GM: Bill Smith (since 2008)
| Player | Age | Service | G | fWAR | Salary $M | Surplus $M |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joe Mauer | 27 | FA-elig | 137 | 5.7 | 12.5 | +0.7 |
| Francisco Liriano | 26 | arb | 31 | 5.6 | 1.6 | +11.3 |
| Justin Morneau | 29 | FA-elig | 81 | 4.9 | 15.0 | -3.6 |
| Jim Thome | 39 | FA-elig | 108 | 3.1 | 1.5 | +5.6 |
| Orlando Hudson | 32 | FA-elig | 126 | 3.0 | 5.0 | +2.0 |
| Carl Pavano | 34 | FA-elig | 32 | 3.0 | 7.0 | -0.1 |
| Denard Span | 26 | pre-arb | 153 | 2.6 | 0.8 | +5.3 |
| Scott Baker | 28 | arb | 29 | 2.4 | 3.0 | +2.7 |
| Kevin Slowey | 26 | arb | 31 | 2.2 | 0.5 | +4.7 |
| J.J. Hardy | 27 | arb | 101 | 2.1 | 5.1 | -0.2 |
| Danny Valencia | 25 | – | 85 | 2.1 | – | – |
| Delmon Young | 24 | arb | 153 | 1.7 | 2.6 | +1.4 |
| Jason Repko | 29 | – | 58 | 1.6 | – | – |
| Brian Duensing | 27 | pre-arb | 53 | 1.4 | 0.4 | +2.9 |
| Nick Punto | 32 | FA-elig | 88 | 1.4 | 4.0 | -0.9 |
| Jon Rauch | 31 | FA-elig | 59 | 1.3 | 2.9 | +0.0 |
| Alexi Casilla | 25 | arb | 69 | 1.0 | 0.4 | +1.8 |
| Jesse Crain | 28 | FA-elig | 71 | 0.7 | 2.0 | -0.4 |
| Matt Capps↔ WSN | 26 | arb | 27 | 0.6 | 1.3 | +0.0 |
| Matt Tolbert | 28 | – | 48 | 0.4 | – | – |
| Jose Mijares | 25 | pre-arb | 47 | 0.3 | 0.4 | +0.2 |
| Brian Fuentes↔ ANA | 34 | FA-elig | 9 | 0.3 | 1.7 | -1.1 |
| Jeff Manship | 25 | – | 13 | 0.2 | – | – |
| Wilson Ramos↔ WSN | 22 | – | 7 | 0.2 | – | – |
| Luke Hughes | 25 | – | 2 | 0.2 | – | – |
| Matt Fox↔ BOS | 27 | – | 1 | 0.1 | – | – |
| Nick Blackburn | 28 | arb | 28 | 0.1 | 0.8 | -0.5 |
| Matt Guerrier | 31 | FA-elig | 74 | 0.1 | 3.1 | -3.0 |
| Ron Mahay | 39 | – | 41 | 0.0 | – | – |
| Drew Butera | 26 | pre-arb | 49 | 0.0 | 0.4 | -0.4 |
| Michael Cuddyer | 31 | FA-elig | 157 | -0.1 | 9.4 | -9.6 |
| Rob Delaney | 25 | – | 1 | -0.1 | – | – |
| Anthony Slama | 26 | – | 5 | -0.1 | – | – |
| Jose Morales | 27 | arb | 19 | -0.1 | 0.4 | -0.7 |
| Glen Perkins | 27 | – | 13 | -0.1 | – | – |
| Pat Neshek | 29 | arb | 11 | -0.1 | 0.6 | -0.9 |
| Alex Burnett | 22 | pre-arb | 41 | -0.2 | 0.4 | -0.9 |
| Ben Revere | 22 | – | 13 | -0.3 | – | – |
| Randy Flores↔ COL | 34 | FA-elig | 11 | -0.4 | 0.1 | -1.0 |
| Trevor Plouffe | 24 | – | 22 | -0.4 | – | – |
| Jason Kubel | 28 | FA-elig | 143 | -0.7 | 4.1 | -5.7 |
| Brendan Harris | 29 | FA-elig | 43 | -0.9 | 1.4 | -3.6 |
42 players appeared (WAR is complete); salary & surplus are on record for 29 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 MIN |
|---|---|---|
| Johan Santana | 1999 | 32.0 |
| Greg Gagne | 1982 | 15.6 |
| Joe Nathan | 2003 | 14.1 |
| Eric Milton | 1998 | 13.4 |
| Joe Ryan | 2021 | 13.4 |
| Francisco Liriano | 2003 | 12.5 |
| Pablo López | 2023 | 9.6 |
| Bert Blyleven | 1985 | 8.3 |
| Player | Year traded | WAR elsewhere |
|---|---|---|
| Scott Erickson | 1995 | 16.4 |
| J. J. Hardy | 2010 | 14.3 |
| Johan Santana | 2008 | 14.3 |
| Wilson Ramos | 2010 | 11.5 |
| Mark Portugal | 1988 | 9.2 |
| Denard Span | 2012 | 9.0 |
| Bert Blyleven | 1988 | 8.4 |
| Jason Bartlett | 2007 | 8.4 |