0.61× –
Wallace Johnson 1990 -0.2 -0.9 0.3 -1.2 – 0.56× –
Drew Hall 1990 -0.3 -1.7 0.1 -1.9 – 0.67× –
Dale Mohorcic 1990 -0.3 -1.9 0.2 -2.1 – 0.67× –
Junior Noboa 1990 -0.5 -2.2 0.1 -2.3 – 0.56× –
Mel Rojas 1990 -0.7 -3.5 0.1 -3.6 – 0.67× –
Steve Frey 1990 -0.3 -3.6 0.1 -3.7 – 1.34× –
Nelson Santovenia 1990 -0.9 -3.6 0.2 -3.8 – 0.52× –
Howard Farmer 1990 -0.6 -5.1 0.1 -5.2 – 1.02× –
Rex Hudler↔ 1990 +0.0 +0.0 0.0 +0.0 $1.1M 0.56× –
Bob Malloy 1990 +0.0 +0.0 – – – 0.67× –
Brian Barnes 1990 +0.6 +4.8 – – – 1.02× –
Eric Bullock 1990 +0.0 +0.2 – – – 0.83× –
Jerry Goff 1990 -0.5 -2.0 – – – 0.52× –
Orlando Mercado↔ 1990 -0.1 -0.5 – – – 0.52× –
Scott Anderson 1990 +0.3 +2.8 – – – 1.02× –
Total—+31.9+367.715.7+346.5—

Trades

Every graded 1990 deal involving the Nationals — best expected value first. Surplus is realized value in $M; 9 total.

1990 · WSN / PIT
WSN · Dave Dombrowski +$10.4M
Scott Ruskin, Willie Greene, Moisés Alou
PIT · Larry Doughty −$10.4M
Zane Smith
WSN came out ahead by $10.4M
1990 · CHW / WSN
CHW · Larry Himes +$88.8M
Tim Raines, Jeff Carter, Mario Brito
WSN · Dave Dombrowski −$88.8M
Iván Calderón, Barry Jones
CHW came out ahead by $88.8M
1990 · TEX / WSN
TEX · Tom Grieve +$8.8M
Jeff Huson
WSN · Dave Dombrowski −$8.8M
Drew Hall
TEX came out ahead by $8.8M
1990 · WSN / MIN
WSN · Dave Dombrowski +$4.8M
Jim Davins
MIN · Andy MacPhail −$4.8M
Jim Dwyer
WSN came out ahead by $4.8M
1990 · SDP / WSN
SDP · Jack McKeon +$0.0M
John Costello
WSN · Dave Dombrowski +$0.0M
Brian Harrison
Even trade
1990 · SEA / WSN
SEA · Woody Woodward +$4.0M
Pat Pacillo
WSN · Dave Dombrowski −$4.0M
Jerry Goff
SEA came out ahead by $4.0M
1990 · WSN / SFG
WSN · Dave Dombrowski +$1.6M
Steve Hecht
SFG · Al Rosen −$1.6M
Andy McGaffigan
WSN came out ahead by $1.6M
1990 · WSN / CHW
WSN · Dave Dombrowski +$0.0M
Robert Fletcher
CHW · Larry Himes +$0.0M
Mike Campbell
Even trade
1990 · WSN / STL
WSN · Dave Dombrowski +$2.4M
John Costello
STL · Dal Maxvill −$2.4M
Rex Hudler
WSN came out ahead by $2.4M

Current & Historical Payroll

1990 payroll
$16.0M

What the front office was committed to as of 1990, 1990–1996. 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)

PlayerAgeSvc1990199119921993199419951996
Tim Raines Sr.3011.000$2.1MFREE AGENT
Dennis Martinez3614.000$1.4M$3.3M$3.3M$2.8MFREE AGENT
Tim Wallach3210.000$1.2MFREE AGENT$1.9M
Kevin Gross297.000$950kFREE AGENT
Spike Owen297.000$933kFREE AGENT$1.2M
Dave Schmidt339.000$651kFREE AGENT
Zane Smith296.000$582kFREE AGENT
Mike Fitzgerald297.000$525k$700kFREE AGENT
Oil Can Boyd308.000$400k$919kFREE AGENT
Tom Foley307.000$335kFREE AGENT$365k$160k
Otis Nixon317.000$315kFREE AGENT
Wallace Johnson339.000$295kFREE AGENT
Junior Noboa256.000$100kFREE AGENT
Joe Hesketh316.000$17kFREE AGENT
Rex Hudler296.000$6kFREE AGENT

Arbitration-eligible (9)

PlayerAgeSvc1990199119921993199419951996
Andres Galarraga295.000$1.9MFREE AGENT
Tim Burke315.000$1.6MFREE AGENT
Dave Martinez254.000$410kARB 3FREE AGENT
Mike Aldrete294.000$298kARB 3FREE AGENT
Dale Mohorcic344.000$240kARB 3FREE AGENT
Nelson Santovenia283.000$205kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Drew Hall274.000$130kARB 3FREE AGENT
Rich Thompson315.000$104kFREE AGENT
Brett Gideon263.000$102kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT

Pre-arbitration (20)

PlayerAgeSvc1990199119921993199419951996
Mark Gardner281.000$104kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Larry Walker231.000$104kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Marquis Grissom231.000$104kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Delino DeShields210.000$100kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Bill Sampen270.000$100kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Chris Nabholz230.000$100kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Steve Frey261.000$100kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Howard Farmer230.000$100kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Mel Rojas230.000$100kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Moises Alou230.000$88kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
John Costello292.000$52kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Rolando Roomes282.000$49kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Scott Ruskin270.000$34kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Johnny Paredes272.000$34kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Scott Anderson27–—
Brian Barnes230.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Eric Bullock30–—
Jerry Goff260.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Bob Malloy25–—
Orlando Mercado28–—

Graphs

How each 1990 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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