GM: Walt Jocketty (since 1995)
| Player | Age | Service | G | fWAR | Salary $M | Surplus $M |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albert Pujols | 21 | pre-arb | 161 | 7.2 | 0.2 | +11.4 |
| Jim Edmonds | 31 | FA-elig | 150 | 6.2 | 6.3 | +3.7 |
| Matt Morris | 26 | arb | 34 | 6.0 | 1.2 | +8.4 |
| J.D. Drew | 25 | arb | 109 | 5.6 | 2.8 | +6.3 |
| Darryl Kile | 32 | FA-elig | 34 | 4.6 | 6.7 | +0.8 |
| Placido Polanco | 25 | arb | 144 | 4.0 | 0.3 | +6.1 |
| Fernando Viña | 32 | FA-elig | 154 | 2.9 | 4.3 | +0.4 |
| Edgar Renteria | 24 | arb | 141 | 1.7 | 4.5 | -1.7 |
| Woody Williams↔ SDP | 34 | FA-elig | 11 | 1.7 | 1.5 | +1.3 |
| Steve Kline | 28 | arb | 89 | 1.2 | 0.8 | +1.2 |
| Craig Paquette | 32 | FA-elig | 123 | 1.1 | 1.5 | +0.3 |
| Eli Marrero | 27 | arb | 86 | 1.1 | 0.4 | +1.3 |
| Bud Smith | 21 | – | 16 | 1.0 | – | – |
| Kerry Robinson | 27 | – | 114 | 1.0 | – | – |
| Mike Timlin | 35 | FA-elig | 68 | 0.7 | 4.2 | -3.1 |
| Mike Matthews | 27 | pre-arb | 52 | 0.7 | 0.2 | +0.9 |
| Ray Lankford↔ SDP | 34 | FA-elig | 91 | 0.6 | 5.6 | -4.6 |
| Mark McGwire | 37 | FA-elig | 97 | 0.6 | 11.0 | -10.1 |
| Miguel Cairo↔ CHC | 27 | – | 27 | 0.3 | – | – |
| Mike Matheny | 30 | FA-elig | 121 | 0.1 | 0.9 | -0.7 |
| Dustin Hermanson | 28 | FA-elig | 34 | 0.1 | 5.3 | -5.1 |
| T.J. Mathews↔ OAK | 31 | FA-elig | 10 | 0.1 | 0.6 | -0.4 |
| Gene Stechschulte | 27 | pre-arb | 69 | 0.0 | 0.2 | -0.2 |
| Luis Saturria | 24 | – | 13 | -0.0 | – | – |
| Jeff Tabaka | 37 | FA-elig | 8 | -0.0 | 0.4 | -0.5 |
| Keith McDonald | 28 | – | 2 | -0.0 | – | – |
| Bill Ortega | 25 | – | 5 | -0.0 | – | – |
| Stubby Clapp | 28 | – | 23 | -0.1 | – | – |
| Jason Karnuth | 25 | – | 4 | -0.2 | – | – |
| Jason Christiansen↔ SFG | 31 | FA-elig | 30 | -0.2 | 0.9 | -1.2 |
| Mike James | 33 | FA-elig | 40 | -0.2 | 1.5 | -1.9 |
| Alan Benes | 29 | – | 9 | -0.3 | – | – |
| John Mabry↔ MIA | 30 | – | 5 | -0.3 | – | – |
| Dave Veres | 34 | FA-elig | 71 | -0.3 | 1.9 | -2.4 |
| Larry Sutton | 31 | arb | 33 | -0.3 | 0.3 | -0.9 |
| Chad Hutchinson | 24 | pre-arb | 3 | -0.4 | 1.2 | -1.8 |
| Luther Hackman | 26 | pre-arb | 35 | -0.4 | 0.2 | -0.9 |
| Bobby Bonilla | 38 | FA-elig | 93 | -0.7 | 0.9 | -2.0 |
| Rick Ankiel | 21 | pre-arb | 6 | -0.7 | 0.4 | -1.6 |
| Andy Benes | 33 | FA-elig | 27 | -1.4 | 6.7 | -9.0 |
40 players appeared (WAR is complete); salary & surplus are on record for 30 of them (75%). 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 |