GM: Bill Bergesch (since 1985)
| Player | Age | Service | G | fWAR | Salary $M | Surplus $M |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eric Davis | 24 | pre-arb | 132 | 4.7 | 0.1 | +1.3 |
| Buddy Bell | 34 | FA-elig | 155 | 3.4 | 0.9 | +0.1 |
| Tom Browning | 26 | pre-arb | 46 | 3.1 | 0.2 | +0.7 |
| John Denny | 33 | FA-elig | 27 | 2.9 | 1.1 | -0.2 |
| Bill Gullickson | 27 | FA-elig | 37 | 2.7 | 0.5 | +0.2 |
| Bo Diaz | 33 | FA-elig | 134 | 2.6 | 0.8 | -0.0 |
| Kal Daniels | 22 | pre-arb | 74 | 2.0 | 0.1 | +0.5 |
| Chris Welsh | 31 | arb | 24 | 1.7 | 0.1 | +0.4 |
| Ron Robinson | 24 | pre-arb | 70 | 1.6 | 0.1 | +0.4 |
| Eddie Milner | 31 | FA-elig | 145 | 1.5 | 0.3 | +0.1 |
| Ron Oester | 30 | FA-elig | 153 | 1.5 | 0.7 | -0.2 |
| John Franco | 25 | pre-arb | 74 | 1.3 | 0.2 | +0.2 |
| Ted Power | 31 | arb | 56 | 1.1 | 0.5 | -0.2 |
| Barry Larkin | 22 | pre-arb | 41 | 1.1 | 0.1 | +0.3 |
| Tracy Jones | 25 | pre-arb | 46 | 1.0 | 0.1 | +0.2 |
| Nick Esasky | 26 | arb | 102 | 0.9 | 0.3 | +0.0 |
| Rob Murphy | 26 | pre-arb | 34 | 0.8 | 0.1 | +0.2 |
| Dave Parker | 35 | FA-elig | 162 | 0.7 | 1.1 | -0.9 |
| Sal Butera | 33 | FA-elig | 56 | 0.5 | 0.1 | +0.1 |
| Dave Concepcion | 38 | FA-elig | 90 | 0.5 | 0.9 | -0.8 |
| Mario Soto | 29 | FA-elig | 20 | 0.2 | 1.1 | -1.1 |
| Bill Landrum | 28 | pre-arb | 10 | 0.2 | 0.1 | +0.0 |
| Mike Smith | 25 | – | 2 | 0.1 | – | – |
| Paul O'Neill | 23 | – | 3 | -0.0 | – | – |
| Tony Perez | 44 | FA-elig | 77 | -0.1 | 0.3 | -0.3 |
| Max Venable | 29 | FA-elig | 108 | -0.1 | 0.2 | -0.3 |
| Joe Price | 29 | FA-elig | 25 | -0.1 | 0.4 | -0.5 |
| Tom Runnells | 31 | – | 12 | -0.1 | – | – |
| Dave Vangorder | 29 | arb | 9 | -0.2 | 0.1 | -0.2 |
| Carl Willis | 25 | pre-arb | 29 | -0.3 | 0.1 | -0.2 |
| Wade Rowdon | 25 | – | 38 | -0.4 | – | – |
| Scott Terry | 26 | – | 30 | -0.4 | – | – |
| Kurt Stillwell | 21 | pre-arb | 104 | -0.7 | 0.1 | -0.3 |
| Pete Rose | 45 | FA-elig | 72 | -0.8 | 1.0 | -1.2 |
34 players appeared (WAR is complete); salary & surplus are on record for 29 of them (85%). 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 |