GM: Gerry Hunsicker
1999: made playoffs · 97–65. Ranks are vs the 30 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jeff Bagwell | 31 | FA-elig | 162 | 7.8 | 6.5 | +3.3 |
| Mike Hampton | 26 | FA-elig | 34 | 6.2 | 4.1 | +3.7 |
| Shane Reynolds | 31 | FA-elig | 35 | 6.1 | 4.5 | +3.2 |
| Carl Everett | 28 | FA-elig | 123 | 5.9 | 2.5 | +4.9 |
| Craig Biggio | 33 | FA-elig | 160 | 4.9 | 6.1 | +0.1 |
| Jose Lima | 26 | arb | 36 | 4.2 | 2.2 | +3.0 |
| Billy Wagner | 27 | arb | 66 | 3.6 | 2.2 | +2.3 |
| Scott Elarton | 23 | pre-arb | 43 | 3.0 | 0.2 | +3.6 |
| Chris Holt | 27 | arb | 32 | 2.6 | 0.3 | +2.9 |
| Bill Spiers | 33 | FA-elig | 127 | 1.6 | 1.6 | +0.5 |
| Ken Caminiti | 36 | FA-elig | 78 | 1.6 | 4.5 | -2.5 |
| Tony Eusebio | 32 | FA-elig | 103 | 1.4 | 0.9 | +0.8 |
| Richard Hidalgo | 24 | pre-arb | 108 | 1.3 | 0.3 | +1.4 |
| Jay Powell | 27 | arb | 67 | 1.2 | 0.8 | +0.7 |
| Sean Bergman↔ ATL | 29 | FA-elig | 19 | 1.1 | 1.4 | -0.0 |
| Russ Johnson | 26 | pre-arb | 83 | 0.9 | 0.2 | +0.9 |
| Glen Barker | 28 | pre-arb | 81 | 0.9 | 0.2 | +0.9 |
| Paul Bako | 27 | pre-arb | 73 | 0.9 | 0.2 | +0.8 |
| Tim Bogar | 32 | FA-elig | 106 | 0.6 | 0.7 | +0.1 |
| Stan Javier↔ SFG | 35 | FA-elig | 20 | 0.6 | 0.3 | +0.5 |
| Jose Cabrera | 27 | pre-arb | 26 | 0.4 | 0.2 | +0.3 |
| Brian Williams | 30 | FA-elig | 50 | 0.3 | 0.4 | +0.0 |
| Jack Howell | 37 | FA-elig | 37 | 0.3 | 0.6 | -0.2 |
| Lance Berkman | 23 | pre-arb | 34 | 0.3 | 0.2 | +0.2 |
| Matt Mieske↔ SEA | 31 | FA-elig | 54 | 0.2 | 0.3 | -0.1 |
| Joe Slusarski | 32 | – | 3 | 0.0 | – | – |
| Jeff McCurry | 29 | – | 5 | -0.1 | – | – |
| Mitch Meluskey | 25 | pre-arb | 10 | -0.1 | 0.2 | -0.3 |
| Ryan Thompson | 31 | FA-elig | 12 | -0.1 | 0.3 | -0.4 |
| Ricky Gutierrez | 29 | FA-elig | 85 | -0.2 | 2.2 | -2.4 |
| Carlos Hernandez | 23 | pre-arb | 16 | -0.2 | 0.2 | -0.4 |
| Daryle Ward | 24 | pre-arb | 64 | -0.2 | 0.2 | -0.4 |
| Wade Miller | 22 | – | 5 | -0.3 | – | – |
| Alex Diaz | 30 | FA-elig | 30 | -0.3 | 0.3 | -0.7 |
| Randy Knorr | 30 | – | 13 | -0.5 | – | – |
| Trever Miller | 26 | arb | 47 | -0.5 | 0.2 | -0.9 |
| Doug Henry | 35 | FA-elig | 35 | -0.6 | 0.7 | -1.5 |
| Derek Bell | 30 | FA-elig | 128 | -0.9 | 4.5 | -5.6 |
| Player | fWAR |
|---|---|
| Chris Holt | 2.6 |
| Ken Caminiti | 1.6 |
| Glen Barker | 0.9 |
| Paul Bako | 0.9 |
| Stan Javier | 0.6 |
| Brian Williams | 0.3 |
| Player | 1998 fWAR |
|---|---|
| Moises Alou | 6.8 |
| Randy Johnson | 3.1 |
| Sean Berry | 2.7 |
| Brad Ausmus | 2.2 |
| John Halama | 0.7 |
| Pete Schourek | 0.4 |
What the front office was committed to as of 1999, 1999–2005. 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 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jeff Bagwell | 31 | 8.000 | $6.5M | $6.5M | $6.5M | $11.0M | $13.0M | $16.0M | $18.0M |
| Craig Biggio | 33 | 11.000 | $6.1M | $6.8M | $7.8M | $8.8M | $9.8M | $3.0M | $3.0M |
| Derek Bell | 30 | 8.000 | $4.5M | FREE AGENT | |||||
| Ken Caminiti | 36 | 12.000 | $4.5M | $4.5M | FREE AGENT | ||||
| Shane Reynolds | 31 | 7.000 | $4.5M | $6.7M | $7.2M | $7.7M | FREE AGENT | ||
| Mike Hampton | 26 | 6.000 | $4.1M | FREE AGENT | |||||
| Carl Everett | 28 | 6.000 | $2.5M | FREE AGENT | |||||
| Ricky Gutierrez | 29 | 6.000 | $2.2M | FREE AGENT | |||||
| Bill Spiers | 33 | 10.000 | $1.6M | $1.7M | $1.7M | FREE AGENT | |||
| Sean Bergman | 29 | 6.000 | $1.4M | FREE AGENT | |||||
| Tony Eusebio | 32 | 8.000 | $900k | $1.1M | $1.3M | FREE AGENT | |||
| Doug Henry | 35 | 8.000 | $725k | $500k | FREE AGENT | ||||
| Tim Bogar | 32 | 6.000 | $700k | $700k | FREE AGENT | ||||
| Jack Howell | 37 | 14.000 | $550k | FREE AGENT | |||||
| Brian Williams | 30 | 8.000 | $375k | FREE AGENT | |||||
| Matt Mieske | 31 | 6.000 | $346k | $595k | FREE AGENT | ||||
| Alex Diaz | 30 | 7.000 | $275k | FREE AGENT | |||||
| Ryan Thompson | 31 | 7.000 | $275k | FREE AGENT | |||||
| Stan Javier | 35 | 15.000 | $265k | FREE AGENT | |||||
| Randy Knorr | 30 | 8.000 | — | FREE AGENT | |||||
| Joe Slusarski | 32 | 8.000 | — | FREE AGENT | $240k |
| Player | Age | Svc | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jose Lima | 26 | 5.000 | $2.2M | FREE AGENT | |||||
| Billy Wagner | 27 | 4.000 | $2.2M | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT | ||||
| Jay Powell | 27 | 4.000 | $800k | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT | ||||
| Chris Holt | 27 | 3.000 | $279k | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT | |||
| Trever Miller | 26 | 3.000 | $248k | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT | |||
| Jeff McCurry | 29 | 4.000 | — | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT |
| Player | Age | Svc | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Richard Hidalgo | 24 | 2.000 | $260k | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT | ||
| Paul Bako | 27 | 1.000 | $230k | Pre-Arb | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT | |
| Scott Elarton | 23 | 1.000 | $230k | Pre-Arb | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT | |
| Jose Cabrera | 27 | 2.000 | $215k | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT | ||
| Russ Johnson | 26 | 2.000 | $205k | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT | ||
| Daryle Ward | 24 | 1.000 | $200k | Pre-Arb | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT | |
| Mitch Meluskey | 25 | 1.000 | $200k | Pre-Arb | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT | |
| Glen Barker | 28 | 0.000 | $200k | Pre-Arb | Pre-Arb | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT |
| Carlos Hernandez | 23 | 0.000 | $200k | Pre-Arb | Pre-Arb | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT |
| Lance Berkman | 23 | 0.000 | $200k | Pre-Arb | Pre-Arb | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT |
| Wade Miller | 22 | 0.000 | — | Pre-Arb | Pre-Arb | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT |
Every roster slot ranked best→worst by WAR. Bars = Astros 1999; 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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