Overview
Titles0
Pennants0
Playoffs0
Record205–263
Win %0.438
4.0Depth — 2+ WAR regulars per season (the breadth that drives TAB, not stars)170th/195 execs
-7.2Dead WAR — WAR/yr bled by sub-replacement players (closer to 0 = better)175th/195 execs
38%Dead money — payroll on <0.5-WAR players (lower = better)125th/195 execs
$-0MCheap-talent surplus — $/yr of value from cost-controlled (pre-arb/arb) players above their pay; the selection engine, and the stickiest GM skill we track183rd/195 execs
$-1MDrafted surplus — cheap-talent surplus from his own draftees (the develop-from-the-draft engine)188th/195 execs
$-1MTraded-for surplus — cheap-talent surplus from cost-controlled players he acquired via trade167th/195 execs
$0MInt'l surplus — cheap-talent surplus from his own international signees111th/195 execs
-40.0TAB — talent above budget — roster-construction alpha (talent your budget bought above expectation), tenure total174th/195 execs
-23.5WAB — realized wins (TAB + the non-repeatable luck of converting talent to wins)151st/195 execs
0.17Acquisition Leverage — playoff pts per acquired WAR, graded once in the year each deal's wins arrive (the repeatable decision skill)169th/195 execs
Tenure breakdown
| Team | Role | Years | Szns | WAB | WAB/yr | TAB | WAR surp | HG | Trade | FA | R5 | AcqLev | W-L% | PO | Pen | WS | Surp $M |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
▸  Tigers |
GM | 1995–1995 | 1 | -13.1 | -13.15 | -22.2 | -23.6 | +1.5 | -3.4 | +0.9 | -0.1 | 0.02 | 0.417 | – | – | – | -23 |
▸  Guardians |
GM | 1986–1987 | 2 | -10.3 | -5.17 | -17.8 | -8.4 | +67.4 | -3.9 | -40.7 | -0.0 | 0.41 | 0.448 | – | – | – | -2 |
▸  Rangers |
GM | 1983–1984 | 0 | +0.0 | – | +0.0 | +0.0 | +12.5 | -11.1 | -0.9 | +0.2 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Career total (1985+ data) | 3 | -23.5 | -40.0 | -32.0 | +81.4 | -18.4 | -40.7 | +0.0 | 0.17 | 0.438 | – | – | – | -25 | |||
Roster Construction
Build channels — net fWAR
Acquired minus surrendered / signed minus walked.
Home-grown (draft/intl)+81.4
Trade-18.4
Free agency-40.7
Rule 5 / minor draft+0.0
Sourcing mix: 92% draft · 4% FA · 4% trade · 0% R5
Roster value distribution — career average — depth vs. stars
Every roster slot ranked best→worst by WAR, averaged across Joe Klein's seasons. Bars = his rosters; the black line = the league-average player at each slot. Staying above the line deep into the roster is the depth edge.
Players acquired — 69 players, by realized fWAR for the franchise (scroll for more)
| Player | Pos | Team | How | Year | Szns | fWAR | WAR/yr | Lev |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albert Belle | OF | CLE |
Draft | 1987 | 7 | +27.5 | +3.9 | – |
| Greg Swindell | P | CLE |
Draft | 1986 | 6 | +20.5 | +3.4 | – |
| Tom Candiotti | P | CLE |
Draft | 1986 | 6 | +16.8 | +2.8 | – |
| Oddibe McDowell | OF | TEX |
Draft | 1984 | 5 | +8.5 | +1.7 | – |
| Gary Ward | OF | TEX |
Trade | 1983 | 2 | +4.1 | +2.0 | – |
| Steve Olin | P | CLE |
Draft | 1987 | 4 | +3.2 | +0.8 | – |
| Paul Kilgus | P | TEX |
Draft | 1984 | 2 | +2.1 | +1.1 | – |
| Omar Olivares | P | DET |
Free agency | 1995 | 2 | +2.0 | +1.0 | 0.0 |
| Chad Curtis | OF | DET |
Trade | 1995 | 2 | +2.0 | +1.0 | 0.0 |
| A. J. Sager | P | DET |
Free agency | 1995 | 3 | +1.9 | +0.6 | 0.0 |
| Gabe Kapler | OF | DET |
Draft | 1995 | 1 | +1.7 | +1.7 | – |
| Jeff Kunkel | SS | TEX |
Draft | 1983 | 4 | +1.6 | +0.4 | – |
| C. J. Nitkowski | P | DET |
Trade | 1995 | 2 | +1.4 | +0.7 | – |
| Brian Bohanon | P | DET |
Free agency | 1995 | 1 | +1.2 | +1.2 | 0.0 |
| Dickie Noles | P | TEX |
Trade | 1984 | 1 | +1.0 | +1.0 | – |
| Beau Allred | OF | CLE |
Draft | 1987 | 2 | +0.9 | +0.4 | – |
| Phil Niekro | P | CLE |
Free agency | 1986 | 2 | +0.8 | +0.4 | 0.5 |
| Ken Schrom | P | CLE |
Trade | 1986 | 1 | +0.6 | +0.6 | 0.4 |
| Kevin Wickander | P | CLE |
Draft | 1986 | 2 | +0.6 | +0.3 | – |
| Jerry Browne | 2B | TEX |
Intl FA | 1983 | 2 | +0.6 | +0.3 | – |
| Ricky Wright | P | TEX |
Trade | 1983 | 2 | +0.5 | +0.3 | – |
| Rich Yett | P | CLE |
Trade | 1986 | 2 | +0.4 | +0.2 | 0.0 |
| Ron Tingley | C | DET |
Trade | 1995 | 1 | +0.4 | +0.4 | 0.0 |
| Ed Vande Berg | P | CLE |
Free agency | 1987 | 1 | +0.3 | +0.3 | 0.0 |
| Dave Borkowski | P | DET |
Draft | 1995 | 1 | +0.2 | +0.2 | – |
| Phil Nevin | 1B/3B | DET |
Trade | 1995 | 1 | +0.2 | +0.2 | 0.0 |
| Mitch Williams | P | TEX |
Rule 5 | 1984 | 2 | +0.2 | +0.1 | – |
| John Butcher | P | CLE |
Trade | 1986 | 1 | +0.2 | +0.2 | 0.1 |
| Bruce Egloff | P | CLE |
Draft | 1986 | 1 | +0.1 | +0.1 | – |
| Dwayne Henry | P | DET |
Free agency | 1995 | 1 | +0.1 | +0.1 | 0.0 |
| Scott Anderson | P | TEX |
Draft | 1984 | 1 | +0.1 | +0.1 | – |
| Mark Huismann | P | CLE |
Trade | 1987 | 1 | +0.1 | +0.1 | 0.0 |
| Kevin Wickander | P | DET |
Trade | 1995 | 1 | +0.1 | +0.1 | 0.0 |
| Brian Dorsett | C | CLE |
Trade | 1987 | – | -0.0 | – | – |
| Ever Magallanes | SS | CLE |
Draft | 1987 | – | -0.0 | – | – |
| Joe Skalski | P | CLE |
Draft | 1986 | 1 | +0.0 | +0.0 | – |
| Mike Walker | P | CLE |
Draft | 1986 | 2 | +0.0 | +0.0 | – |
| Ron Washington | SS | CLE |
Free agency | 1987 | – | -0.0 | – | – |
| Frank Wills | P | CLE |
Free agency | 1986 | 1 | -0.0 | -0.0 | 0.0 |
| Phil Hiatt | 3B/OF | DET |
Trade | 1995 | – | -0.0 | – | – |
| Don Gordon | P | CLE |
Trade | 1987 | 1 | -0.1 | -0.1 | 0.0 |
| Tom Lampkin | C | CLE |
Draft | 1986 | – | -0.1 | – | – |
| Joe Hall | OF | DET |
Free agency | 1995 | 1 | -0.1 | -0.1 | 0.0 |
| Greg Keagle | P | DET |
Rule 5 | 1995 | 2 | -0.1 | -0.1 | – |
| Brian Powell | P | DET |
Draft | 1995 | – | -0.1 | – | – |
| Alan Bannister | 2B/OF | TEX |
Trade | 1984 | – | -0.1 | – | – |
| Fran Mullins | 3B/SS | CLE |
Trade | 1986 | – | -0.2 | – | – |
| Sammy Stewart | P | CLE |
Free agency | 1987 | – | -0.2 | – | – |
| Víctor Santos | P | DET |
Intl FA | 1995 | – | -0.2 | – | – |
| Chris Welsh | P | TEX |
Trade | 1984 | – | -0.2 | – | – |
| Kevin Bearse | P | CLE |
Draft | 1987 | – | -0.3 | – | – |
| Rick Dempsey | C | CLE |
Free agency | 1987 | – | -0.3 | – | – |
| Jim Kern | P | CLE |
Free agency | 1986 | – | -0.3 | – | – |
| Casey Parsons | OF | CLE |
Trade | 1987 | – | -0.3 | – | – |
| Bob Sebra | P | TEX |
Draft | 1983 | – | -0.3 | – | – |
| Mike Christopher | P | DET |
Trade | 1995 | 1 | -0.3 | -0.3 | 0.0 |
| Mike Armstrong | P | CLE |
Free agency | 1987 | – | -0.4 | – | – |
| Jeff Kaiser | P | CLE |
Trade | 1987 | 1 | -0.4 | -0.4 | 0.0 |
| Tom Kramer | P | CLE |
Draft | 1987 | – | -0.4 | – | – |
| Rudy Seánez | P | CLE |
Draft | 1986 | 1 | -0.4 | -0.4 | – |
| Scott Fletcher | 2B/SS | DET |
Free agency | 1995 | – | -0.4 | – | – |
| John Flaherty | C | DET |
Trade | 1995 | 2 | -0.4 | -0.2 | 0.0 |
| Doug Frobel | OF | CLE |
Free agency | 1987 | – | -0.5 | – | – |
| Tommy Hinzo | 2B | CLE |
Draft | 1986 | 1 | -0.5 | -0.5 | – |
| Jeff Shaw | P | CLE |
Draft | 1986 | – | -0.6 | – | – |
| Shannon Penn | 2B/DH | DET |
Trade | 1995 | – | -0.6 | – | – |
| Mark Lewis | 2B/3B | DET |
Trade | 1995 | – | -0.7 | – | – |
| Dickie Noles | P | CLE |
Free agency | 1986 | – | -0.9 | – | – |
| Bryan Oelkers | P | CLE |
Trade | 1986 | – | -1.3 | – | – |
WAB = wins above what the team's payroll predicted (resource-controlled). WAR surplus = era-neutral value (WAR minus payroll in win-equivalents). Roster surplus $M = dollar value of WAR over cost. Build channels (realized fWAR): HG = home-grown via amateur draft / international signing; Trade = acquired minus surrendered (incl. purchases/waivers); FA = signed minus walked; R5 = Rule-5 / minor-league-draft pickups. Credit follows the acquisition year — home-grown to the regime at the player's draft/signing (not whoever was in the chair when he peaked), trade/FA/R5 to the GM who made the move. Players acquired as prospects before debuting (e.g. Smoltz, Bagwell; Rule-5 picks like Uggla) are counted as trade/R5, not home-grown. All are franchise-level outcomes during the stint, not solely attributable to one executive.
Graphs
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