Rosternomics
TE

Theo Epstein

Born Dec 29, 1973 · New York City, NY · age 52

Ended two of the sport's most famous championship droughts — building the Red Sox club that won in 2004 (their first since 1918) and the Cubs team that won in 2016 (their first since 1908). One of the defining executives of the analytics era.

17 seasons with salary-era data across 3 stints. All figures are franchise-level outcomes during the tenure, not solely attributable to one executive.

Titles3
Pennants3
Playoffs11
Record1458–1194
Win %0.550
+53.4WAB — wins above budget15th/195 execs
+73.6Talent above budget — roster-construction alpha (talent your budget bought above expectation)10th/195 execs
1.78Acquisition leverage — playoff pts each bought win added, given the roster it joined (did you buy where wins matter?)31st/195 execs
-199.5WAR surplus (era-neutral, win-equiv)191st/195 execs
-520Roster surplus $M189th/195 execs

How the roster was sourced

Share of gross-positive acquired fWAR by channel (vs. league average).

Build channels — net fWAR

Acquired minus surrendered / signed minus walked.

Home-grown (draft/intl)+327.5
Trade+0.8
Free agency-82.5
Rule 5 / minor draft+0.3
Sourcing mix: 46% draft · 28% FA · 24% trade · 0% R5

Tenure breakdown

TeamRoleYearsSzns WAB WAB/yr TAB WAR surp HG Trade FA R5 AcqLev W-L% POPenWS Surp $M
Cubs POBO 2012–2020 8 +7.1 +0.89 +22.1 -59.7 +100.3 +45.0 -6.5 +0.6 1.38 0.520 511 -230
Red Sox GM 2007–2011 5 +25.1 +5.02 +33.1 -79.8 +126.7 -4.4 -48.7 +0.0 2.72 0.574 311 -184
Red Sox GM 2003–2005 3 +21.1 +7.05 +18.3 -60.0 +100.5 -39.9 -27.2 -0.2 1.66 0.593 311 -107
Career total (1985+ data) 17 +53.4 +73.6 -199.5 +327.5 +0.8 -82.5 +0.3 1.78 0.550 113 3 -520

Players acquired — 262 players, by realized fWAR for the franchise (scroll for more)

PlayerPosTeam How Year fWAR
David Ortiz DH BOS Free agency 2003 +48.8
Dustin Pedroia 2B BOS Draft 2004 +44.8
Mookie Betts OF BOS Draft 2011 +34.6
Xander Bogaerts SS BOS Intl FA 2009 +34.1
Anthony Rizzo 1B CHC Trade 2012 +31.1
Kris Bryant 3B/OF CHC Draft 2013 +27.9
Kyle Hendricks P CHC Trade 2012 +24.4
Ian Happ OF CHC Draft 2015 +22.4
Jacoby Ellsbury OF BOS Draft 2005 +22.2
Nico Hoerner 2B/SS CHC Draft 2018 +21.3
Josh Beckett P BOS Trade 2005 +20.1
Jake Arrieta P CHC Trade 2013 +19.6
Jon Lester P CHC Free agency 2014 +17.0
Jackie Bradley OF BOS Draft 2011 +16.3
Clay Buchholz P BOS Draft 2005 +14.2
Jonathan Papelbon P BOS Draft 2003 +14.1
J. D. Drew OF BOS Free agency 2007 +12.9
Curt Schilling P BOS Trade 2003 +12.8
Christian Vázquez C BOS Draft 2008 +11.8
Addison Russell SS CHC Trade 2014 +11.7
Justin Steele P CHC Draft 2014 +10.2
Bill Mueller 3B BOS Free agency 2003 +9.3
Jarrod Saltalamacchia C BOS Trade 2010 +8.8
Daisuke Matsuzaka P BOS Draft 2007 +7.8
Kyle Schwarber DH/OF CHC Draft 2014 +7.7
Jason Heyward OF CHC Free agency 2015 +7.2
John Lackey P BOS Free agency 2009 +6.8
Ben Zobrist 2B/OF CHC Free agency 2015 +6.6
Adrian Beltré 3B BOS Free agency 2010 +6.4
Mike Lowell 3B BOS Free agency 2007 +6.2
Daniel Nava OF BOS Draft 2010 +6.0
Chris Coghlan OF CHC Free agency 2014 +5.5
Yu Darvish P CHC Free agency 2018 +5.4
Matt Barnes P BOS Draft 2011 +4.9
Marco Scutaro 2B/SS BOS Free agency 2009 +4.7
Pedro Strop P CHC Trade 2013 +4.7
Jose Quintana P CHC Trade 2017 +4.6
Miguel Montero C CHC Trade 2014 +4.5
Dexter Fowler OF CHC Free agency 2016 +4.3
Jason Hammel P CHC Free agency 2014 +4.1
Junichi Tazawa P BOS Draft 2009 +4.0
Héctor Rondón P CHC Rule 5 2012 +4.0
Patrick Wisdom 3B CHC Free agency 2020 +3.9
Víctor Martínez C/DH BOS Trade 2009 +3.7
Félix Doubront P BOS Intl FA 2005 +3.5
Jed Lowrie 2B/SS BOS Draft 2005 +3.5
Rich Hill P BOS Free agency 2010 +3.5
Mike Timlin P BOS Free agency 2003 +3.3
John Lackey P CHC Free agency 2015 +3.2
David Bote 2B/3B CHC Draft 2012 +3.1
David Wells P BOS Free agency 2004 +3.0
Albert Almora OF CHC Draft 2012 +3.0
Dexter Fowler OF CHC Trade 2015 +3.0
Matt Clement P BOS Free agency 2004 +2.9
Edwin Jackson P CHC Free agency 2013 +2.9
Hideki Okajima P BOS Draft 2007 +2.8
Brandon Workman P BOS Draft 2010 +2.8
Mike Montgomery P CHC Trade 2016 +2.8
Carl Edwards P CHC Trade 2013 +2.7
David Ross C BOS Free agency 2008 +2.5
Cole Hamels P CHC Trade 2018 +2.5
Chris Martin P BOS Free agency 2011 +2.4
Curt Schilling P BOS Free agency 2007 +2.3
Rafael Ortega OF CHC Free agency 2020 +2.3
Carlos Villanueva P CHC Free agency 2013 +2.3
Adbert Alzolay P CHC Intl FA 2012 +2.2
Dioner Navarro C CHC Free agency 2012 +2.2
Colin Rea P CHC Free agency 2019 +2.2
Drew Smyly P CHC Free agency 2017 +1.9
Édgar Rentería SS BOS Free agency 2004 +1.8
David Ross C CHC Free agency 2014 +1.7
Will Middlebrooks 3B BOS Draft 2007 +1.6
Tommy La Stella 2B/3B CHC Trade 2014 +1.6
Mike Aviles SS BOS Trade 2011 +1.5
Nate Schierholtz OF CHC Free agency 2012 +1.5
Jorge Soler DH/OF CHC Intl FA 2012 +1.4
Keith Foulke P BOS Free agency 2004 +1.3
Travis Shaw 3B BOS Draft 2011 +1.3
Justin Grimm P CHC Trade 2013 +1.3
Ryan Sweeney OF CHC Free agency 2013 +1.3
Doug Mirabelli C BOS Free agency 2004 +1.2
Blake Swihart C/OF BOS Draft 2011 +1.2
Víctor Caratini C CHC Trade 2014 +1.2
Matt Duffy 3B CHC Free agency 2020 +1.2
Jon Jay OF CHC Free agency 2016 +1.2
Wade Miller P BOS Free agency 2004 +1.1
Donnie Murphy 2B/3B/SS CHC Free agency 2013 +1.1
Steve Cishek P CHC Free agency 2017 +1.0
Neil Ramírez P CHC Trade 2013 +1.0
Tsuyoshi Wada P CHC Draft 2014 +1.0
Scott Atchison P BOS Free agency 2007 +0.9
Brian Bogusevic OF CHC Free agency 2012 +0.9
Brandon Kintzler P CHC Trade 2018 +0.9
Tyler Chatwood P CHC Free agency 2017 +0.8
Andrew Miller P BOS Free agency 2010 +0.7
Ryan Sweeney OF BOS Trade 2011 +0.7
Keegan Thompson P CHC Draft 2017 +0.7
Gabe Kapler OF BOS Free agency 2003 +0.6
Darnell McDonald OF BOS Free agency 2009 +0.6
Brandon Morrow P CHC Free agency 2017 +0.6
Koji Uehara P CHC Free agency 2016 +0.6
Rocco Baldelli OF BOS Free agency 2009 +0.5
Bartolo Colón P BOS Free agency 2008 +0.5
John Olerud 1B BOS Free agency 2005 +0.4
Jeff Bailey 1B BOS Trade 2007 +0.4
Drake Britton P BOS Draft 2007 +0.4
Henry Owens P BOS Draft 2011 +0.4
Drew Sutton 2B/OF BOS Free agency 2010 +0.4
Chris Denorfia OF CHC Free agency 2015 +0.4
Jason Kipnis 2B CHC Free agency 2020 +0.4
Jason Motte P CHC Free agency 2014 +0.4
Clayton Richard P CHC Free agency 2015 +0.4
Rob Zastryzny P CHC Draft 2013 +0.4
Chad Bradford P BOS Trade 2005 +0.3
Carl Crawford OF BOS Free agency 2010 +0.3
Ramón Ramírez P BOS Trade 2008 +0.3
Takashi Saito P BOS Free agency 2009 +0.3
Dan Wheeler P BOS Free agency 2010 +0.3
Munenori Kawasaki 2B/SS CHC Free agency 2016 +0.3
Ryan Tepera P CHC Free agency 2019 +0.3
Wesley Wright P CHC Free agency 2013 +0.3
Michael Bowden P BOS Draft 2005 +0.2
Geremi González P BOS Free agency 2005 +0.2
David Pauley P BOS Trade 2004 +0.2
Pokey Reese 2B/SS BOS Free agency 2003 +0.2
Paul Byrd P BOS Free agency 2009 +0.2
Garin Cecchini 3B BOS Draft 2010 +0.2
Alex Wilson P BOS Draft 2009 +0.2
Jason Adam P CHC Free agency 2020 +0.2
Anthony Bass P CHC Free agency 2017 +0.2
Scott Effross P CHC Draft 2015 +0.2
Kyuji Fujikawa P CHC Draft 2013 +0.2
Jeremy Jeffress P CHC Free agency 2020 +0.2
Lenny DiNardo P BOS Rule 5 2003 +0.1
Byung-Hyun Kim P BOS Trade 2003 +0.1
Alejandro Machado 2B/OF BOS Trade 2005 +0.1
Dave McCarty 1B/OF BOS Free agency 2003 +0.1
Robert Person P BOS Free agency 2003 +0.1
Alfredo Aceves P BOS Free agency 2011 +0.1
Matt Albers P BOS Free agency 2010 +0.1
Kevin Cash C BOS Free agency 2007 +0.1
Robert Coello P BOS Trade 2010 +0.1
Jake Buchanan P CHC Free agency 2016 +0.1
Jaye Chapman P CHC Trade 2012 +0.1
Gerardo Concepción P CHC Intl FA 2012 +0.1
Robel García 2B CHC Trade 2019 +0.1
P. J. Higgins C/1B CHC Draft 2015 +0.1
Danny Hultzen P CHC Trade 2019 +0.1
Darnell McDonald OF CHC Free agency 2013 +0.1
James Norwood P CHC Draft 2014 +0.1
Alfonso Rivas 1B CHC Trade 2020 +0.1
Jamie Brown P BOS Trade 2003 +0.0
Lou Collier SS BOS Free agency 2003 -0.0
Tommy Hottovy P BOS Draft 2004 -0.0
Roberto Petagine 1B BOS Free agency 2005 +0.0
Shawn Wooten 1B/DH BOS Free agency 2005 -0.0
Joey Gathright OF BOS Free agency 2011 +0.0
Nick Green 2B/SS BOS Free agency 2009 -0.0
Bobby Jenks P BOS Free agency 2010 +0.0
Jonathan Van Every OF BOS Trade 2010 +0.0
Randy Williams P BOS Free agency 2010 +0.0
Quintin Berry OF CHC Free agency 2015 +0.0
Joe Biagini P CHC Free agency 2020 +0.0
J. C. Boscán C CHC Free agency 2012 +0.0
Xavier Cedeño P CHC Free agency 2019 -0.0
Tim Collins P CHC Free agency 2019 -0.0
Matt Dermody P CHC Free agency 2020 +0.0
Mike Freeman 2B CHC Free agency 2017 -0.0
Kevin Gregg P CHC Free agency 2013 +0.0
Pierce Johnson P CHC Draft 2012 +0.0
Rodrigo López P CHC Free agency 2012 -0.0
Brailyn Márquez P CHC Intl FA 2015 -0.0
Ian Miller OF CHC Free agency 2019 +0.0
Tyler Payne C CHC Draft 2015 -0.0
Hernán Pérez 2B/3B/OF CHC Free agency 2019 -0.0
Zach Putnam P CHC Free agency 2012 -0.0
Kyle Ryan P CHC Free agency 2018 +0.0
Pedro Strop P CHC Free agency 2020 +0.0
Arodys Vizcaíno P CHC Trade 2012 -0.0
Pedro Astacio P BOS Free agency 2004 -0.1
Adrian Brown OF BOS Free agency 2003 -0.1
Craig Hansen P BOS Draft 2005 -0.1
Rudy Seánez P BOS Free agency 2003 -0.1
Phil Seibel P BOS Trade 2003 -0.1
David Aardsma P BOS Trade 2008 -0.1
Jonathan Aro P BOS Intl FA 2011 -0.1
Bryce Brentz OF BOS Draft 2010 -0.1
Sean Casey 1B BOS Free agency 2008 -0.1
Enrique González P BOS Free agency 2008 -0.1
Alex Hassan OF BOS Draft 2009 -0.1
Che-Hsuan Lin OF BOS Intl FA 2007 -0.1
Dennys Reyes P BOS Free agency 2011 -0.1
Scott Schoeneweis P BOS Free agency 2010 -0.1
Joe Thurston 2B/3B BOS Free agency 2007 -0.1
Jim Adduci 1B/OF CHC Free agency 2018 -0.1
Tony Barnette P CHC Free agency 2019 -0.1
Mike Baxter OF CHC Free agency 2015 -0.1
Trevor Cahill P CHC Free agency 2015 -0.1
Brian Duensing P CHC Free agency 2016 -0.1
Seth Frankoff P CHC Trade 2017 -0.1
Justin Hancock P CHC Trade 2017 -0.1
Michael Hermosillo OF CHC Free agency 2020 -0.1
Chang-Yong Lim P CHC Draft 2013 -0.1
Tyson Miller P CHC Draft 2016 -0.1
Efren Navarro 1B/OF CHC Free agency 2018 -0.1
Steven Souza OF CHC Free agency 2020 -0.1
Hisanori Takahashi P CHC Free agency 2012 -0.1
Taylor Teagarden C CHC Free agency 2014 -0.1
Jen-Ho Tseng P CHC Intl FA 2013 -0.1
Duane Underwood P CHC Draft 2012 -0.1
Chris Valaika 2B CHC Free agency 2013 -0.1
Mark Zagunis OF CHC Draft 2014 -0.1
Andy Dominique C/1B BOS Trade 2004 -0.2
Hunter Jones P BOS Intl FA 2005 -0.2
Matt Mantei P BOS Free agency 2004 -0.2
Cla Meredith P BOS Draft 2004 -0.2
David Murphy OF BOS Draft 2003 -0.2
Dan Butler C BOS Intl FA 2009 -0.2
Mike Cameron OF BOS Free agency 2009 -0.2
Chris Carter OF BOS Trade 2007 -0.2
William Cuevas P BOS Intl FA 2008 -0.2
Jose Iglesias SS BOS Intl FA 2009 -0.2
Gustavo Molina C BOS Free agency 2010 -0.2
Ryan Shealy 1B BOS Free agency 2010 -0.2
Nate Spears 2B/OF BOS Trade 2011 -0.2
Billy Traber P BOS Free agency 2008 -0.2
Gil Velazquez 3B BOS Trade 2008 -0.2
Scott Baker P CHC Free agency 2012 -0.2
Tim Federowicz C CHC Free agency 2016 -0.2
Trent Giambrone 2B CHC Draft 2016 -0.2
Jonathan Herrera 2B/SS CHC Free agency 2014 -0.2
Tommy Nance P CHC Intl FA 2016 -0.2
Spencer Patton P CHC Trade 2015 -0.2
Josh Phegley C CHC Free agency 2020 -0.2
Michael Rucker P CHC Draft 2016 -0.2
Rafael Soriano P CHC Free agency 2015 -0.2
Ian Stewart 3B CHC Free agency 2012 -0.2
Allen Webster P CHC Free agency 2018 -0.2
Andy Abad 1B BOS Free agency 2003 -0.3
Jason Shiell P BOS Free agency 2003 -0.3
Adam Stern OF BOS Rule 5 2004 -0.3
Fernando Cabrera P BOS Free agency 2009 -0.3
Adrian Cardenas 2B CHC Trade 2012 -0.3
José Lobatón C CHC Free agency 2020 -0.3
Bobby Jones P BOS Free agency 2003 -0.4
Kyle Weiland P BOS Draft 2008 -0.4
Rex Brothers P CHC Free agency 2019 -0.4
Shawn Camp P CHC Free agency 2012 -0.4
Jake Jewell P CHC Free agency 2020 -0.4
Ryan Kalish OF CHC Free agency 2013 -0.4
Abe Alvarez P BOS Draft 2003 -0.5
Cory Abbott P CHC Draft 2017 -0.5
Eli Whiteside C CHC Free agency 2013 -0.5
Noé Ramirez P BOS Draft 2011 -0.6
Dan Winkler P CHC Free agency 2019 -0.6
Yamaico Navarro 3B/SS BOS Intl FA 2005 -0.8
Anthony Ranaudo P BOS Draft 2010 -0.8
Craig Kimbrel P CHC Free agency 2019 -1.0
Ryan Lavarnway C BOS Draft 2008 -1.2
John Baker C CHC Free agency 2013 -1.2
Joe Mather OF CHC Free agency 2012 -1.2
Daniel Descalso 2B/3B CHC Free agency 2018 -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.