GM: Larry Himes (since 1992)
| Player | Age | Service | G | fWAR | Salary $M | Surplus $M |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ryne Sandberg | 32 | FA-elig | 158 | 7.4 | 2.1 | +3.6 |
| Greg Maddux | 26 | FA-elig | 35 | 7.2 | 4.2 | +1.4 |
| Mark Grace | 28 | arb | 158 | 4.4 | 2.3 | +1.2 |
| Mike Morgan | 32 | FA-elig | 34 | 2.8 | 2.9 | -0.7 |
| Andre Dawson | 37 | FA-elig | 143 | 2.7 | 3.3 | -1.2 |
| Frank Castillo | 23 | pre-arb | 33 | 2.1 | 0.1 | +1.5 |
| Rick Wilkins | 25 | pre-arb | 83 | 2.0 | 0.1 | +1.4 |
| Rey Sanchez | 24 | – | 74 | 0.9 | – | – |
| Chuck McElroy | 24 | arb | 72 | 0.9 | 0.2 | +0.5 |
| Danny Jackson↔ PIT | 30 | FA-elig | 19 | 0.8 | 1.5 | -0.8 |
| Sammy Sosa | 23 | arb | 67 | 0.8 | 0.2 | +0.4 |
| Dwight Smith | 28 | arb | 109 | 0.7 | 0.5 | +0.1 |
| Paul Assenmacher | 31 | FA-elig | 70 | 0.7 | 1.9 | -1.4 |
| Steve Buechele↔ PIT | 30 | FA-elig | 65 | 0.5 | 1.2 | -0.8 |
| Bob Scanlan | 25 | pre-arb | 69 | 0.4 | 0.1 | +0.2 |
| Joe Girardi | 27 | arb | 91 | 0.4 | 0.3 | -0.0 |
| Shawon Dunston | 29 | FA-elig | 18 | 0.3 | 2.5 | -2.2 |
| Alex Arias | 24 | – | 32 | 0.3 | – | – |
| Mike Harkey | 25 | arb | 7 | 0.3 | 0.2 | -0.0 |
| Dave Smith | 37 | FA-elig | 11 | 0.1 | 2.5 | -2.4 |
| Derrick May | 23 | – | 124 | -0.0 | – | – |
| Jorge Pedre | 25 | – | 4 | -0.1 | – | – |
| Jessie Hollins | 22 | – | 4 | -0.2 | – | – |
| Jeff Hartsock | 25 | – | 4 | -0.2 | – | – |
| Chico Walker↔ NYM | 34 | FA-elig | 19 | -0.2 | 0.0 | -0.2 |
| Jeff Robinson | 31 | FA-elig | 49 | -0.2 | 0.6 | -0.7 |
| Jeff Kunkel | 30 | – | 20 | -0.2 | – | – |
| Heathcliff Slocumb | 26 | pre-arb | 30 | -0.2 | 0.1 | -0.3 |
| Dennis Rasmussen↔ KCR | 33 | – | 3 | -0.2 | – | – |
| Jose Vizcaino | 24 | arb | 86 | -0.3 | 0.2 | -0.4 |
| Luis Salazar | 36 | FA-elig | 98 | -0.3 | 0.6 | -0.9 |
| Kal Daniels↔ LAD | 28 | FA-elig | 48 | -0.3 | 1.4 | -1.7 |
| Fernando Ramsey | 26 | – | 18 | -0.4 | – | – |
| Doug Dascenzo | 28 | arb | 139 | -0.5 | 0.2 | -0.6 |
| Hector Villanueva | 27 | pre-arb | 51 | -0.6 | 0.2 | -0.6 |
| Shawn Boskie | 25 | pre-arb | 23 | -0.7 | 0.2 | -0.7 |
| Jim Bullinger | 26 | – | 39 | -0.7 | – | – |
| Jerome Walton | 26 | arb | 30 | -0.8 | 0.5 | -1.1 |
| Gary Scott | 23 | pre-arb | 36 | -1.0 | 0.1 | -0.9 |
| Ken Patterson | 27 | arb | 32 | -1.1 | 0.6 | -1.5 |
| Doug Strange | 28 | – | 52 | -1.2 | – | – |
41 players appeared (WAR is complete); salary & surplus are on record for 30 of them (73%). 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 |