GM: Jim Hendry (since 2003)
| Player | Age | Service | G | fWAR | Salary $M | Surplus $M |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carlos Zambrano | 25 | arb | 37 | 4.3 | 6.5 | +2.0 |
| Aramis Ramirez | 28 | FA-elig | 157 | 3.7 | 10.8 | -3.4 |
| Juan Pierre | 28 | FA-elig | 162 | 3.1 | 5.8 | +0.3 |
| Matt Murton | 24 | pre-arb | 144 | 2.8 | 0.3 | +5.3 |
| Greg Maddux↔ LAD | 40 | FA-elig | 22 | 2.7 | 5.8 | -0.4 |
| Michael Barrett | 29 | FA-elig | 107 | 2.3 | 4.3 | +0.3 |
| Ryan Theriot | 26 | – | 53 | 1.6 | – | – |
| Bob Howry | 32 | FA-elig | 84 | 1.5 | 3.0 | +0.1 |
| Jacque Jones | 31 | – | 149 | 1.4 | – | – |
| Rich Hill | 26 | – | 17 | 1.3 | – | – |
| Ryan Dempster | 29 | FA-elig | 74 | 0.9 | 4.3 | -2.5 |
| Phil Nevin↔ MIN | 35 | FA-elig | 67 | 0.7 | 5.4 | -4.0 |
| Henry Blanco | 34 | FA-elig | 74 | 0.7 | 1.5 | -0.1 |
| Derrek Lee | 30 | FA-elig | 50 | 0.7 | 9.4 | -8.0 |
| Will Ohman | 28 | FA-elig | 78 | 0.7 | 0.6 | +0.8 |
| Michael Wuertz | 27 | pre-arb | 41 | 0.4 | 0.4 | +0.5 |
| Scott Williamson↔ SDP | 30 | FA-elig | 31 | 0.3 | 1.5 | -0.9 |
| Sean Marshall | 23 | pre-arb | 24 | 0.3 | 0.3 | +0.3 |
| Tony Womack↔ CIN | 36 | FA-elig | 19 | 0.3 | 1.4 | -0.8 |
| Ángel Pagán | 24 | pre-arb | 77 | 0.3 | 0.3 | +0.3 |
| Juan Mateo | 23 | – | 12 | 0.2 | – | – |
| Ryan O'Malley | 26 | – | 2 | 0.2 | – | – |
| Scott Eyre | 34 | FA-elig | 74 | 0.1 | 3.0 | -2.7 |
| Angel Guzman | 24 | – | 15 | 0.1 | – | – |
| Kerry Wood | 29 | FA-elig | 4 | 0.1 | 12.0 | -11.8 |
| Les Walrond | 29 | – | 10 | 0.1 | – | – |
| Freddie Bynum Jr. | 26 | pre-arb | 71 | 0.0 | 0.3 | -0.3 |
| Scott Moore | 22 | – | 16 | -0.0 | – | – |
| Jose Reyes | 23 | – | 4 | -0.0 | – | – |
| Michael Restovich | 27 | – | 10 | -0.1 | – | – |
| Buck Coats | 24 | – | 18 | -0.1 | – | – |
| Geovany Soto | 23 | – | 11 | -0.1 | – | – |
| Wade Miller | 29 | FA-elig | 5 | -0.1 | 1.0 | -1.2 |
| Carlos Marmol | 23 | – | 21 | -0.1 | – | – |
| Todd Walker↔ SDP | 33 | FA-elig | 94 | -0.1 | 1.7 | -2.0 |
| David Aardsma | 24 | – | 45 | -0.2 | – | – |
| Jerome Williams | 24 | arb | 5 | -0.2 | 0.4 | -0.8 |
| Neifi Perez↔ DET | 33 | FA-elig | 87 | -0.2 | 2.0 | -2.5 |
| Mark Prior | 25 | arb | 9 | -0.3 | 3.6 | -4.3 |
| Jae Kuk Ryu | 23 | – | 10 | -0.4 | – | – |
| Jerry Hairston Jr.↔ TEX | 30 | FA-elig | 38 | -0.5 | 0.9 | -1.8 |
| Cesar Izturis↔ LAD | 26 | arb | 22 | -0.5 | 1.3 | -2.3 |
| Roberto Novoa | 26 | – | 66 | -0.6 | – | – |
| John Mabry | 35 | FA-elig | 107 | -0.6 | 1.1 | -2.3 |
| Glendon Rusch | 31 | FA-elig | 25 | -0.9 | 2.8 | -4.4 |
| Ronny Cedeno | 23 | pre-arb | 151 | -1.8 | 0.3 | -4.0 |
46 players appeared (WAR is complete); salary & surplus are on record for 30 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 |