GM: Jim Bowden (since 1993)
| Player | Age | Service | G | fWAR | Salary $M | Surplus $M |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elmer Dessens | 30 | arb | 35 | 2.4 | 0.5 | +3.4 |
| Adam Dunn | 21 | – | 66 | 2.1 | – | – |
| Chris Reitsma | 23 | pre-arb | 38 | 2.0 | 0.2 | +3.0 |
| Ken Griffey Jr. | 31 | FA-elig | 111 | 1.8 | 12.5 | -9.6 |
| Jason LaRue | 27 | pre-arb | 121 | 1.6 | 0.2 | +2.3 |
| Aaron Boone | 28 | arb | 103 | 1.6 | 0.4 | +2.1 |
| Sean Casey | 26 | arb | 145 | 1.3 | 3.0 | -0.8 |
| Dmitri Young | 27 | arb | 142 | 1.3 | 3.5 | -1.4 |
| Danny Graves | 27 | arb | 66 | 1.3 | 2.1 | -0.0 |
| Lance Davis | 24 | – | 21 | 1.2 | – | – |
| Ruben Rivera | 27 | FA-elig | 117 | 1.0 | 1.0 | +0.7 |
| Scott Sullivan | 30 | FA-elig | 79 | 0.9 | 1.7 | -0.2 |
| Alex Ochoa↔ COL | 29 | FA-elig | 90 | 0.9 | 1.0 | +0.5 |
| Jim Brower | 28 | – | 48 | 0.6 | – | – |
| Osvaldo Fernandez | 34 | arb | 20 | 0.5 | 0.6 | +0.2 |
| Dennys Reyes | 24 | arb | 36 | 0.5 | 0.6 | +0.2 |
| Kelly Stinnett | 31 | FA-elig | 63 | 0.5 | 0.5 | +0.3 |
| John Riedling | 25 | pre-arb | 29 | 0.5 | 0.2 | +0.6 |
| Jose Acevedo | 23 | – | 18 | 0.5 | – | – |
| Scott MacRae | 26 | – | 24 | 0.4 | – | – |
| Hector Mercado | 27 | – | 56 | 0.4 | – | – |
| Brady Clark | 28 | – | 89 | 0.3 | – | – |
| D.T. Cromer | 30 | – | 50 | 0.3 | – | – |
| Corky Miller | 25 | – | 17 | 0.3 | – | – |
| Barry Larkin | 37 | FA-elig | 45 | 0.3 | 9.0 | -8.6 |
| Chris Nichting↔ COL | 35 | – | 36 | 0.2 | – | – |
| Robin Jennings↔ COL | 29 | arb | 27 | 0.2 | 0.2 | +0.1 |
| Todd Walker↔ COL | 28 | arb | 66 | 0.1 | 0.5 | -0.3 |
| Rob Bell↔ TEX | 24 | pre-arb | 9 | 0.1 | 0.1 | +0.1 |
| Chris Piersoll | 23 | – | 11 | 0.1 | – | – |
| Mark Wohlers↔ NYY | 31 | FA-elig | 30 | 0.1 | 0.2 | -0.1 |
| Wilton Guerrero | 26 | arb | 60 | 0.1 | 0.4 | -0.3 |
| Michael Tucker↔ CHC | 30 | FA-elig | 86 | 0.0 | 1.0 | -1.0 |
| Frankie Rodriguez | 28 | – | 7 | 0.0 | – | – |
| Jose Rijo | 36 | – | 13 | -0.0 | – | – |
| Joey Hamilton↔ TOR | 30 | FA-elig | 4 | -0.0 | 1.1 | -1.1 |
| Calvin Pickering↔ BOS | 24 | – | 4 | -0.0 | – | – |
| Jared Fernandez | 29 | – | 5 | -0.1 | – | – |
| Raul Gonzalez | 27 | – | 11 | -0.1 | – | – |
| Scott Williamson | 25 | pre-arb | 2 | -0.1 | 0.4 | -0.6 |
| Pete Harnisch | 34 | FA-elig | 8 | -0.3 | 3.8 | -4.2 |
| Brandon Larson | 25 | – | 14 | -0.3 | – | – |
| Pokey Reese | 28 | arb | 133 | -0.4 | 3.2 | -3.8 |
| Justin Atchley | 27 | – | 15 | -0.4 | – | – |
| Scott Winchester | 28 | arb | 12 | -0.4 | 0.2 | -0.9 |
| Donnie Sadler↔ KCR | 26 | arb | 39 | -0.5 | 0.1 | -0.9 |
| Bill Selby | 31 | – | 36 | -0.5 | – | – |
| Brian Reith | 23 | – | 9 | -0.6 | – | – |
| Deion Sanders | 33 | – | 32 | -0.6 | – | – |
| Juan Castro | 29 | FA-elig | 96 | -1.7 | 0.4 | -3.1 |
50 players appeared (WAR is complete); salary & surplus are on record for 29 of them (58%). 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 |