GM: Jim Hendry (since 2003)
| Player | Age | Service | G | fWAR | Salary $M | Surplus $M |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Derrek Lee | 29 | FA-elig | 158 | 7.0 | 7.7 | +5.4 |
| Carlos Zambrano | 24 | arb | 34 | 5.2 | 3.8 | +6.1 |
| Greg Maddux | 39 | FA-elig | 35 | 3.3 | 9.0 | -2.8 |
| Mark Prior | 24 | arb | 27 | 3.2 | 3.5 | +2.5 |
| Michael Barrett | 28 | FA-elig | 133 | 2.9 | 3.1 | +2.3 |
| Aramis Ramirez | 27 | FA-elig | 123 | 2.9 | 8.9 | -3.6 |
| Glendon Rusch | 30 | FA-elig | 46 | 2.3 | 2.0 | +2.3 |
| Jerry Hairston Jr. | 29 | FA-elig | 114 | 2.2 | 1.8 | +2.3 |
| Todd Walker | 32 | FA-elig | 110 | 1.8 | 2.5 | +1.0 |
| Ryan Dempster | 28 | FA-elig | 63 | 1.7 | 2.0 | +1.1 |
| Matt Murton | 23 | – | 51 | 1.6 | – | – |
| Jeromy Burnitz | 36 | FA-elig | 160 | 1.5 | 4.5 | -1.8 |
| Michael Wuertz | 26 | pre-arb | 75 | 1.1 | 0.3 | +1.8 |
| Neifi Perez | 32 | FA-elig | 154 | 0.7 | 1.0 | +0.3 |
| Henry Blanco | 33 | FA-elig | 54 | 0.6 | 1.2 | -0.1 |
| Kerry Wood | 28 | FA-elig | 21 | 0.4 | 9.5 | -8.7 |
| Roberto Novoa | 25 | – | 49 | 0.4 | – | – |
| Jerome Williams↔ SFG | 23 | pre-arb | 18 | 0.3 | 0.3 | +0.4 |
| Nomar Garciaparra | 31 | FA-elig | 62 | 0.3 | 8.2 | -7.6 |
| Ronny Cedeno | 22 | – | 41 | 0.2 | – | – |
| Mike Fontenot | 25 | – | 7 | 0.1 | – | – |
| John Koronka | 24 | – | 4 | 0.1 | – | – |
| Rich Hill | 25 | – | 10 | 0.1 | – | – |
| Sergio Mitre | 24 | – | 21 | 0.1 | – | – |
| Mike Remlinger↔ BOS | 39 | FA-elig | 35 | 0.0 | 3.4 | -3.4 |
| Adam Greenberg | 24 | – | 1 | 0.0 | – | – |
| Ben Grieve | 29 | – | 23 | 0.0 | – | – |
| Scott Williamson | 29 | FA-elig | 17 | 0.0 | 0.5 | -0.5 |
| Todd Hollandsworth↔ ATL | 32 | FA-elig | 107 | 0.0 | 0.7 | -0.7 |
| Will Ohman | 27 | – | 69 | -0.0 | – | – |
| Jody Gerut↔ CLE | 27 | pre-arb | 11 | -0.0 | 0.1 | -0.1 |
| Geovany Soto | 22 | – | 1 | -0.0 | – | – |
| Ryan Theriot | 25 | – | 9 | -0.0 | – | – |
| Enrique Wilson | 31 | – | 15 | -0.1 | – | – |
| Jermaine Van Buren | 24 | – | 6 | -0.1 | – | – |
| Scott McClain | 33 | – | 13 | -0.1 | – | – |
| Chad Fox | 34 | FA-elig | 11 | -0.2 | 0.6 | -0.9 |
| Jason Dubois↔ CLE | 26 | pre-arb | 52 | -0.2 | 0.3 | -0.6 |
| LaTroy Hawkins↔ SFG | 32 | FA-elig | 21 | -0.2 | 1.4 | -1.8 |
| Joe Borowski↔ TBR | 34 | FA-elig | 11 | -0.2 | 0.6 | -1.0 |
| Matt Lawton III↔ NYY | 33 | FA-elig | 19 | -0.3 | 1.0 | -1.5 |
| Jon Leicester | 26 | pre-arb | 6 | -0.4 | 0.3 | -1.0 |
| Jose Macias | 33 | FA-elig | 112 | -0.4 | 0.8 | -1.6 |
| Corey Patterson | 25 | arb | 126 | -0.5 | 2.8 | -3.7 |
| Cliff Bartosh | 25 | pre-arb | 19 | -0.5 | 0.3 | -1.2 |
| Todd Wellemeyer | 26 | pre-arb | 22 | -0.5 | 0.3 | -1.3 |
46 players appeared (WAR is complete); salary & surplus are on record for 31 of them (67%). 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 |