GM: Bill Wood (since 1987)
| Player | Age | Service | G | fWAR | Salary $M | Surplus $M |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nolan Ryan Jr. | 40 | FA-elig | 34 | 6.0 | 1.2 | +0.5 |
| Mike Scott | 32 | FA-elig | 36 | 5.3 | 0.7 | +0.8 |
| Bill Doran | 29 | arb | 162 | 4.2 | 0.6 | +0.6 |
| Dave Smith | 32 | FA-elig | 50 | 2.9 | 0.7 | +0.1 |
| Danny Darwin | 31 | FA-elig | 35 | 2.9 | 0.7 | +0.1 |
| Kevin Bass | 28 | arb | 157 | 2.7 | 0.6 | +0.2 |
| Billy Hatcher | 26 | arb | 141 | 2.4 | 0.1 | +0.6 |
| Alan Ashby | 35 | FA-elig | 125 | 2.3 | 0.6 | +0.1 |
| Larry Andersen | 34 | FA-elig | 67 | 1.3 | 0.3 | +0.1 |
| Glenn Davis | 26 | arb | 151 | 1.2 | 0.2 | +0.1 |
| Denny Walling | 33 | FA-elig | 110 | 1.2 | 0.6 | -0.2 |
| Gerald Young | 22 | pre-arb | 71 | 0.8 | 0.1 | +0.2 |
| Jim Deshaies | 27 | arb | 26 | 0.8 | 0.1 | +0.1 |
| Jose Cruz | 39 | FA-elig | 126 | 0.5 | 0.8 | -0.6 |
| Manny Hernandez | 26 | – | 6 | 0.3 | – | – |
| Davey Lopes | 42 | FA-elig | 47 | 0.1 | 0.6 | -0.5 |
| Dickie Thon | 29 | FA-elig | 32 | 0.1 | 0.7 | -0.6 |
| Jeff Heathcock | 27 | arb | 19 | 0.1 | 0.1 | -0.0 |
| Jim Pankovits | 31 | arb | 50 | 0.1 | 0.1 | -0.1 |
| Mark Bailey | 25 | – | 35 | 0.1 | – | – |
| Phil Garner↔ LAD | 38 | FA-elig | 43 | 0.1 | 0.2 | -0.2 |
| Rob Mallicoat | 22 | – | 4 | 0.0 | – | – |
| Rocky Childress | 25 | – | 32 | 0.0 | – | – |
| Juan Agosto | 29 | FA-elig | 27 | 0.0 | 0.1 | -0.1 |
| Craig Reynolds | 34 | FA-elig | 135 | -0.0 | 0.4 | -0.4 |
| Tye Waller | 30 | – | 11 | -0.0 | – | – |
| Paul Householder | 28 | – | 14 | -0.0 | – | – |
| Ty Gainey | 26 | – | 18 | -0.1 | – | – |
| Terry Puhl | 30 | FA-elig | 90 | -0.1 | 0.9 | -0.9 |
| Ken Caminiti | 24 | pre-arb | 63 | -0.1 | 0.1 | -0.1 |
| Chuck Jackson | 24 | – | 35 | -0.1 | – | – |
| Bob Knepper | 33 | FA-elig | 33 | -0.2 | 1.0 | -1.0 |
| Dale Berra | 30 | FA-elig | 19 | -0.2 | 0.1 | -0.1 |
| Troy Afenir | 23 | – | 10 | -0.2 | – | – |
| Ron Mathis | 28 | – | 8 | -0.3 | – | – |
| Dave Meads | 23 | – | 45 | -0.3 | – | – |
| Julio Solano | 27 | – | 11 | -0.4 | – | – |
| Aurelio Lopez | 38 | FA-elig | 26 | -0.4 | 0.1 | -0.3 |
| Charlie Kerfeld | 23 | pre-arb | 21 | -0.4 | 0.1 | -0.2 |
| Robbie Wine Jr. | 24 | – | 14 | -0.5 | – | – |
| Bert Pena | 27 | – | 21 | -0.5 | – | – |
| Buddy Biancalana↔ KCR | 27 | – | 18 | -0.6 | – | – |
| Ronn Reynolds | 28 | arb | 38 | -0.9 | 0.1 | -0.3 |
43 players appeared (WAR is complete); salary & surplus are on record for 28 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 HOU |
|---|---|---|
| Jeff Bagwell | 1990 | 80.2 |
| Yordan Álvarez | 2016 | 26.7 |
| Mike Scott | 1982 | 21.9 |
| Justin Verlander | 2017 | 19.7 |
| Mike Hampton | 1993 | 19.2 |
| Kevin Bass | 1982 | 17.5 |
| Nolan Ryan | 1985 | 16.2 |
| Moisés Alou | 1997 | 13.5 |
| Player | Year traded | WAR elsewhere |
|---|---|---|
| Kenny Lofton | 1991 | 42.5 |
| Curt Schilling | 1992 | 36.3 |
| Ben Zobrist | 2006 | 33.1 |
| Ken Caminiti | 1994 | 17.4 |
| Freddy García | 1998 | 15.6 |
| Jed Lowrie | 2013 | 13.0 |
| Ramón Laureano | 2017 | 9.2 |
| Patrick Sandoval | 2018 | 8.9 |