GM: Jim Hendry (since 2003)
| Player | Age | Service | G | fWAR | Salary $M | Surplus $M |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alfonso Soriano | 31 | FA-elig | 135 | 6.7 | 10.0 | +4.2 |
| Aramis Ramirez | 29 | FA-elig | 132 | 4.8 | 9.0 | +1.1 |
| Ted Lilly | 31 | FA-elig | 34 | 3.5 | 6.0 | +1.5 |
| Carlos Zambrano | 26 | FA-elig | 37 | 3.3 | 12.4 | -5.3 |
| Derrek Lee | 31 | FA-elig | 150 | 3.3 | 13.2 | -6.3 |
| Rich Hill | 27 | pre-arb | 32 | 2.9 | 0.4 | +5.7 |
| Mark DeRosa | 32 | FA-elig | 149 | 2.5 | 2.8 | +2.5 |
| Bob Howry | 33 | FA-elig | 78 | 1.7 | 4.5 | -1.0 |
| Carlos Marmol | 24 | – | 59 | 1.6 | – | – |
| Jason Marquis | 28 | FA-elig | 40 | 1.3 | 4.8 | -1.9 |
| Sean Marshall | 24 | – | 21 | 1.0 | – | – |
| Ryan Theriot | 27 | pre-arb | 148 | 0.9 | 0.4 | +1.6 |
| Geovany Soto | 24 | – | 18 | 0.9 | – | – |
| Daryle Ward | 32 | FA-elig | 79 | 0.9 | 1.0 | +0.8 |
| Jacque Jones | 32 | FA-elig | 135 | 0.8 | 5.6 | -3.9 |
| Matt Murton | 25 | pre-arb | 94 | 0.8 | 0.4 | +1.2 |
| Cliff Floyd | 34 | FA-elig | 108 | 0.7 | 3.0 | -1.4 |
| Michael Wuertz | 28 | arb | 73 | 0.6 | 0.4 | +0.9 |
| Mike Fontenot | 27 | – | 86 | 0.6 | – | – |
| Will Ohman | 29 | FA-elig | 56 | 0.5 | 0.9 | +0.2 |
| Angel Guzman | 25 | pre-arb | 12 | 0.5 | 0.4 | +0.6 |
| Ángel Pagán | 25 | – | 71 | 0.5 | – | – |
| Felix Pie | 22 | – | 87 | 0.4 | – | – |
| Kerry Wood | 30 | FA-elig | 22 | 0.4 | 1.8 | -1.0 |
| Michael Barrett↔ SDP | 30 | FA-elig | 57 | 0.3 | 2.6 | -2.0 |
| Kevin Hart | 24 | – | 8 | 0.2 | – | – |
| Ryan Dempster | 30 | FA-elig | 66 | 0.2 | 5.3 | -4.9 |
| Rocky Cherry↔ BAL | 27 | – | 12 | 0.2 | – | – |
| Scott Eyre | 35 | FA-elig | 55 | 0.2 | 3.8 | -3.5 |
| Ronny Cedeno | 24 | pre-arb | 38 | 0.1 | 0.4 | -0.1 |
| Steve Trachsel↔ BAL | 36 | FA-elig | 4 | 0.1 | 0.4 | -0.3 |
| Neal Cotts | 27 | arb | 16 | 0.0 | 0.8 | -0.7 |
| Clay Rapada↔ DET | 26 | – | 1 | 0.0 | – | – |
| Eric Patterson | 24 | – | 7 | -0.0 | – | – |
| Sam Fuld | 25 | – | 14 | -0.0 | – | – |
| Carmen Pignatiello | 24 | – | 4 | -0.0 | – | – |
| Jason Kendall↔ OAK | 33 | FA-elig | 57 | -0.1 | 5.3 | -5.5 |
| Scott Moore↔ BAL | 23 | – | 2 | -0.1 | – | – |
| Jake Fox | 24 | – | 7 | -0.2 | – | – |
| Billy Petrick | 23 | – | 8 | -0.2 | – | – |
| Craig Monroe↔ DET | 30 | FA-elig | 23 | -0.3 | 0.9 | -1.5 |
| Wade Miller | 30 | FA-elig | 3 | -0.3 | 1.5 | -2.1 |
| Sean Gallagher | 21 | – | 8 | -0.3 | – | – |
| Cesar Izturis↔ PIT | 27 | FA-elig | 65 | -0.3 | 2.5 | -3.1 |
| Rob Bowen↔ OAK | 26 | arb | 10 | -0.4 | 0.1 | -1.0 |
| Koyie Hill | 28 | – | 36 | -0.5 | – | – |
| Henry Blanco | 35 | FA-elig | 22 | -0.6 | 1.8 | -3.0 |
47 players appeared (WAR is complete); salary & surplus are on record for 30 of them (64%). 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 |