GM: Dal Maxvill
1987: won pennant · 95–67. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ozzie Smith | 32 | FA-elig | 158 | 6.3 | 1.9 | -0.1 |
| Jack Clark | 31 | FA-elig | 131 | 5.7 | 1.3 | +0.3 |
| Bob Forsch | 37 | FA-elig | 34 | 3.7 | 0.8 | +0.3 |
| Joe Magrane | 22 | pre-arb | 28 | 3.1 | 0.1 | +0.8 |
| Terry Pendleton | 26 | arb | 159 | 2.7 | 0.2 | +0.6 |
| Greg Mathews | 25 | pre-arb | 32 | 2.7 | 0.1 | +0.7 |
| Vince Coleman | 25 | pre-arb | 151 | 2.4 | 0.2 | +0.5 |
| Danny Cox | 27 | arb | 32 | 2.0 | 0.6 | -0.0 |
| Todd Worrell | 27 | pre-arb | 75 | 1.8 | 0.2 | +0.3 |
| Curt Ford | 26 | pre-arb | 89 | 1.6 | 0.1 | +0.4 |
| José Oquendo | 23 | arb | 116 | 1.4 | 0.1 | +0.3 |
| Ken Dayley | 28 | arb | 53 | 1.3 | 0.3 | +0.0 |
| Willie McGee | 28 | arb | 153 | 1.1 | 0.8 | -0.5 |
| John Tudor | 33 | FA-elig | 17 | 1.0 | 1.1 | -0.8 |
| Lee Tunnell | 26 | arb | 33 | 0.8 | 0.1 | +0.2 |
| Steve Lake | 30 | arb | 74 | 0.6 | 0.1 | +0.1 |
| John Morris | 26 | pre-arb | 101 | 0.6 | 0.1 | +0.1 |
| Tom Herr | 31 | FA-elig | 141 | 0.4 | 0.9 | -0.8 |
| Tim Conroy | 27 | FA-elig | 10 | 0.4 | 0.1 | +0.0 |
| Randy O'Neal↔ ATL | 26 | – | 1 | 0.2 | – | – |
| Scott Terry | 27 | – | 11 | 0.1 | – | – |
| Tom Pagnozzi | 24 | pre-arb | 27 | 0.1 | 0.1 | -0.0 |
| Tito Landrum↔ LAD | 32 | FA-elig | 30 | 0.1 | 0.0 | +0.0 |
| David Green | 26 | – | 14 | 0.1 | – | – |
| Steve Peters | 24 | pre-arb | 12 | 0.1 | 0.1 | -0.0 |
| Rod Booker | 28 | – | 44 | 0.0 | – | – |
| Skeeter Barnes | 30 | – | 4 | -0.0 | – | – |
| Doug DeCinces↔ ANA | 36 | FA-elig | 4 | -0.1 | 0.0 | -0.1 |
| Pat Perry↔ CIN | 28 | pre-arb | 45 | -0.1 | 0.1 | -0.1 |
| Dan Driessen | 35 | FA-elig | 24 | -0.1 | 0.1 | -0.1 |
| Jim Lindeman | 25 | pre-arb | 75 | -0.2 | 0.1 | -0.1 |
| Tom Lawless | 30 | arb | 19 | -0.2 | 0.1 | -0.2 |
| Lance Johnson | 23 | pre-arb | 33 | -0.2 | 0.1 | -0.1 |
| Dave LaPoint↔ CHW | 27 | FA-elig | 6 | -0.2 | 0.0 | -0.1 |
| Ray Soff | 28 | – | 12 | -0.2 | – | – |
| Mike Laga | 27 | – | 17 | -0.4 | – | – |
| Ricky Horton | 27 | arb | 68 | -0.5 | 0.4 | -0.6 |
| Bill Dawley | 29 | arb | 60 | -0.6 | 0.3 | -0.5 |
| Tony Peña Sr. | 30 | FA-elig | 116 | -0.8 | 1.2 | -1.4 |
| Player | fWAR |
|---|---|
| Joe Magrane | 3.1 |
| Lee Tunnell | 0.8 |
| Randy O'Neal | 0.2 |
| Scott Terry | 0.1 |
| Tom Pagnozzi | 0.1 |
| David Green | 0.1 |
| Player | 1986 fWAR |
|---|---|
| Andy Van Slyke | 3.4 |
| Michael LaValliere | 1.4 |
| Mike Heath | 0.2 |
| Jeff Lahti | 0.1 |
| Bill Earley | 0.0 |
| Alan Knicely | 0.0 |
What the front office was committed to as of 1987, 1987–1993. 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 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ozzie Smith | 32 | 9.000 | $1.9M | $2.3M | $2.2M | $2.0M | $2.2M | $2.0M | $3.0M |
| Jack Clark | 31 | 12.000 | $1.3M | FREE AGENT | |||||
| Tony Peña Sr. | 30 | 7.000 | $1.2M | $1.1M | $1.2M | FREE AGENT | |||
| John Tudor | 33 | 8.000 | $1.1M | $791k | FREE AGENT | $350k | |||
| Tom Herr | 31 | 8.000 | $925k | $745k | FREE AGENT | ||||
| Bob Forsch | 37 | 13.000 | $750k | $335k | FREE AGENT | ||||
| Tim Conroy | 27 | 9.000 | $115k | FREE AGENT | |||||
| Dan Driessen | 35 | 14.000 | $100k | FREE AGENT | |||||
| Doug DeCinces | 36 | 14.000 | $31k | FREE AGENT | |||||
| Tito Landrum | 32 | 7.000 | $23k | FREE AGENT | |||||
| Dave LaPoint | 27 | 7.000 | $20k | FREE AGENT | |||||
| David Green | 26 | 6.000 | — | FREE AGENT |
| Player | Age | Svc | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Willie McGee | 28 | 5.000 | $765k | FREE AGENT | |||||
| Danny Cox | 27 | 4.000 | $600k | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT | ||||
| Ricky Horton | 27 | 3.000 | $410k | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT | |||
| Ken Dayley | 28 | 5.000 | $325k | FREE AGENT | |||||
| Bill Dawley | 29 | 4.000 | $275k | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT | ||||
| Terry Pendleton | 26 | 3.000 | $210k | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT | |||
| Tom Lawless | 30 | 5.000 | $115k | FREE AGENT | |||||
| José Oquendo | 23 | 4.000 | $100k | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT | ||||
| Steve Lake | 30 | 4.000 | $95k | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT | ||||
| Lee Tunnell | 26 | 5.000 | $62k | FREE AGENT | |||||
| Skeeter Barnes | 30 | 4.000 | — | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT | ||||
| Mike Laga | 27 | 5.000 | — | FREE AGENT | |||||
| Randy O'Neal | 26 | 3.000 | — | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT |
| Player | Age | Svc | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Todd Worrell | 27 | 2.000 | $170k | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT | ||
| Vince Coleman | 25 | 2.000 | $160k | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT | ||
| Greg Mathews | 25 | 1.000 | $100k | Pre-Arb | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT | |
| Curt Ford | 26 | 2.000 | $70k | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT | ||
| John Morris | 26 | 1.000 | $65k | Pre-Arb | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT | |
| Pat Perry | 28 | 2.000 | $63k | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT | ||
| Lance Johnson | 23 | 0.000 | $62k | Pre-Arb | Pre-Arb | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT |
| Tom Pagnozzi | 24 | 0.000 | $62k | Pre-Arb | Pre-Arb | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT |
| Joe Magrane | 22 | 0.000 | $62k | Pre-Arb | Pre-Arb | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT |
| Steve Peters | 24 | 0.000 | $62k | Pre-Arb | Pre-Arb | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT |
| Jim Lindeman | 25 | 1.000 | $62k | Pre-Arb | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT | |
| Rod Booker | 28 | 0.000 | — | Pre-Arb | Pre-Arb | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT |
| Ray Soff | 28 | 1.000 | — | Pre-Arb | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT | |
| Scott Terry | 27 | 1.000 | — | Pre-Arb | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT |
Every roster slot ranked best→worst by WAR. Bars = Cardinals 1987; 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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