GM: Dick Wagner
1986: made playoffs · 96–66. Ranks are vs the 26 teams that season.
Each position lists its starter then backups by games (so platoons & bench show). Starters (mound) & bullpen (left, foul territory) are ranked by WAR; ★ marks the closer (most save chances). MLB Stats API.
| Player | Age | Service | G | fWAR | Salary $M | Surplus $M |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mike Scott | 31 | FA-elig | 38 | 8.4 | 0.7 | +1.8 |
| Kevin Bass | 27 | arb | 157 | 5.2 | 0.3 | +1.2 |
| Glenn Davis | 25 | pre-arb | 158 | 4.2 | 0.1 | +1.1 |
| Denny Walling | 32 | FA-elig | 130 | 3.9 | 0.4 | +0.8 |
| Bill Doran | 28 | arb | 145 | 3.3 | 0.6 | +0.4 |
| Bob Knepper | 32 | FA-elig | 42 | 3.1 | 1.0 | -0.1 |
| Nolan Ryan Jr. | 39 | FA-elig | 30 | 2.9 | 1.1 | -0.3 |
| Jose Cruz | 38 | FA-elig | 141 | 2.5 | 0.8 | -0.0 |
| Phil Garner | 37 | FA-elig | 107 | 1.5 | 0.6 | -0.1 |
| Jim Deshaies | 26 | pre-arb | 26 | 1.3 | 0.1 | +0.3 |
| Dickie Thon | 28 | FA-elig | 106 | 1.2 | 0.6 | -0.2 |
| Billy Hatcher | 25 | pre-arb | 127 | 1.2 | 0.1 | +0.3 |
| Danny Darwin↔ MIL | 30 | FA-elig | 12 | 1.2 | 0.2 | +0.2 |
| Alan Ashby | 34 | FA-elig | 120 | 0.9 | 0.5 | -0.3 |
| Charlie Kerfeld | 22 | pre-arb | 61 | 0.7 | 0.1 | +0.1 |
| Tony Walker | 26 | – | 84 | 0.7 | – | – |
| Craig Reynolds | 33 | FA-elig | 114 | 0.6 | 0.4 | -0.2 |
| Davey Lopes↔ CHC | 41 | FA-elig | 37 | 0.6 | 0.2 | -0.0 |
| Ty Gainey | 25 | – | 26 | 0.6 | – | – |
| Jim Pankovits | 30 | pre-arb | 70 | 0.5 | 0.1 | +0.1 |
| Larry Andersen↔ PHI | 33 | FA-elig | 38 | 0.3 | 0.2 | -0.1 |
| John Mizerock | 25 | arb | 44 | 0.3 | 0.1 | +0.0 |
| Dave Smith | 31 | FA-elig | 54 | 0.2 | 0.7 | -0.6 |
| Terry Puhl | 29 | FA-elig | 81 | 0.2 | 0.8 | -0.8 |
| Mark Bailey | 24 | – | 57 | 0.1 | – | – |
| Dan Driessen↔ SFG | 34 | FA-elig | 17 | 0.1 | 0.4 | -0.3 |
| Mike Madden | 29 | – | 13 | 0.1 | – | – |
| Louie Meadows | 25 | – | 6 | 0.0 | – | – |
| Matt Keough↔ CHC | 30 | FA-elig | 10 | -0.0 | 0.0 | -0.0 |
| Rafael Montalvo | 22 | – | 1 | -0.0 | – | – |
| Aurelio Lopez | 37 | FA-elig | 45 | -0.0 | 0.2 | -0.2 |
| Robbie Wine Jr. | 23 | – | 9 | -0.1 | – | – |
| Manny Hernandez | 25 | – | 9 | -0.1 | – | – |
| Mark Knudson↔ MIL | 25 | – | 9 | -0.1 | – | – |
| Bert Pena | 26 | – | 15 | -0.1 | – | – |
| Tom Funk | 24 | – | 8 | -0.2 | – | – |
| Jeff Calhoun | 28 | pre-arb | 20 | -0.2 | 0.1 | -0.2 |
| Frank DiPino↔ CHC | 29 | arb | 31 | -0.4 | 0.1 | -0.3 |
| Eric Bullock | 26 | – | 6 | -0.5 | – | – |
| Julio Solano | 26 | – | 16 | -0.8 | – | – |
| Player | fWAR |
|---|---|
| Billy Hatcher | 1.2 |
| Danny Darwin | 1.2 |
| Tony Walker | 0.7 |
| Davey Lopes | 0.6 |
| Larry Andersen | 0.3 |
| Dan Driessen | 0.1 |
| Player | 1985 fWAR |
|---|---|
| Jerry Mumphrey | 1.1 |
| Joe Niekro | 0.7 |
| Enos Cabell | 0.4 |
| Chris Jones | 0.0 |
| German Rivera | -0.1 |
| Ron Mathis | -0.2 |
What the front office was committed to as of 1986, 1986–1992. 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.
| Player | Age | Svc | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nolan Ryan Jr. | 39 | 20.000 | $1.1M | $1.2M | $1.0M | FREE AGENT | |||
| Bob Knepper | 32 | 10.000 | $1.0M | $1.0M | $1.0M | $43k | FREE AGENT | ||
| Terry Puhl | 29 | 9.000 | $850k | $900k | $950k | $950k | $800k | FREE AGENT | |
| Jose Cruz | 38 | 16.000 | $755k | $755k | FREE AGENT | ||||
| Mike Scott | 31 | 7.000 | $667k | $692k | $667k | $1.3M | $2.0M | $2.4M | FREE AGENT |
| Dave Smith | 31 | 6.000 | $650k | $700k | $1.1M | $1.1M | $1.1M | FREE AGENT | |
| Phil Garner | 37 | 13.000 | $600k | $279k | FREE AGENT | ||||
| Dickie Thon | 28 | 7.000 | $600k | $675k | FREE AGENT | ||||
| Alan Ashby | 34 | 13.000 | $525k | $575k | $450k | $550k | FREE AGENT | ||
| Craig Reynolds | 33 | 11.000 | $417k | $417k | $500k | $600k | FREE AGENT | ||
| Dan Driessen | 34 | 13.000 | $372k | FREE AGENT | |||||
| Denny Walling | 32 | 11.000 | $367k | $595k | $445k | FREE AGENT | $300k | ||
| Aurelio Lopez | 37 | 12.000 | $223k | $150k | FREE AGENT | ||||
| Larry Andersen | 33 | 11.000 | $190k | $300k | $450k | $475k | $742k | FREE AGENT | |
| Davey Lopes | 41 | 14.000 | $189k | $550k | FREE AGENT | ||||
| Danny Darwin | 30 | 8.000 | $188k | $740k | $760k | $855k | $1.2M | FREE AGENT | |
| Matt Keough | 30 | 9.000 | $34k | FREE AGENT |
| Player | Age | Svc | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bill Doran | 28 | 4.000 | $550k | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT | ||||
| Kevin Bass | 27 | 4.000 | $310k | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT | ||||
| Frank DiPino | 29 | 5.000 | $142k | FREE AGENT | |||||
| John Mizerock | 25 | 3.000 | $60k | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT | |||
| Julio Solano | 26 | 3.000 | — | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT |
| Player | Age | Svc | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Glenn Davis | 25 | 2.000 | $120k | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT | ||
| Jeff Calhoun | 28 | 2.000 | $95k | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT | ||
| Jim Pankovits | 30 | 2.000 | $85k | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT | ||
| Billy Hatcher | 25 | 2.000 | $80k | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT | ||
| Jim Deshaies | 26 | 2.000 | $65k | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT | ||
| Charlie Kerfeld | 22 | 1.000 | $65k | Pre-Arb | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT | |
| Mark Bailey | 24 | 2.000 | — | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT | ||
| Eric Bullock | 26 | – | — | ||||||
| Tom Funk | 24 | – | — | ||||||
| Ty Gainey | 25 | – | — | ||||||
| Manny Hernandez | 25 | – | — | ||||||
| Mark Knudson | 25 | 1.000 | — | Pre-Arb | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT | |
| Mike Madden | 29 | – | — | ||||||
| Louie Meadows | 25 | 0.000 | — | Pre-Arb | Pre-Arb | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT |
| Rafael Montalvo | 22 | – | — | ||||||
| Bert Pena | 26 | – | — | ||||||
| Tony Walker | 26 | – | — | ||||||
| Robbie Wine Jr. | 23 | – | — |
Every roster slot ranked best→worst by WAR. Bars = Astros 1986; the black line = the league-average player at each slot that season. Staying above the line deep into the roster is the depth edge; dropping below it = holes & dead weight.
| Regime | Seasons | Win % | Playoff % | Pennant % | WS % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WINDOW | 289 | 52.2 | 30.1 | 4.8 | 1.0 |
| CONTEND | 311 | 56.8 | 63.0 | 19.3 | 10.3 |
| FORCED-SPEND | 260 | 47.9 | 8.8 | 1.2 | 1.2 |
| REBUILD | 328 | 43.3 | 1.2 | 0.3 | 0.3 |
Not enough history to chart.
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