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The Costs of WAR

Thanks to WAR, that fancy stat that tries to boil all on-field activity down to a single number, we have a general idea of how much it costs for one win. Sure, the number is not perfect and WAR will probably be replaced by another number in the future as we continue to zero in on mathematic perfection, it allows us to know that the general purchasing value for a victory comes between $5-$6 million. It’s a handy way to see what your team would probably need to dole out if they wanted that big bat, assuming there are no crazy owners ready to and willing to throw wheelbarrows of money at a shiny new bauble. 

But Matt Swartz of FanGraphs thought that wasn’t good enough and wanted to look at the general cost per WAR separated by position. The findings are pretty shocking. Despite the general dearth of catching talent, it was one of the cheapest positions to field last season. Meanwhile, despite the ease of replacing their talent, designated hitters and relief pitchers are the most expensive. In fact, relief pitchers have been paid $16.4 million per WAR since 2007. 

While that doesn’t make much sense, as long as bullpens continue to grow and relief help is one of the few places many teams can even look to make significant upgrades, that’s probably not going to change much. Check out Swartz’s article for a great way to examine free agent value. 

  1. highleverageinning reblogged this from oldtimefamilybaseball and added:
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  2. oldtimefamilybaseball posted this
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