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September 15, 1985

HOU⇄NYY

HOU won this trade +$19.2M surplus HOU won this trade +4.4 WAR
HOUHOU Al Rosen net +$19.2M net +4.4
received +$2.4M+$2.4M ± $34M expected surplus · −$8.0M realized received 1.6 ± 4 expected · 5.4 realized WAR
Playoff odds: this deal moved HOU's 1985 odds 10% → 11% (+0.6 pts) — how trade timing is graded ↗
receives — most valuable first
Jim DeshaiesP·25y·L/L
+$1.8M+$1.8M± $26M exp surplusrealized −$8.0M 1.2± 3 exp WARrealized 5.4
Prior
no pedigree — league baseline → 0.21/yr
Evidence
no MLB track record — leans on pedigree
Talent
0.21/yr blended
Horizon
5.5 control yrs
Neder Horta
+$0.3M+$0.3M± $15M exp surplusrealized +$0.0M 0.2± 2 exp WARrealized 0.0
Unidentified minor-league throw-in — valued at the ~0.2 WAR base rate (most produce nothing)
Dody Rather
+$0.3M+$0.3M± $15M exp surplusrealized +$0.0M 0.2± 2 exp WARrealized 0.0
Unidentified minor-league throw-in — valued at the ~0.2 WAR base rate (most produce nothing)
NYYNYY Clyde King net −$19.2M net -4.4
received −$0.8M−$0.8M ± $0M expected surplus · −$27.2M realized received 0.0 ± 0 expected · 1.0 realized WAR
Playoff odds: this deal moved NYY's 1985 odds 89% → 88% (-0.7 pts) — how trade timing is graded ↗
receives — most valuable first
Joe NiekroP·40y·R/R
−$0.7M−$0.7M± $0M exp surplusrealized −$27.2M 0.0± 0 exp WARrealized 1.0
Prior
no pedigree — league baseline → 0.21/yr
Evidence
no MLB track record — leans on pedigree
Talent
0.21/yr blended
Horizon
0.0 control yr

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.

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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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