GM: Jim Hendry (since 2003)
| Player | Age | Service | G | fWAR | Salary $M | Surplus $M |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ryan Dempster | 31 | FA-elig | 33 | 4.8 | 7.3 | +3.5 |
| Aramis Ramirez | 30 | FA-elig | 149 | 4.5 | 15.0 | -4.8 |
| Carlos Zambrano | 27 | FA-elig | 38 | 4.3 | 16.0 | -6.2 |
| Mark DeRosa | 33 | FA-elig | 149 | 4.2 | 4.8 | +4.6 |
| Alfonso Soriano | 32 | FA-elig | 109 | 3.8 | 14.0 | -5.4 |
| Mike Fontenot | 28 | arb | 119 | 3.1 | 0.4 | +6.7 |
| Ryan Theriot | 28 | arb | 149 | 3.0 | 0.4 | +6.4 |
| Ted Lilly | 32 | FA-elig | 34 | 3.0 | 8.0 | -1.3 |
| Geovany Soto | 25 | arb | 141 | 2.8 | 0.4 | +5.9 |
| Derrek Lee | 32 | FA-elig | 155 | 2.4 | 13.2 | -7.8 |
| Jason Marquis | 29 | FA-elig | 39 | 2.2 | 6.4 | -1.4 |
| Kerry Wood | 31 | FA-elig | 65 | 2.1 | 4.2 | +0.6 |
| Rich Harden↔ OAK | 26 | arb | 12 | 1.9 | 2.3 | +2.0 |
| Jim Edmonds↔ SDP | 38 | FA-elig | 85 | 1.5 | 6.1 | -2.8 |
| Reed Johnson | 31 | arb | 109 | 1.4 | 1.3 | +2.0 |
| Carlos Marmol | 25 | pre-arb | 82 | 1.4 | 0.4 | +2.7 |
| Kosuke Fukudome | 31 | pre-arb | 150 | 1.4 | 7.0 | -3.8 |
| Sean Marshall | 25 | – | 34 | 0.9 | – | – |
| Sean Gallagher↔ OAK | 22 | – | 12 | 0.7 | – | – |
| Henry Blanco | 36 | FA-elig | 58 | 0.6 | 3.2 | -1.8 |
| Jeff Samardzija | 23 | pre-arb | 26 | 0.5 | 2.0 | -0.9 |
| Micah Hoffpauir | 28 | – | 33 | 0.4 | – | – |
| Bob Howry | 34 | FA-elig | 72 | 0.2 | 4.5 | -4.0 |
| Scott Eyre↔ PHI | 36 | FA-elig | 19 | 0.2 | 1.9 | -1.4 |
| Angel Guzman | 26 | pre-arb | 6 | 0.1 | 0.4 | -0.1 |
| Michael Wuertz | 29 | arb | 45 | 0.1 | 0.9 | -0.6 |
| Eric Patterson↔ OAK | 25 | – | 13 | 0.1 | – | – |
| Neal Cotts | 28 | – | 50 | 0.1 | – | – |
| Ronny Cedeno | 25 | arb | 99 | 0.0 | 0.4 | -0.3 |
| Randy Wells↔ TOR | 25 | – | 3 | 0.0 | – | – |
| Matt Murton↔ OAK | 26 | – | 19 | 0.0 | – | – |
| Chad Gaudin↔ OAK | 25 | arb | 24 | -0.0 | 0.9 | -0.9 |
| Rich Hill | 28 | arb | 5 | -0.1 | 0.4 | -0.6 |
| Kevin Hart | 25 | pre-arb | 21 | -0.1 | 0.4 | -0.6 |
| Carmen Pignatiello | 25 | pre-arb | 2 | -0.1 | 0.4 | -0.6 |
| Casey McGehee | 25 | – | 9 | -0.1 | – | – |
| Jose Ascanio | 23 | – | 6 | -0.1 | – | – |
| Jon Lieber | 38 | FA-elig | 26 | -0.1 | 3.5 | -3.8 |
| Felix Pie | 23 | pre-arb | 43 | -0.2 | 0.4 | -0.8 |
| Daryle Ward | 33 | FA-elig | 89 | -0.2 | 1.2 | -1.7 |
| Chad Fox | 37 | – | 3 | -0.2 | – | – |
| Koyie Hill | 29 | – | 10 | -0.5 | – | – |
42 players appeared (WAR is complete); salary & surplus are on record for 31 of them (74%). 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 |