GM: Dal Maxvill (since 1986)
| Player | Age | Service | G | fWAR | Salary $M | Surplus $M |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ozzie Smith | 33 | FA-elig | 153 | 5.8 | 2.3 | -0.5 |
| Jose DeLeon | 27 | arb | 35 | 3.7 | 0.4 | +0.8 |
| Joe Magrane | 23 | pre-arb | 25 | 3.2 | 0.1 | +0.9 |
| John Tudor↔ LAD | 34 | FA-elig | 23 | 2.3 | 0.8 | -0.1 |
| Tony Peña Sr. | 31 | FA-elig | 149 | 2.3 | 1.1 | -0.4 |
| José Oquendo | 24 | arb | 148 | 2.3 | 0.3 | +0.4 |
| Scott Terry | 28 | pre-arb | 51 | 2.0 | 0.1 | +0.6 |
| Tom Brunansky↔ MIN | 27 | FA-elig | 143 | 2.0 | 1.0 | -0.4 |
| Willie McGee | 29 | FA-elig | 137 | 1.9 | 1.2 | -0.6 |
| Terry Pendleton | 27 | arb | 110 | 1.7 | 0.7 | -0.1 |
| Larry McWilliams | 34 | FA-elig | 45 | 0.9 | 0.1 | +0.2 |
| Todd Worrell | 28 | arb | 68 | 0.8 | 0.2 | +0.0 |
| Ken Dayley | 29 | FA-elig | 54 | 0.8 | 0.6 | -0.4 |
| Danny Cox | 28 | arb | 13 | 0.8 | 0.8 | -0.5 |
| Cris Carpenter | 23 | – | 8 | 0.7 | – | – |
| Pedro Guerrero↔ LAD | 32 | FA-elig | 44 | 0.6 | 0.7 | -0.5 |
| Vince Coleman | 26 | arb | 153 | 0.5 | 0.7 | -0.5 |
| Bob Forsch↔ HOU | 38 | FA-elig | 31 | 0.4 | 0.3 | -0.2 |
| Steve Lake | 31 | arb | 36 | 0.4 | 0.2 | -0.1 |
| Greg Mathews | 26 | pre-arb | 13 | 0.3 | 0.1 | -0.0 |
| Tim Jones | 25 | pre-arb | 31 | 0.2 | 0.1 | +0.0 |
| Tom Lawless | 31 | FA-elig | 54 | 0.2 | 0.1 | -0.1 |
| Scott Arnold | 25 | – | 6 | 0.1 | – | – |
| Rod Booker | 29 | pre-arb | 18 | 0.1 | 0.1 | -0.0 |
| Tom Pagnozzi | 25 | pre-arb | 81 | 0.1 | 0.1 | -0.0 |
| Bob Horner | 30 | FA-elig | 60 | 0.1 | 0.9 | -0.9 |
| Ken Hill | 22 | pre-arb | 4 | 0.1 | 0.1 | -0.0 |
| Tom Herr↔ MIN | 32 | FA-elig | 15 | 0.1 | 0.1 | -0.1 |
| Dan Quisenberry↔ KCR | 35 | FA-elig | 33 | 0.0 | 1.0 | -1.0 |
| Gibson Alba | 28 | – | 3 | 0.0 | – | – |
| John Costello | 27 | pre-arb | 36 | 0.0 | 0.1 | -0.1 |
| Duane Walker | 31 | – | 24 | -0.1 | – | – |
| John Morris | 27 | pre-arb | 20 | -0.1 | 0.1 | -0.1 |
| Jim Lindeman | 26 | pre-arb | 17 | -0.2 | 0.1 | -0.2 |
| Curt Ford | 27 | arb | 91 | -0.3 | 0.1 | -0.2 |
| Randy O'Neal | 27 | – | 10 | -0.3 | – | – |
| Mike Fitzgerald | 24 | – | 13 | -0.4 | – | – |
| Denny Walling↔ HOU | 34 | FA-elig | 19 | -0.5 | 0.1 | -0.3 |
| Luis Alicea | 22 | – | 93 | -0.8 | – | – |
| Steve Peters | 25 | – | 44 | -1.0 | – | – |
| Mike Laga | 28 | FA-elig | 41 | -1.2 | 0.1 | -0.5 |
41 players appeared (WAR is complete); salary & surplus are on record for 33 of them (80%). 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 |