GM: Joe McDonald (since 1983)
| Player | Age | Service | G | fWAR | Salary $M | Surplus $M |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Willie McGee | 26 | arb | 152 | 7.1 | 0.5 | +1.4 |
| John Tudor | 31 | FA-elig | 37 | 6.6 | 0.5 | +1.3 |
| Ozzie Smith | 30 | FA-elig | 158 | 5.6 | 1.4 | +0.0 |
| Tom Herr | 29 | FA-elig | 159 | 5.1 | 0.6 | +0.8 |
| Andy Van Slyke | 24 | pre-arb | 146 | 3.4 | 0.2 | +0.7 |
| Danny Cox | 25 | pre-arb | 35 | 3.3 | 0.1 | +0.8 |
| Joaquin Andujar | 32 | FA-elig | 38 | 2.9 | 1.0 | -0.3 |
| Jack Clark | 29 | FA-elig | 126 | 2.9 | 1.6 | -0.8 |
| Vince Coleman | 23 | pre-arb | 151 | 2.6 | 0.1 | +0.6 |
| Ken Dayley | 26 | arb | 57 | 2.1 | 0.1 | +0.4 |
| Darrell Porter | 33 | FA-elig | 84 | 2.1 | 0.7 | -0.2 |
| Terry Pendleton | 24 | pre-arb | 149 | 2.0 | 0.1 | +0.4 |
| Cesar Cedeno↔ CIN | 34 | FA-elig | 28 | 1.4 | 0.1 | +0.2 |
| Tito Landrum | 30 | arb | 85 | 1.2 | 0.2 | +0.1 |
| Bob Forsch | 35 | FA-elig | 34 | 1.0 | 0.6 | -0.3 |
| Ricky Horton | 25 | pre-arb | 49 | 0.7 | 0.1 | +0.1 |
| Jeff Lahti | 28 | arb | 52 | 0.6 | 0.2 | -0.1 |
| Lonnie Smith↔ KCR | 29 | FA-elig | 28 | 0.4 | 0.1 | -0.0 |
| Curt Ford | 24 | – | 11 | 0.4 | – | – |
| Bill Campbell | 36 | FA-elig | 50 | 0.3 | 0.5 | -0.4 |
| Pat Perry | 26 | – | 6 | 0.2 | – | – |
| Matt Keough | 29 | – | 4 | 0.2 | – | – |
| Tom Lawless | 28 | – | 47 | 0.2 | – | – |
| Steve Braun | 37 | FA-elig | 64 | 0.2 | 0.2 | -0.1 |
| Todd Worrell | 25 | – | 17 | 0.2 | – | – |
| Mike Jorgensen | 36 | FA-elig | 72 | 0.1 | 0.2 | -0.2 |
| Andy Hassler | 33 | – | 10 | 0.1 | – | – |
| Joe Boever | 24 | – | 13 | 0.1 | – | – |
| Michael LaValliere | 24 | – | 12 | -0.0 | – | – |
| Doug Bair↔ DET | 35 | – | 2 | -0.0 | – | – |
| Brian Harper | 25 | FA-elig | 43 | -0.0 | 0.1 | -0.1 |
| Art Howe | 38 | – | 4 | -0.1 | – | – |
| Kurt Kepshire | 25 | pre-arb | 32 | -0.1 | 0.1 | -0.1 |
| Randy Hunt | 25 | – | 14 | -0.2 | – | – |
| Ivan De Jesus Sr. | 32 | FA-elig | 59 | -0.3 | 0.7 | -0.8 |
| Tom Nieto | 24 | – | 95 | -0.4 | – | – |
| Neil Allen↔ NYY | 27 | FA-elig | 23 | -0.6 | 0.4 | -0.6 |
37 players appeared (WAR is complete); salary & surplus are on record for 25 of them (68%). 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 STL |
|---|---|---|
| Adam Wainwright | 2003 | 52.6 |
| Ozzie Smith | 1981 | 48.0 |
| Paul Goldschmidt | 2018 | 21.3 |
| Mark McGwire | 1997 | 19.7 |
| Nolan Arenado | 2021 | 18.3 |
| Édgar Rentería | 1998 | 17.4 |
| Carlos Martínez | 2013 | 16.0 |
| José Oquendo | 1985 | 15.3 |
| Player | Year traded | WAR elsewhere |
|---|---|---|
| Andy Van Slyke | 1987 | 31.1 |
| Lance Johnson | 1988 | 17.3 |
| Keith Hernandez | 1983 | 16.5 |
| David Peralta | 2014 | 14.5 |
| Mike LaValliere | 1987 | 12.9 |
| Jack Wilson | 2000 | 11.0 |
| Marco Gonzales | 2017 | 10.1 |
| Coco Crisp | 2002 | 9.9 |