GM: Walt Jocketty (since 1995)
| Player | Age | Service | G | fWAR | Salary $M | Surplus $M |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albert Pujols | 25 | arb | 161 | 7.7 | 11.0 | +3.5 |
| Jim Edmonds | 35 | FA-elig | 142 | 6.1 | 10.3 | +1.1 |
| Chris Carpenter | 30 | FA-elig | 33 | 5.8 | 2.0 | +8.9 |
| Mark Grudzielanek | 35 | FA-elig | 137 | 2.8 | 1.0 | +4.3 |
| David Eckstein | 30 | arb | 158 | 2.5 | 2.3 | +2.3 |
| Matt Morris | 30 | FA-elig | 31 | 2.4 | 2.5 | +2.1 |
| Larry Walker | 38 | FA-elig | 100 | 2.2 | 12.7 | -8.6 |
| Jeff Suppan | 30 | FA-elig | 32 | 2.2 | 4.0 | +0.0 |
| Jason Marquis | 26 | arb | 44 | 2.0 | 3.0 | +0.7 |
| Mark Mulder | 27 | arb | 32 | 1.9 | 6.0 | -2.6 |
| Reggie Sanders | 37 | FA-elig | 93 | 1.7 | 4.0 | -0.9 |
| So Taguchi | 35 | arb | 143 | 1.4 | 0.6 | +2.0 |
| Al Reyes | 35 | FA-elig | 65 | 1.3 | 0.5 | +1.9 |
| Abraham O. Nunez | 29 | – | 139 | 1.2 | – | – |
| Yadier Molina | 22 | pre-arb | 114 | 1.1 | 0.3 | +1.8 |
| Scott Rolen | 30 | FA-elig | 56 | 1.1 | 11.6 | -9.6 |
| Hector Luna | 25 | pre-arb | 64 | 0.8 | 0.3 | +1.1 |
| Jason Isringhausen | 32 | FA-elig | 63 | 0.7 | 7.0 | -5.7 |
| John Rodriguez | 27 | – | 56 | 0.4 | – | – |
| Julian Tavarez | 32 | FA-elig | 74 | 0.3 | 2.6 | -2.0 |
| Randy Flores | 29 | arb | 50 | 0.3 | 0.3 | +0.2 |
| Cal Eldred | 37 | FA-elig | 31 | 0.1 | 0.6 | -0.4 |
| John Gall | 27 | – | 22 | 0.1 | – | – |
| Brad Thompson | 23 | – | 41 | 0.1 | – | – |
| Tyler Johnson | 24 | – | 5 | 0.0 | – | – |
| Anthony Reyes | 23 | – | 4 | 0.0 | – | – |
| Bill Pulsipher | 31 | – | 5 | 0.0 | – | – |
| Chris Duncan | 24 | – | 9 | 0.0 | – | – |
| Gabe White | 33 | – | 6 | -0.0 | – | – |
| Adam Wainwright | 23 | – | 3 | -0.1 | – | – |
| Ray King | 31 | FA-elig | 77 | -0.1 | 1.9 | -2.0 |
| John Mabry | 34 | FA-elig | 112 | -0.1 | 0.7 | -0.9 |
| Jimmy Journell | 27 | – | 5 | -0.1 | – | – |
| Kevin Jarvis | 35 | – | 4 | -0.2 | – | – |
| Scott Seabol | 30 | – | 59 | -0.2 | – | – |
| Skip Schumaker | 25 | – | 27 | -0.3 | – | – |
| Carmen Cali | 26 | – | 6 | -0.3 | – | – |
| Einar Díaz | 32 | FA-elig | 58 | -0.5 | 0.6 | -1.5 |
| Mike Mahoney | 32 | – | 26 | -0.5 | – | – |
| Roger Cedeno | 30 | FA-elig | 37 | -1.0 | 5.5 | -7.4 |
40 players appeared (WAR is complete); salary & surplus are on record for 24 of them (60%). 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 |