GM: Jim Bowden (since 1993)
| Player | Age | Service | G | fWAR | Salary $M | Surplus $M |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ken Griffey Jr. | 30 | FA-elig | 145 | 5.4 | 9.3 | -1.7 |
| Sean Casey | 25 | arb | 133 | 3.7 | 0.4 | +4.9 |
| Elmer Dessens | 29 | – | 40 | 3.0 | – | – |
| Scott Williamson | 24 | pre-arb | 48 | 2.6 | 0.3 | +3.4 |
| Barry Larkin | 36 | FA-elig | 102 | 2.5 | 5.3 | -1.7 |
| Chris Stynes | 27 | arb | 119 | 2.5 | 0.4 | +3.1 |
| Alex Ochoa | 28 | arb | 118 | 2.4 | 0.9 | +2.5 |
| Michael Tucker | 29 | arb | 148 | 2.2 | 1.7 | +1.4 |
| Pokey Reese | 27 | arb | 135 | 2.1 | 1.9 | +1.0 |
| Aaron Boone | 27 | arb | 84 | 1.9 | 0.3 | +2.3 |
| Denny Neagle↔ NYY | 31 | FA-elig | 19 | 1.8 | 2.6 | +0.0 |
| Dmitri Young | 26 | arb | 152 | 1.7 | 1.9 | +0.5 |
| Steve Parris | 32 | arb | 35 | 1.7 | 1.4 | +1.0 |
| Osvaldo Fernandez | 31 | – | 15 | 1.2 | – | – |
| Dante Bichette↔ BOS | 36 | FA-elig | 125 | 1.1 | 5.6 | -4.1 |
| Pete Harnisch | 33 | FA-elig | 24 | 1.0 | 3.2 | -1.8 |
| Scott Sullivan | 29 | arb | 80 | 1.0 | 1.1 | +0.3 |
| Danny Graves | 26 | arb | 66 | 1.0 | 0.4 | +1.0 |
| Brian L. Hunter↔ COL | 29 | FA-elig | 32 | 0.4 | 0.1 | +0.5 |
| Mike Bell | 25 | – | 19 | 0.3 | – | – |
| Hal Morris↔ DET | 35 | FA-elig | 59 | 0.3 | 0.3 | +0.1 |
| John Riedling | 24 | – | 13 | 0.2 | – | – |
| Larry Luebbers | 30 | – | 14 | 0.2 | – | – |
| Ron Villone | 30 | arb | 35 | 0.1 | 1.6 | -1.5 |
| Keith Glauber | 28 | – | 4 | 0.1 | – | – |
| Jason LaRue | 26 | – | 31 | 0.1 | – | – |
| Brady Clark | 27 | – | 11 | 0.1 | – | – |
| Dennys Reyes | 23 | arb | 62 | 0.0 | 0.2 | -0.1 |
| D.T. Cromer | 29 | pre-arb | 35 | 0.0 | 0.2 | -0.1 |
| Mark Wohlers | 30 | – | 20 | 0.0 | – | – |
| Benito Santiago | 35 | FA-elig | 89 | 0.0 | 0.7 | -0.6 |
| Hector Mercado | 26 | pre-arb | 12 | 0.0 | 0.2 | -0.2 |
| Scott Winchester | 27 | – | 5 | 0.0 | – | – |
| Andy Larkin↔ KCR | 26 | – | 3 | -0.0 | – | – |
| Manny Aybar↔ COL | 28 | arb | 32 | -0.0 | 0.2 | -0.2 |
| Kimera Bartee | 27 | – | 11 | -0.0 | – | – |
| Gabe White↔ COL | 28 | FA-elig | 1 | -0.1 | 0.0 | -0.1 |
| Norm Charlton | 37 | – | 2 | -0.1 | – | – |
| Gookie Dawkins | 21 | – | 14 | -0.1 | – | – |
| Mark Lewis↔ BAL | 30 | FA-elig | 11 | -0.2 | 0.1 | -0.3 |
| Brooks Kieschnick | 28 | – | 14 | -0.3 | – | – |
| Chris Sexton | 28 | – | 35 | -0.3 | – | – |
| Rob Bell | 23 | pre-arb | 26 | -0.3 | 0.2 | -0.6 |
| Juan Castro | 28 | – | 82 | -0.4 | – | – |
| Eddie Taubensee | 31 | FA-elig | 81 | -0.6 | 1.4 | -2.2 |
45 players appeared (WAR is complete); salary & surplus are on record for 28 of them (62%). 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 |