GM: Jim Frey (since 1988)
| Player | Age | Service | G | fWAR | Salary $M | Surplus $M |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ryne Sandberg | 30 | FA-elig | 155 | 6.3 | 1.6 | +1.3 |
| Greg Maddux | 24 | arb | 35 | 4.9 | 0.4 | +1.8 |
| Mark Grace | 26 | pre-arb | 157 | 3.5 | 0.3 | +1.2 |
| Mike Harkey | 23 | pre-arb | 27 | 2.7 | 0.1 | +1.1 |
| Andre Dawson | 35 | FA-elig | 147 | 2.3 | 2.1 | -1.1 |
| Mike Bielecki | 30 | FA-elig | 36 | 1.8 | 0.7 | +0.1 |
| Shawn Boskie | 23 | pre-arb | 15 | 1.5 | 0.1 | +0.6 |
| Paul Assenmacher | 29 | arb | 74 | 1.3 | 0.5 | +0.1 |
| Steve Wilson | 25 | pre-arb | 45 | 1.2 | 0.1 | +0.4 |
| Joe Girardi | 25 | pre-arb | 133 | 1.0 | 0.1 | +0.3 |
| Shawon Dunston | 27 | arb | 146 | 0.9 | 1.2 | -0.8 |
| Hector Villanueva | 25 | pre-arb | 52 | 0.7 | 0.1 | +0.2 |
| Jeff Pico | 24 | pre-arb | 31 | 0.7 | 0.1 | +0.2 |
| Les Lancaster | 28 | arb | 55 | 0.4 | 0.3 | -0.1 |
| Luis Salazar | 34 | FA-elig | 115 | 0.3 | 0.6 | -0.4 |
| Jose Antonio Nunez | 26 | arb | 21 | 0.3 | 0.1 | -0.0 |
| Dave Pavlas | 27 | – | 13 | 0.1 | – | – |
| Doug Dascenzo | 26 | pre-arb | 113 | 0.1 | 0.1 | -0.1 |
| Rick Sutcliffe | 34 | FA-elig | 5 | 0.0 | 1.9 | -1.9 |
| Kevin Blankenship | 27 | pre-arb | 3 | -0.0 | 0.1 | -0.1 |
| Lance Dickson | 20 | pre-arb | 3 | -0.0 | 0.1 | -0.1 |
| Kevin Coffman | 25 | arb | 8 | -0.1 | 0.1 | -0.1 |
| Gary Varsho | 29 | pre-arb | 46 | -0.1 | 0.1 | -0.1 |
| Joe Kraemer | 25 | pre-arb | 18 | -0.1 | 0.1 | -0.1 |
| Mitch Williams | 25 | arb | 59 | -0.1 | 1.1 | -1.2 |
| Dean Wilkins | 23 | pre-arb | 7 | -0.2 | 0.1 | -0.2 |
| Rick Wrona | 26 | pre-arb | 16 | -0.2 | 0.1 | -0.2 |
| Dwight Smith | 26 | pre-arb | 117 | -0.2 | 0.2 | -0.3 |
| Dave Clark | 27 | arb | 84 | -0.2 | 0.2 | -0.3 |
| Randy Kramer↔ PIT | 29 | pre-arb | 10 | -0.3 | 0.1 | -0.2 |
| Damon Berryhill | 26 | arb | 17 | -0.3 | 0.2 | -0.3 |
| Derrick May | 21 | – | 17 | -0.3 | – | – |
| Greg Smith | 23 | – | 18 | -0.4 | – | – |
| Bill Long↔ CHW | 30 | arb | 42 | -0.5 | 0.2 | -0.4 |
| Marvell Wynne | 30 | FA-elig | 92 | -0.7 | 0.5 | -0.8 |
| Jerome Walton | 24 | pre-arb | 101 | -0.7 | 0.2 | -0.5 |
| Domingo Ramos | 32 | FA-elig | 98 | -0.8 | 0.3 | -0.7 |
| Lloyd McClendon↔ PIT | 31 | arb | 49 | -1.0 | 0.2 | -0.6 |
| Curtis Wilkerson | 29 | FA-elig | 77 | -1.2 | 0.4 | -0.9 |
39 players appeared (WAR is complete); salary & surplus are on record for 36 of them (92%). 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 |