GM: Douglas Melvin
1996: made playoffs · 90–72. Ranks are vs the 28 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ivan Rodriguez | 24 | arb | 153 | 5.6 | 4.0 | +0.7 |
| Ken Hill | 30 | FA-elig | 35 | 5.6 | 3.1 | +1.6 |
| Rusty Greer | 27 | pre-arb | 139 | 4.8 | 0.3 | +3.7 |
| Mark McLemore | 31 | FA-elig | 147 | 4.1 | 1.2 | +2.2 |
| Juan Gonzalez | 26 | FA-elig | 134 | 3.5 | 7.4 | -4.5 |
| Dean Palmer | 27 | FA-elig | 154 | 3.0 | 2.0 | +0.5 |
| Bobby Witt | 32 | FA-elig | 33 | 2.5 | 1.4 | +0.8 |
| Roger Pavlik | 28 | arb | 34 | 2.4 | 1.2 | +0.7 |
| Darren Oliver | 25 | arb | 30 | 2.3 | 0.2 | +1.7 |
| John Burkett↔ MIA | 31 | FA-elig | 10 | 2.0 | 1.0 | +0.7 |
| Will Clark | 32 | FA-elig | 117 | 1.8 | 5.7 | -4.1 |
| Kevin Elster | 31 | FA-elig | 157 | 1.5 | 0.3 | +1.0 |
| Dennis Cook | 33 | FA-elig | 60 | 1.5 | 0.3 | +0.9 |
| Kevin Gross | 35 | FA-elig | 28 | 1.3 | 3.3 | -2.2 |
| Dave Valle | 35 | FA-elig | 42 | 0.9 | 0.7 | -0.0 |
| Mickey Tettleton | 35 | FA-elig | 143 | 0.8 | 1.5 | -0.8 |
| Mike Stanton↔ BOS | 29 | FA-elig | 22 | 0.5 | 0.5 | -0.0 |
| Ed Vosberg | 34 | FA-elig | 52 | 0.5 | 0.2 | +0.2 |
| Mark Brandenburg↔ BOS | 25 | pre-arb | 26 | 0.5 | 0.1 | +0.3 |
| Mike Henneman | 34 | FA-elig | 49 | 0.4 | 1.5 | -1.2 |
| Damon Buford | 26 | arb | 90 | 0.4 | 0.2 | +0.1 |
| Gil Heredia | 30 | arb | 44 | 0.3 | 0.4 | -0.1 |
| Warren Newson | 31 | arb | 91 | 0.2 | 0.2 | -0.0 |
| Lee Stevens | 28 | FA-elig | 27 | 0.2 | 0.1 | +0.1 |
| Jeff Russell | 34 | FA-elig | 55 | 0.2 | 0.6 | -0.4 |
| Lou Frazier | 31 | arb | 30 | 0.2 | 0.2 | +0.0 |
| Craig Worthington | 31 | FA-elig | 13 | 0.2 | 0.2 | -0.0 |
| Danny Patterson | 25 | – | 7 | 0.1 | – | – |
| Darryl Hamilton | 31 | FA-elig | 148 | 0.1 | 1.3 | -1.2 |
| Luis Ortiz | 26 | – | 3 | 0.1 | – | – |
| Kevin Brown | 23 | – | 3 | 0.1 | – | – |
| Jack Voigt | 30 | – | 5 | 0.0 | – | – |
| Benji Gil | 23 | arb | 5 | 0.0 | 0.2 | -0.2 |
| Jose Alberro | 27 | – | 5 | -0.0 | – | – |
| Rikkert Faneyte | 27 | – | 8 | -0.1 | – | – |
| Kurt Stillwell | 31 | FA-elig | 46 | -0.1 | 0.1 | -0.2 |
| Rene Gonzales | 35 | FA-elig | 51 | -0.3 | 0.2 | -0.4 |
| Rick Helling↔ MIA | 25 | – | 6 | -0.3 | – | – |
| Matt Whiteside | 28 | arb | 14 | -0.4 | 0.4 | -0.7 |
| Player | fWAR |
|---|---|
| Ken Hill | 5.6 |
| John Burkett | 2.0 |
| Kevin Elster | 1.5 |
| Mike Stanton | 0.5 |
| Mike Henneman | 0.4 |
| Damon Buford | 0.4 |
| Player | 1995 fWAR |
|---|---|
| Bob Tewksbury | 3.1 |
| Kenny Rogers | 3.0 |
| Roger McDowell | 0.9 |
| Otis Nixon | 0.7 |
| Jeff Frye | 0.6 |
| Mike Pagliarulo | 0.4 |
What the front office was committed to as of 1996, 1996–2002. 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 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Juan Gonzalez | 26 | 7.000 | $7.4M | $7.5M | $7.8M | $8.5M | FREE AGENT | $11.0M | |
| Will Clark | 32 | 10.000 | $5.7M | $5.7M | $5.8M | FREE AGENT | |||
| Kevin Gross | 35 | 13.000 | $3.3M | FREE AGENT | |||||
| Ken Hill | 30 | 8.000 | $3.1M | $3.0M | FREE AGENT | ||||
| Dean Palmer | 27 | 7.000 | $2.0M | $3.2M | FREE AGENT | ||||
| Mike Henneman | 34 | 9.000 | $1.5M | FREE AGENT | |||||
| Mickey Tettleton | 35 | 12.000 | $1.5M | $1.8M | FREE AGENT | ||||
| Bobby Witt | 32 | 10.000 | $1.4M | $2.0M | $1.7M | FREE AGENT | |||
| Darryl Hamilton | 31 | 8.000 | $1.3M | FREE AGENT | |||||
| Mark McLemore | 31 | 10.000 | $1.2M | $1.8M | $2.3M | $2.4M | FREE AGENT | ||
| John Burkett | 31 | 9.000 | $1.0M | $3.5M | $4.0M | $4.0M | FREE AGENT | ||
| Dave Valle | 35 | 12.000 | $725k | FREE AGENT | |||||
| Jeff Russell | 34 | 13.000 | $615k | FREE AGENT | |||||
| Mike Stanton | 29 | 7.000 | $475k | FREE AGENT | |||||
| Dennis Cook | 33 | 8.000 | $330k | FREE AGENT | |||||
| Kevin Elster | 31 | 10.000 | $270k | FREE AGENT | $1.5M | ||||
| Ed Vosberg | 34 | 10.000 | $198k | $320k | FREE AGENT | ||||
| Rene Gonzales | 35 | 12.000 | $175k | FREE AGENT | |||||
| Craig Worthington | 31 | 8.000 | $168k | FREE AGENT | |||||
| Kurt Stillwell | 31 | 10.000 | $150k | FREE AGENT | |||||
| Lee Stevens | 28 | 6.000 | $109k | $300k | $1.2M | $2.1M | FREE AGENT |
| Player | Age | Svc | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ivan Rodriguez | 24 | 5.000 | $4.0M | FREE AGENT | |||||
| Roger Pavlik | 28 | 4.000 | $1.2M | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT | ||||
| Matt Whiteside | 28 | 4.000 | $375k | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT | ||||
| Gil Heredia | 30 | 5.000 | $360k | FREE AGENT | |||||
| Warren Newson | 31 | 5.000 | $250k | FREE AGENT | |||||
| Darren Oliver | 25 | 3.000 | $220k | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT | |||
| Benji Gil | 23 | 3.000 | $200k | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT | |||
| Lou Frazier | 31 | 3.000 | $166k | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT | |||
| Damon Buford | 26 | 3.000 | $165k | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT | |||
| Rikkert Faneyte | 27 | 3.000 | — | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT | |||
| Luis Ortiz | 26 | 3.000 | — | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT | |||
| Jack Voigt | 30 | 4.000 | — | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT |
| Player | Age | Svc | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rusty Greer | 27 | 2.000 | $258k | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT | ||
| Mark Brandenburg | 25 | 1.000 | $58k | Pre-Arb | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT | |
| Jose Alberro | 27 | 1.000 | — | Pre-Arb | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT | |
| Kevin Brown | 23 | 0.000 | — | Pre-Arb | Pre-Arb | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT |
| Rick Helling | 25 | 2.000 | — | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT | ||
| Danny Patterson | 25 | 0.000 | — | Pre-Arb | Pre-Arb | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT |
Every roster slot ranked best→worst by WAR. Bars = Rangers 1996; 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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