GM: Harry Dalton (since 1978)
| Player | Age | Service | G | fWAR | Salary $M | Surplus $M |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Teddy Higuera | 28 | pre-arb | 34 | 5.1 | 0.2 | +1.3 |
| Tim Leary | 27 | arb | 33 | 2.5 | 0.1 | +0.7 |
| Dan Plesac | 24 | pre-arb | 51 | 2.5 | 0.1 | +0.7 |
| Juan Nieves | 21 | pre-arb | 35 | 2.5 | 0.1 | +0.7 |
| Robin Yount | 30 | FA-elig | 140 | 2.4 | 0.9 | -0.2 |
| Paul Molitor | 29 | FA-elig | 105 | 2.1 | 1.2 | -0.5 |
| Danny Darwin↔ HOU | 30 | FA-elig | 27 | 1.9 | 0.4 | +0.1 |
| Mark Clear | 30 | FA-elig | 59 | 1.6 | 0.7 | -0.2 |
| Rob Deer | 25 | pre-arb | 134 | 1.5 | 0.1 | +0.3 |
| Rick Cerone | 32 | FA-elig | 68 | 1.4 | 0.7 | -0.3 |
| Jim Gantner | 33 | FA-elig | 139 | 1.4 | 0.9 | -0.5 |
| John Henry Johnson | 29 | FA-elig | 19 | 1.2 | 0.1 | +0.3 |
| Charlie Moore | 33 | FA-elig | 80 | 1.2 | 0.4 | -0.0 |
| Bill Wegman | 23 | pre-arb | 37 | 0.8 | 0.1 | +0.2 |
| Ernest Riles | 25 | pre-arb | 145 | 0.4 | 0.2 | -0.0 |
| Ben Oglivie | 37 | FA-elig | 103 | 0.4 | 0.8 | -0.6 |
| Mike Birkbeck | 25 | pre-arb | 7 | 0.4 | 0.1 | +0.1 |
| Rick Manning | 31 | FA-elig | 89 | 0.3 | 0.5 | -0.4 |
| Pete Vuckovich | 33 | – | 6 | 0.3 | – | – |
| Mike Felder | 24 | – | 44 | 0.3 | – | – |
| Bryan Clutterbuck | 26 | pre-arb | 20 | 0.0 | 0.1 | -0.0 |
| Bill Schroeder | 27 | arb | 64 | -0.1 | 0.2 | -0.2 |
| Jaime Cocanower | 29 | – | 17 | -0.1 | – | – |
| Bob McClure↔ WSN | 34 | FA-elig | 13 | -0.1 | 0.1 | -0.1 |
| Randy Ready↔ SDP | 26 | – | 23 | -0.1 | – | – |
| Steve Kiefer | 25 | – | 2 | -0.1 | – | – |
| Jim Adduci | 26 | – | 3 | -0.1 | – | – |
| Cecil Cooper | 36 | FA-elig | 134 | -0.2 | 0.6 | -0.7 |
| Chris Bosio | 23 | pre-arb | 10 | -0.3 | 0.1 | -0.1 |
| Billy Jo Robidoux | 22 | – | 56 | -0.3 | – | – |
| Edgar Diaz | 22 | – | 5 | -0.3 | – | – |
| Mark Knudson↔ HOU | 25 | – | 4 | -0.4 | – | – |
| Gorman Thomas↔ SEA | 35 | FA-elig | 44 | -0.4 | 0.3 | -0.4 |
| Bob Gibson | 29 | – | 11 | -0.5 | – | – |
| Juan Castillo | 24 | – | 26 | -0.5 | – | – |
| Ray Searage↔ CHW | 31 | arb | 17 | -0.6 | 0.0 | -0.2 |
| Paul Householder | 27 | – | 26 | -0.7 | – | – |
| Dale Sveum | 22 | pre-arb | 91 | -0.7 | 0.1 | -0.3 |
| Glenn Braggs | 23 | pre-arb | 58 | -1.2 | 0.1 | -0.4 |
39 players appeared (WAR is complete); salary & surplus are on record for 27 of them (69%). 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 MIL |
|---|---|---|
| Christian Yelich | 2018 | 28.6 |
| Freddy Peralta | 2015 | 17.3 |
| Jeromy Burnitz | 1996 | 17.1 |
| William Contreras | 2022 | 16.4 |
| José Valentín | 1992 | 9.9 |
| Josh Hader | 2015 | 8.8 |
| Chris Capuano | 2003 | 8.5 |
| Rob Deer | 1985 | 7.9 |
| Player | Year traded | WAR elsewhere |
|---|---|---|
| Michael Brantley | 2008 | 20.0 |
| Kevin Bass | 1982 | 17.5 |
| José Valentín | 2000 | 17.3 |
| Drew Rasmussen | 2021 | 9.1 |
| Danny Darwin | 1986 | 8.0 |
| Brett Lawrie | 2010 | 7.7 |
| Khris Davis | 2016 | 7.4 |
| Fernando Viña | 1999 | 6.7 |