GM: Murray Cook (since 1988)
| Player | Age | Service | G | fWAR | Salary $M | Surplus $M |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rob Dibble | 25 | pre-arb | 74 | 3.6 | 0.1 | +1.2 |
| Rick Mahler | 35 | FA-elig | 40 | 3.4 | 0.8 | +0.4 |
| Barry Larkin | 25 | arb | 97 | 3.3 | 0.3 | +0.9 |
| Eric Davis | 27 | arb | 131 | 3.1 | 1.5 | -0.4 |
| Paul O'Neill | 26 | arb | 117 | 2.8 | 0.2 | +0.8 |
| Jose Rijo | 24 | arb | 19 | 2.2 | 0.5 | +0.3 |
| Tim Leary↔ LAD | 30 | FA-elig | 14 | 1.5 | 0.3 | +0.3 |
| John Franco | 28 | arb | 60 | 1.4 | 1.1 | -0.6 |
| Norm Charlton | 26 | pre-arb | 69 | 1.3 | 0.1 | +0.4 |
| Luis Quinones | 27 | FA-elig | 97 | 1.3 | 0.1 | +0.4 |
| Tom Browning | 29 | arb | 41 | 1.3 | 1.0 | -0.6 |
| Danny Jackson | 27 | FA-elig | 21 | 1.1 | 1.1 | -0.8 |
| Joe Oliver | 23 | pre-arb | 49 | 0.9 | 0.1 | +0.3 |
| Ken Griffey Sr. | 39 | FA-elig | 106 | 0.9 | 0.3 | -0.0 |
| Ron Robinson | 27 | arb | 15 | 0.8 | 0.3 | -0.1 |
| Jeff Reed | 26 | arb | 102 | 0.6 | 0.2 | +0.1 |
| Rolando Roomes | 27 | pre-arb | 107 | 0.6 | 0.1 | +0.2 |
| Herm Winningham | 27 | arb | 115 | 0.6 | 0.2 | -0.0 |
| Tim Birtsas | 28 | arb | 42 | 0.5 | 0.1 | +0.1 |
| Chris Sabo | 27 | pre-arb | 82 | 0.4 | 0.2 | -0.0 |
| Kal Daniels↔ LAD | 25 | arb | 44 | 0.3 | 0.3 | -0.1 |
| Ron Oester | 33 | FA-elig | 109 | 0.3 | 0.7 | -0.6 |
| Jack Armstrong | 24 | – | 10 | 0.0 | – | – |
| Mike Griffin | 32 | – | 3 | 0.0 | – | – |
| Rosario Rodriguez | 19 | – | 7 | -0.0 | – | – |
| Kent Tekulve | 42 | – | 37 | -0.0 | – | – |
| Terry McGriff | 25 | – | 6 | -0.1 | – | – |
| Van Snider | 25 | – | 8 | -0.1 | – | – |
| Skeeter Barnes | 32 | – | 5 | -0.1 | – | – |
| Dave Collins | 36 | FA-elig | 78 | -0.1 | 0.2 | -0.3 |
| Scott Scudder | 21 | pre-arb | 23 | -0.1 | 0.1 | -0.1 |
| Mike Roesler | 25 | pre-arb | 17 | -0.2 | 0.1 | -0.1 |
| Mariano Duncan↔ LAD | 26 | arb | 45 | -0.2 | 0.1 | -0.2 |
| Scotti Madison | 29 | arb | 40 | -0.3 | 0.1 | -0.2 |
| Marty Brown | 26 | – | 16 | -0.3 | – | – |
| Lenny Harris↔ LAD | 24 | pre-arb | 61 | -0.3 | 0.0 | -0.1 |
| Bob Sebra↔ PHI | 27 | – | 15 | -0.3 | – | – |
| Manny Trillo | 38 | FA-elig | 17 | -0.4 | 0.3 | -0.4 |
| Todd Benzinger | 26 | pre-arb | 161 | -0.4 | 0.2 | -0.3 |
| Joel Youngblood | 37 | FA-elig | 76 | -0.5 | 0.3 | -0.5 |
| Bo Diaz | 36 | FA-elig | 43 | -0.7 | 0.9 | -1.1 |
| Jeff Richardson | 23 | pre-arb | 53 | -1.0 | 0.1 | -0.4 |
42 players appeared (WAR is complete); salary & surplus are on record for 33 of them (79%). 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 |