GM: Bob Quinn (since 1990)
| Player | Age | Service | G | fWAR | Salary $M | Surplus $M |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jose Rijo | 27 | FA-elig | 33 | 5.3 | 3.5 | +0.6 |
| Barry Larkin | 28 | FA-elig | 140 | 5.3 | 4.3 | -0.2 |
| Bip Roberts | 28 | FA-elig | 147 | 4.8 | 1.6 | +2.2 |
| Greg Swindell | 27 | – | 31 | 4.4 | – | – |
| Tim Belcher | 30 | arb | 35 | 2.9 | 2.1 | +0.1 |
| Reggie Sanders | 24 | pre-arb | 116 | 2.8 | 0.1 | +2.0 |
| Rob Dibble | 28 | arb | 63 | 2.5 | 1.4 | +0.5 |
| Joe Oliver | 26 | arb | 143 | 2.1 | 0.3 | +1.4 |
| Paul O'Neill | 29 | FA-elig | 148 | 1.8 | 2.8 | -1.4 |
| Norm Charlton | 29 | arb | 64 | 1.5 | 1.2 | -0.0 |
| Chris Hammond | 26 | pre-arb | 30 | 1.4 | 0.1 | +1.0 |
| Chris Sabo | 30 | arb | 96 | 1.1 | 2.8 | -1.9 |
| Hal Morris | 27 | arb | 115 | 1.1 | 0.4 | +0.4 |
| Tom Browning | 32 | FA-elig | 16 | 1.0 | 3.2 | -2.5 |
| Dave Martinez | 27 | FA-elig | 135 | 0.9 | 1.3 | -0.6 |
| Darnell Coles | 30 | – | 55 | 0.7 | – | – |
| Bill Doran | 34 | FA-elig | 132 | 0.7 | 2.8 | -2.3 |
| Glenn Braggs | 29 | FA-elig | 92 | 0.7 | 1.0 | -0.5 |
| Tim Pugh | 25 | – | 7 | 0.6 | – | – |
| Scott Bankhead | 28 | FA-elig | 54 | 0.6 | 0.8 | -0.4 |
| Dwayne Henry | 30 | FA-elig | 60 | 0.6 | 0.4 | +0.1 |
| Steve Foster | 25 | pre-arb | 31 | 0.5 | 0.1 | +0.3 |
| Bobby Ayala | 22 | – | 5 | 0.4 | – | – |
| Dan Wilson | 23 | – | 12 | 0.4 | – | – |
| Milt Hill | 26 | pre-arb | 14 | 0.1 | 0.1 | -0.0 |
| Willie Greene | 20 | – | 29 | 0.1 | – | – |
| Scott Bradley↔ SEA | 32 | FA-elig | 5 | 0.1 | 0.6 | -0.5 |
| Troy Afenir | 28 | arb | 16 | 0.1 | 0.1 | -0.1 |
| Geronimo Berroa | 27 | – | 13 | 0.0 | – | – |
| Tony Menendez | 27 | – | 3 | 0.0 | – | – |
| Scott Ruskin | 29 | pre-arb | 57 | -0.0 | 0.2 | -0.2 |
| Gary Green | 30 | – | 8 | -0.0 | – | – |
| Cesar Hernandez | 25 | – | 34 | -0.1 | – | – |
| Tim Costo | 23 | – | 12 | -0.2 | – | – |
| Keith Brown | 28 | – | 2 | -0.2 | – | – |
| Jacob Brumfield | 27 | pre-arb | 24 | -0.2 | 0.1 | -0.3 |
| Freddie Benavides | 26 | pre-arb | 74 | -0.2 | 0.1 | -0.3 |
| Jeff Branson | 25 | – | 72 | -0.2 | – | – |
| Jeff Reed | 29 | FA-elig | 15 | -0.3 | 0.8 | -1.0 |
| Rick Wrona | 28 | – | 11 | -0.3 | – | – |
| Billy Hatcher↔ BOS | 31 | FA-elig | 43 | -0.5 | 0.6 | -1.0 |
| Tom Bolton↔ BOS | 30 | arb | 16 | -0.8 | 0.2 | -0.8 |
42 players appeared (WAR is complete); salary & surplus are on record for 28 of them (67%). 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 |