Rosternomics
Log in Sign up 𝕏
← Trade Database
March 31, 1996

NYM⇄CLE

NYM won this trade +$27.2M surplus NYM won this trade +3.4 WAR
NYMNYM Joe McIlvaine net +$27.2M net +3.4
received +$13.6M+$13.6M ± $16M expected surplus · +$25.6M realized received 2.2 ± 2 expected · 3.4 realized WAR
Playoff odds: this deal moved NYM's 1996 odds 14% → 24% (+10.4 pts) — how trade timing is graded ↗
receives — most valuable first
Mark ClarkP·28y·R/R
+$13.4M+$13.4M± $16M exp surplusrealized +$25.6M 2.2± 2 exp WARrealized 3.4
Prior
#236 overall draft pick — at the league baseline → 0.21/yr
Evidence
recent form 1.7/yr over 1.8 season
Talent
1.12/yr blended
Horizon
2.0 control yrs
CLECLE John Hart net −$27.2M net -3.4
received +$11.2M+$11.2M ± $36M expected surplus · −$1.6M realized received 2.9 ± 4 expected · 0.0 realized WAR
Playoff odds: this deal moved CLE's 1996 odds 96% → 93% (-3.4 pts) — how trade timing is graded ↗
receives — most valuable first
Ryan ThompsonOF·28y·R/R
+$14.6M+$14.6M± $23M exp surplusrealized −$1.6M 2.9± 3 exp WARrealized -0.0
Prior
league baseline (track record outweighs draft pedigree) → 0.21/yr
Evidence
recent form 1.8/yr over 1.2 season
Talent
0.98/yr blended
Horizon
3.0 control yrs
Reid CorneliusP·26y·R/R
−$3.7M−$3.7M± $28M exp surplusrealized +$0.0M 0.0± 4 exp WARrealized 0.0
Prior
#284 overall draft pick — at the league baseline → 0.21/yr
Evidence
recent form -0.5/yr over 0.6 season
Talent
-0.03/yr blended
Horizon
5.0 control yrs

Each player is valued on what he was expected to produce at the time of the trade, versus what he actually produced for his new team.

Expected WAR blends a player's pedigree (composite top-100 rank / draft slot, or a baseline) with his recent track record, projected over the years of team control acquired. The ± figure is a historically calibrated predictive standard deviation, measuring how widely comparable forecasts have missed around their expected value. Surplus values that production at the FA market price of a win (~$8M/WAR) minus salary — so cost-controlled players carry large surplus and expensive ones little, even at the same WAR. Who won is descriptive, not a skill claim: ~99% of a trade's outcome is unforeseeable at the time.

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