GM: Ed Lynch (since 1995)
| Player | Age | Service | G | fWAR | Salary $M | Surplus $M |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sammy Sosa | 31 | FA-elig | 156 | 5.8 | 11.0 | -2.8 |
| Jon Lieber | 30 | FA-elig | 36 | 4.8 | 3.8 | +3.0 |
| Eric Young Sr. | 33 | FA-elig | 153 | 3.6 | 4.5 | +0.5 |
| Mark Grace | 36 | FA-elig | 143 | 3.0 | 5.3 | -1.0 |
| Kevin Tapani | 36 | FA-elig | 30 | 2.5 | 6.0 | -2.4 |
| Kerry Wood | 23 | pre-arb | 25 | 1.8 | 0.7 | +1.9 |
| Joe Girardi | 35 | FA-elig | 106 | 1.7 | 2.0 | +0.4 |
| Ricky Gutierrez | 30 | FA-elig | 125 | 1.3 | 2.5 | -0.6 |
| Scott Downs↔ WSN | 24 | – | 18 | 0.8 | – | – |
| Jeff Reed | 37 | FA-elig | 90 | 0.8 | 1.0 | +0.1 |
| Tim Worrell↔ BAL | 32 | FA-elig | 54 | 0.7 | 0.6 | +0.3 |
| Roosevelt Brown | 24 | pre-arb | 45 | 0.6 | 0.2 | +0.6 |
| Willie Greene | 28 | FA-elig | 105 | 0.5 | 0.4 | +0.3 |
| Rondell White↔ WSN | 28 | FA-elig | 19 | 0.5 | 0.8 | -0.2 |
| Felix Heredia | 25 | arb | 74 | 0.4 | 0.6 | -0.1 |
| Todd Van Poppel | 28 | – | 51 | 0.3 | – | – |
| Jamie Arnold↔ LAD | 26 | – | 12 | 0.3 | – | – |
| Augie Ojeda | 25 | – | 28 | 0.3 | – | – |
| Daniel Garibay | 27 | – | 30 | 0.3 | – | – |
| Mark Guthrie↔ TBR | 34 | FA-elig | 19 | 0.3 | 0.4 | -0.0 |
| Damon Buford | 30 | FA-elig | 150 | 0.3 | 1.1 | -0.7 |
| Shane Andrews | 28 | arb | 66 | 0.2 | 1.0 | -0.7 |
| Julio Zuleta | 25 | – | 30 | 0.2 | – | – |
| Andrew Lorraine↔ CLE | 27 | FA-elig | 8 | 0.2 | 0.1 | +0.1 |
| Jerry Spradlin↔ KCR | 33 | FA-elig | 8 | 0.1 | 0.1 | +0.0 |
| Mike Mahoney | 27 | – | 4 | 0.1 | – | – |
| Joey Nation | 21 | – | 2 | 0.0 | – | – |
| Henry Rodriguez↔ MIA | 32 | FA-elig | 76 | 0.0 | 3.1 | -3.1 |
| Ismael Valdez↔ LAD | 26 | FA-elig | 13 | 0.0 | 3.4 | -3.4 |
| Will Ohman | 22 | – | 6 | -0.0 | – | – |
| Tarrik Brock | 26 | pre-arb | 13 | -0.0 | 0.2 | -0.3 |
| Raul Gonzalez | 26 | – | 3 | -0.1 | – | – |
| Cole Liniak | 23 | pre-arb | 3 | -0.1 | 0.2 | -0.3 |
| Oswaldo Mairena | 26 | – | 2 | -0.1 | – | – |
| Steve Rain | 25 | – | 37 | -0.1 | – | – |
| Gary Matthews Jr. | 25 | – | 80 | -0.2 | – | – |
| Danny Young | 28 | pre-arb | 4 | -0.2 | 0.2 | -0.5 |
| Phil Norton | 24 | – | 2 | -0.3 | – | – |
| Dave Martinez↔ TBR | 35 | FA-elig | 18 | -0.3 | 0.3 | -0.7 |
| Chad Meyers | 24 | – | 36 | -0.3 | – | – |
| Matt Karchner | 33 | arb | 13 | -0.3 | 0.8 | -1.2 |
| Ross Gload | 24 | – | 18 | -0.3 | – | – |
| Kyle Farnsworth | 24 | pre-arb | 46 | -0.4 | 0.2 | -0.8 |
| Corey Patterson | 20 | – | 11 | -0.4 | – | – |
| Glenallen Hill↔ NYY | 35 | FA-elig | 64 | -0.5 | 0.9 | -1.6 |
| Jose Nieves | 25 | pre-arb | 82 | -0.5 | 0.2 | -0.9 |
| Brian Williams↔ CLE | 31 | FA-elig | 22 | -0.5 | 0.5 | -1.2 |
| Brant Brown↔ MIA | 29 | arb | 54 | -0.6 | 0.2 | -1.0 |
| Rick Aguilera | 38 | FA-elig | 54 | -0.7 | 3.5 | -4.5 |
| Jeff Huson | 35 | FA-elig | 70 | -0.7 | 0.3 | -1.4 |
| Ruben Quevedo | 21 | – | 21 | -0.8 | – | – |
51 players appeared (WAR is complete); salary & surplus are on record for 33 of them (65%). 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 |