| Central | W | L | Pct | GB |
| Chi Cubs | 85 | 77 | .525 | -- |
| Milwaukee | 83 | 79 | .512 | 2.0 |
| St. Louis | 78 | 84 | .481 | 7.0 |
| Houston | 73 | 89 | .451 | 12.0 |
| Cincinnati | 72 | 90 | .444 | 13.0 |
| Pittsburgh | 68 | 94 | .420 | 17.0 |
| Player | Pos | Age | Salary | Avg? | Lg Rank | |
| Derrek Lee | 1B | 31 | $ 13,250,000 | 25 | ||
| Jason Kendall | C | 33 | $ 12,858,194 | 35 | ||
| Carlos Zambrano | P | 26 | $ 12,400,000 | 39 | ||
| Alfonso Soriano | LF | 31 | $ 10,000,000 | 59 | ||
| Aramis Ramirez | 3B | 29 | $ 9,000,000 | 78 | ||
| Ted Lilly | P | 31 | $ 6,000,000 | |||
| Jacque Jones | LF-RF | 32 | $ 5,633,333 | |||
| Ryan Dempster | P | 30 | $ 5,333,333 | |||
| Craig Monroe | LF-RF | 30 | $ 4,775,000 | |||
| Jason Marquis | P | 28 | $ 4,750,000 | |||
| Michael Barrett | C-3B | 30 | $ 4,533,333 | |||
| Bob Howry | P | 33 | $ 4,500,000 | |||
| Cesar Izturis | SS | 27 | $ 4,150,000 | |||
| Scott Eyre | P | 35 | $ 3,833,333 | |||
| Cliff Floyd | LF-OF | 34 | $ 3,000,000 | |||
| Steve Trachsel | P | 36 | $ 3,000,000 | |||
| Mark DeRosa | 3B-LF | 32 | $ 2,750,000 | |||
| Henry Blanco | C | 35 | $ 1,775,000 | |||
| Kerry Wood | P | 30 | $ 1,750,000 | |||
| Wade Miller | P | 30 | $ 1,500,000 | |||
| Daryle Ward | 1B | 32 | $ 1,000,000 | |||
| Will Ohman | P | 29 | $ 900,000 | |||
| Neal Cotts | P | 27 | $ 825,000 | |||
| Matt Murton | OF | 25 | $ 415,000 | |||
| Mike Wuertz | P | 28 | $ 415,000 | |||
| Ronny Cedeno | SS-2B | 24 | $ 400,000 | |||
| Rich Hill | P | 27 | $ 400,000 | |||
| Ryan Theriot | 2B | 27 | $ 390,000 | |||
| Angel Guzman | P | 25 | $ 384,000 | |||
| Rob Bowen | C | 26 | $ 382,300 |