GM: Dallas Green (since 1981)
| Player | Age | Service | G | fWAR | Salary $M | Surplus $M |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ryne Sandberg | 25 | arb | 153 | 5.9 | 0.5 | +1.0 |
| Dennis Eckersley | 30 | FA-elig | 26 | 4.4 | 0.8 | +0.4 |
| Rick Sutcliffe | 29 | FA-elig | 20 | 2.7 | 1.3 | -0.6 |
| Lee Smith | 27 | arb | 65 | 2.7 | 0.7 | +0.0 |
| Jody Davis | 28 | arb | 142 | 2.4 | 0.6 | +0.1 |
| Leon Durham | 27 | arb | 153 | 2.3 | 0.8 | -0.2 |
| Davey Lopes | 40 | FA-elig | 99 | 2.2 | 0.5 | +0.1 |
| Thad Bosley | 28 | FA-elig | 108 | 2.1 | 0.2 | +0.3 |
| Scott Sanderson | 28 | FA-elig | 19 | 1.9 | 0.5 | +0.0 |
| Keith Moreland | 31 | FA-elig | 161 | 1.9 | 0.9 | -0.4 |
| Steve Trout | 27 | FA-elig | 24 | 1.2 | 0.6 | -0.3 |
| Shawon Dunston | 22 | – | 74 | 0.9 | – | – |
| Bob Dernier | 28 | arb | 121 | 0.8 | 0.4 | -0.2 |
| Dick Ruthven | 34 | FA-elig | 20 | 0.7 | 0.8 | -0.6 |
| Reggie Patterson | 26 | – | 8 | 0.7 | – | – |
| Larry Bowa↔ NYM | 39 | FA-elig | 72 | 0.6 | 0.4 | -0.3 |
| Ron Cey | 37 | FA-elig | 145 | 0.6 | 1.4 | -1.3 |
| Gary Matthews Sr. | 34 | FA-elig | 97 | 0.5 | 0.6 | -0.5 |
| Gary Woods | 31 | FA-elig | 81 | 0.3 | 0.3 | -0.2 |
| Ray Fontenot | 27 | pre-arb | 38 | 0.1 | 0.2 | -0.2 |
| Ron Meridith | 28 | – | 32 | 0.0 | – | – |
| Lary Sorensen | 29 | FA-elig | 45 | 0.0 | 0.3 | -0.3 |
| Dave Owen | 27 | – | 22 | 0.0 | – | – |
| Dave Gumpert | 27 | – | 9 | -0.0 | – | – |
| Brian Dayett | 28 | – | 22 | -0.0 | – | – |
| Johnny Abrego | 22 | – | 6 | -0.1 | – | – |
| Steve Engel | 23 | – | 11 | -0.1 | – | – |
| Jay Baller | 24 | – | 20 | -0.1 | – | – |
| Steve Lake | 28 | – | 58 | -0.1 | – | – |
| Dave Beard | 25 | – | 9 | -0.2 | – | – |
| Larry Gura↔ KCR | 37 | – | 5 | -0.2 | – | – |
| Darrin Jackson | 22 | – | 5 | -0.2 | – | – |
| Chico Walker | 27 | – | 21 | -0.2 | – | – |
| Chris Speier | 35 | FA-elig | 106 | -0.3 | 0.2 | -0.3 |
| Derek Botelho | 28 | – | 11 | -0.3 | – | – |
| Jon Perlman | 28 | – | 6 | -0.3 | – | – |
| Richie Hebner | 37 | FA-elig | 83 | -0.4 | 0.3 | -0.4 |
| Billy Hatcher | 24 | – | 53 | -0.5 | – | – |
| Warren Brusstar | 33 | FA-elig | 51 | -0.5 | 0.4 | -0.5 |
| George Frazier | 30 | FA-elig | 51 | -1.3 | 0.5 | -0.8 |
40 players appeared (WAR is complete); salary & surplus are on record for 23 of them (58%). Players without a salary show "–" — no single historical salary source is fully complete (especially 2020–2022).
WAR = FanGraphs (fWAR). Green = produced more value than paid (bargain); red = paid more than produced. Service: pre-arb (<3 yr) / arb (3–6) / FA-eligible (6+). Click headers to sort.
| Player | Year | WAR for CHC |
|---|---|---|
| Sammy Sosa | 1992 | 60.7 |
| Ryne Sandberg | 1982 | 48.2 |
| Anthony Rizzo | 2012 | 31.1 |
| Aramis Ramírez | 2003 | 25.0 |
| Kyle Hendricks | 2012 | 24.4 |
| Derrek Lee | 2003 | 21.4 |
| Jake Arrieta | 2013 | 19.6 |
| Rick Sutcliffe | 1984 | 17.2 |
| Player | Year traded | WAR elsewhere |
|---|---|---|
| Rafael Palmeiro | 1988 | 42.3 |
| Dontrelle Willis | 2002 | 20.7 |
| Dennis Eckersley | 1987 | 19.3 |
| Ricky Nolasco | 2005 | 17.5 |
| Jon Garland | 1998 | 17.2 |
| Chris Archer | 2011 | 16.9 |
| Gleyber Torres | 2016 | 15.9 |
| Josh Donaldson | 2008 | 13.8 |