GM: Andy MacPhail (since 2001)
| Player | Age | Service | G | fWAR | Salary $M | Surplus $M |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sammy Sosa | 32 | FA-elig | 160 | 9.9 | 12.5 | +3.4 |
| Jon Lieber | 31 | FA-elig | 35 | 4.4 | 5.1 | +2.1 |
| Kerry Wood | 24 | arb | 29 | 4.0 | 1.9 | +4.5 |
| Kevin Tapani | 37 | FA-elig | 29 | 3.1 | 6.5 | -1.4 |
| Jason Bere | 30 | FA-elig | 32 | 3.1 | 2.2 | +2.8 |
| Julian Tavarez | 28 | FA-elig | 34 | 2.1 | 2.3 | +1.1 |
| Kyle Farnsworth | 25 | pre-arb | 76 | 2.0 | 0.2 | +2.9 |
| Ricky Gutierrez | 31 | FA-elig | 147 | 1.8 | 3.4 | -0.5 |
| Jeff Fassero | 38 | FA-elig | 82 | 1.7 | 2.4 | +0.3 |
| Bill Mueller | 30 | arb | 70 | 1.7 | 2.8 | -0.0 |
| Rondell White | 29 | FA-elig | 95 | 1.7 | 4.0 | -1.3 |
| Tom Gordon | 33 | FA-elig | 47 | 1.5 | 2.0 | +0.4 |
| Matt Stairs | 33 | FA-elig | 128 | 1.4 | 3.2 | -1.0 |
| Eric Young Sr. | 34 | FA-elig | 149 | 1.3 | 4.5 | -2.4 |
| Fred McGriff↔ TBR | 37 | FA-elig | 49 | 1.2 | 2.2 | -0.3 |
| Michael Tucker↔ CIN | 30 | FA-elig | 63 | 1.0 | 0.8 | +0.9 |
| Juan Cruz | 22 | – | 11 | 0.8 | – | – |
| Todd Van Poppel | 29 | FA-elig | 59 | 0.8 | 0.8 | +0.4 |
| Joe Girardi | 36 | FA-elig | 78 | 0.8 | 2.0 | -0.7 |
| Delino DeShields↔ BAL | 32 | FA-elig | 68 | 0.6 | 2.3 | -1.4 |
| Roosevelt Brown | 25 | pre-arb | 39 | 0.4 | 0.2 | +0.3 |
| Gary Matthews Jr.↔ PIT | 26 | pre-arb | 106 | 0.3 | 0.2 | +0.3 |
| Courtney Duncan | 26 | pre-arb | 36 | 0.3 | 0.2 | +0.2 |
| David Weathers↔ MIL | 31 | FA-elig | 28 | 0.2 | 0.4 | -0.1 |
| Miguel Cairo↔ STL | 27 | – | 66 | 0.2 | – | – |
| Chad Meyers | 25 | – | 18 | 0.1 | – | – |
| Todd Dunwoody | 26 | – | 33 | 0.0 | – | – |
| Mike Fyhrie↔ OAK | 31 | arb | 15 | -0.0 | 0.2 | -0.2 |
| Jason Smith | 23 | – | 2 | -0.0 | – | – |
| Will Ohman | 23 | – | 11 | -0.0 | – | – |
| Robert Machado | 28 | – | 52 | -0.1 | – | – |
| Scott Chiasson | 23 | – | 6 | -0.1 | – | – |
| Ron Coomer | 34 | FA-elig | 111 | -0.1 | 1.1 | -1.3 |
| Joe Borowski | 30 | – | 1 | -0.1 | – | – |
| Corey Patterson | 21 | – | 59 | -0.2 | – | – |
| Ron Mahay | 30 | – | 17 | -0.2 | – | – |
| Manny Aybar | 29 | arb | 17 | -0.2 | 0.7 | -1.0 |
| Julio Zuleta | 26 | pre-arb | 49 | -0.3 | 0.2 | -0.6 |
| Felix Heredia | 26 | arb | 48 | -0.3 | 1.1 | -1.6 |
| Carlos Zambrano | 20 | – | 6 | -0.3 | – | – |
| Augie Ojeda | 26 | pre-arb | 78 | -0.4 | 0.2 | -0.9 |
| Damon Buford | 31 | FA-elig | 35 | -0.5 | 1.1 | -1.8 |
| Todd Hundley | 32 | FA-elig | 79 | -0.6 | 3.5 | -4.5 |
43 players appeared (WAR is complete); salary & surplus are on record for 31 of them (72%). 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 |