GM: Bill Bergesch (since 1985)
| Player | Age | Service | G | fWAR | Salary $M | Surplus $M |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dave Parker | 34 | FA-elig | 160 | 5.4 | 1.0 | +0.4 |
| Ron Oester | 29 | FA-elig | 152 | 3.5 | 0.6 | +0.3 |
| Tom Browning | 25 | pre-arb | 39 | 3.4 | 0.1 | +0.8 |
| Mario Soto | 28 | FA-elig | 37 | 2.8 | 1.1 | -0.3 |
| Andy McGaffigan | 28 | arb | 15 | 2.4 | 0.1 | +0.5 |
| Eddie Milner | 30 | arb | 145 | 2.4 | 0.3 | +0.3 |
| Jay Tibbs | 23 | pre-arb | 36 | 2.2 | 0.1 | +0.5 |
| Nick Esasky | 25 | – | 125 | 2.1 | – | – |
| Gary Redus | 28 | arb | 101 | 2.0 | 0.2 | +0.3 |
| Tony Perez | 43 | FA-elig | 72 | 1.5 | 0.2 | +0.2 |
| Ron Robinson | 23 | – | 33 | 1.1 | – | – |
| John Franco | 24 | pre-arb | 67 | 1.1 | 0.1 | +0.2 |
| Wayne Krenchicki | 30 | FA-elig | 90 | 1.1 | 0.2 | +0.0 |
| Eric Davis | 23 | – | 56 | 1.1 | – | – |
| Frank Pastore | 27 | FA-elig | 17 | 0.9 | 0.3 | -0.1 |
| Dave Concepcion | 37 | FA-elig | 155 | 0.9 | 0.9 | -0.7 |
| Pete Rose | 44 | FA-elig | 119 | 0.8 | 0.4 | -0.1 |
| Bo Diaz↔ PHI | 32 | FA-elig | 51 | 0.8 | 0.4 | -0.2 |
| Max Venable | 28 | FA-elig | 77 | 0.6 | 0.2 | -0.0 |
| Ted Power | 30 | arb | 64 | 0.5 | 0.3 | -0.1 |
| John Stuper | 28 | arb | 33 | 0.4 | 0.2 | -0.2 |
| Cesar Cedeno↔ STL | 34 | FA-elig | 83 | 0.2 | 0.4 | -0.4 |
| Joe Price | 28 | arb | 26 | 0.1 | 0.4 | -0.4 |
| Paul O'Neill | 22 | – | 5 | 0.0 | – | – |
| Buddy Bell↔ TEX | 33 | FA-elig | 67 | 0.0 | 0.3 | -0.3 |
| Alan Knicely↔ PHI | 30 | FA-elig | 48 | 0.0 | 0.1 | -0.0 |
| Wade Rowdon | 24 | – | 5 | 0.0 | – | – |
| Dann Bilardello | 26 | – | 42 | -0.1 | – | – |
| Rob Murphy | 25 | – | 2 | -0.1 | – | – |
| Tom Hume | 32 | FA-elig | 56 | -0.1 | 0.8 | -0.9 |
| Dave Vangorder | 28 | arb | 73 | -0.1 | 0.1 | -0.1 |
| Mike Smith | 24 | – | 2 | -0.2 | – | – |
| Tom Foley↔ PHI | 25 | pre-arb | 43 | -0.2 | 0.1 | -0.1 |
| Carl Willis | 24 | – | 11 | -0.2 | – | – |
| Tom Runnells | 30 | – | 28 | -0.2 | – | – |
| Duane Walker↔ TEX | 28 | arb | 37 | -0.2 | 0.1 | -0.1 |
| Bob Buchanan | 24 | – | 14 | -0.6 | – | – |
37 players appeared (WAR is complete); salary & surplus are on record for 26 of them (70%). 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 CIN |
|---|---|---|
| Brandon Phillips | 2006 | 30.1 |
| Aaron Harang | 2003 | 19.3 |
| Sean Casey | 1998 | 15.9 |
| Luis Castillo | 2017 | 13.9 |
| Ken Griffey | 2000 | 10.6 |
| Anthony DeSclafani | 2014 | 8.2 |
| Dmitri Young | 1997 | 7.5 |
| Norm Charlton | 1986 | 7.3 |
| Player | Year traded | WAR elsewhere |
|---|---|---|
| Paul Konerko | 1998 | 24.5 |
| Mike Cameron | 2000 | 19.8 |
| Charlie Leibrandt | 1983 | 16.8 |
| Jeff Montgomery | 1988 | 12.0 |
| Dave Burba | 1998 | 11.7 |
| Luis Castillo | 2022 | 8.7 |
| John Franco | 1989 | 8.7 |
| Brad Keller | 2017 | 7.9 |