GM: Bob Quinn (since 1990)
| Player | Age | Service | G | fWAR | Salary $M | Surplus $M |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jose Rijo | 26 | FA-elig | 31 | 6.3 | 2.3 | +1.4 |
| Barry Larkin | 27 | arb | 123 | 6.0 | 2.1 | +1.5 |
| Chris Sabo | 29 | arb | 153 | 5.4 | 1.3 | +2.0 |
| Paul O'Neill | 28 | FA-elig | 152 | 5.3 | 1.0 | +2.2 |
| Hal Morris | 26 | arb | 136 | 4.0 | 0.2 | +2.2 |
| Rob Dibble | 27 | arb | 67 | 3.4 | 0.5 | +1.5 |
| Chris Hammond | 25 | pre-arb | 20 | 1.9 | 0.1 | +1.0 |
| Tom Browning | 31 | FA-elig | 36 | 1.8 | 2.4 | -1.4 |
| Norm Charlton | 28 | arb | 41 | 1.7 | 0.6 | +0.4 |
| Glenn Braggs | 28 | arb | 85 | 1.5 | 0.8 | +0.1 |
| Eric Davis | 29 | FA-elig | 89 | 1.4 | 3.6 | -2.8 |
| Randy Myers | 28 | FA-elig | 58 | 1.4 | 2.0 | -1.2 |
| Bill Doran | 33 | FA-elig | 111 | 1.3 | 2.8 | -2.1 |
| Jeff Reed | 28 | FA-elig | 91 | 0.9 | 0.6 | -0.0 |
| Carmelo Martinez↔ KCR | 30 | FA-elig | 53 | 0.6 | 0.5 | -0.1 |
| Milt Hill | 25 | – | 22 | 0.6 | – | – |
| Ted Power | 36 | FA-elig | 68 | 0.4 | 0.5 | -0.2 |
| Scott Scudder | 23 | – | 27 | 0.3 | – | – |
| Mo Sanford | 24 | – | 5 | 0.3 | – | – |
| Chris Jones | 25 | – | 52 | 0.2 | – | – |
| Steve Foster | 24 | – | 11 | 0.1 | – | – |
| Tim Layana | 27 | pre-arb | 23 | 0.1 | 0.1 | -0.1 |
| Keith Brown | 27 | – | 11 | 0.0 | – | – |
| Reggie Jefferson↔ CLE | 22 | pre-arb | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | +0.0 |
| Kip Gross | 26 | pre-arb | 29 | -0.0 | 0.1 | -0.1 |
| Glenn Sutko | 23 | – | 10 | -0.1 | – | – |
| Herm Winningham | 29 | FA-elig | 98 | -0.1 | 0.4 | -0.5 |
| Terry Lee | 29 | – | 3 | -0.1 | – | – |
| Luis Quinones | 29 | FA-elig | 97 | -0.2 | 0.3 | -0.4 |
| Joe Oliver | 25 | pre-arb | 94 | -0.2 | 0.2 | -0.3 |
| Mariano Duncan | 28 | FA-elig | 100 | -0.2 | 0.9 | -1.0 |
| Stan Jefferson | 28 | – | 13 | -0.2 | – | – |
| Jack Armstrong | 26 | arb | 27 | -0.2 | 0.2 | -0.4 |
| Freddie Benavides | 25 | – | 24 | -0.2 | – | – |
| Billy Hatcher | 30 | – | 138 | -0.4 | – | – |
| Donnie Scott | 29 | – | 10 | -0.4 | – | – |
| Gino Minutelli | 27 | pre-arb | 16 | -0.4 | 0.1 | -0.4 |
| Reggie Sanders | 23 | – | 9 | -0.6 | – | – |
| Don Carman | 31 | – | 28 | -0.9 | – | – |
| Todd Benzinger↔ KCR | 28 | arb | 51 | -0.9 | 0.3 | -0.8 |
40 players appeared (WAR is complete); salary & surplus are on record for 26 of them (65%). 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 |