GM: Jim Bowden (since 1993)
| Player | Age | Service | G | fWAR | Salary $M | Surplus $M |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jose Guillen↔ OAK | 27 | – | 91 | 3.2 | – | – |
| D'Angelo Jimenez↔ CHW | 25 | arb | 73 | 1.8 | 0.2 | +3.0 |
| Jason LaRue | 29 | arb | 118 | 1.7 | 1.2 | +1.8 |
| Adam Dunn | 23 | pre-arb | 116 | 1.6 | 0.4 | +2.5 |
| Aaron Boone↔ NYY | 30 | FA-elig | 106 | 1.6 | 2.5 | +0.3 |
| Ken Griffey Jr. | 33 | FA-elig | 53 | 1.5 | 12.5 | -9.8 |
| Paul Wilson | 30 | FA-elig | 29 | 1.3 | 0.5 | +1.8 |
| Russell Branyan | 27 | arb | 74 | 1.2 | 0.4 | +1.7 |
| John Riedling | 27 | arb | 55 | 1.1 | 0.3 | +1.6 |
| Ryan Freel | 27 | – | 43 | 1.0 | – | – |
| Austin Kearns | 23 | pre-arb | 82 | 1.0 | 0.3 | +1.3 |
| Barry Larkin | 39 | FA-elig | 70 | 0.8 | 9.0 | -7.5 |
| Juan Castro | 31 | FA-elig | 113 | 0.8 | 0.8 | +0.6 |
| Sean Casey | 28 | FA-elig | 147 | 0.7 | 5.6 | -4.4 |
| Scott Randall | 27 | – | 15 | 0.6 | – | – |
| Aaron Harang↔ OAK | 25 | – | 9 | 0.5 | – | – |
| Jose Acevedo | 25 | – | 5 | 0.5 | – | – |
| John Bale | 29 | – | 10 | 0.5 | – | – |
| Dernell Stenson | 25 | – | 37 | 0.5 | – | – |
| Scott Sullivan↔ CHW | 32 | FA-elig | 50 | 0.4 | 2.2 | -1.4 |
| Gabe White↔ NYY | 31 | FA-elig | 34 | 0.4 | 2.5 | -1.8 |
| Ryan Dempster | 26 | arb | 24 | 0.4 | 3.2 | -2.6 |
| Scott Williamson↔ BOS | 27 | arb | 42 | 0.3 | 1.0 | -0.5 |
| Ryan Wagner | 20 | – | 17 | 0.3 | – | – |
| Chris Reitsma | 25 | – | 57 | 0.3 | – | – |
| Phil Norton↔ CHC | 27 | – | 17 | 0.2 | – | – |
| Todd Van Poppel↔ TEX | 31 | FA-elig | 9 | 0.2 | 1.4 | -1.1 |
| Seth Etherton | 26 | – | 7 | 0.1 | – | – |
| Kent Mercker↔ ATL | 35 | FA-elig | 49 | 0.1 | 0.4 | -0.2 |
| Corky Miller | 27 | – | 14 | 0.1 | – | – |
| Juan Cerros | 26 | – | 11 | 0.1 | – | – |
| Mark Watson | 29 | – | 2 | 0.0 | – | – |
| Josh Hall | 22 | – | 6 | 0.0 | – | – |
| Matt Belisle | 23 | – | 6 | 0.0 | – | – |
| Jimmy Haynes | 30 | FA-elig | 18 | -0.0 | 2.5 | -2.5 |
| Danny Graves | 29 | FA-elig | 30 | -0.0 | 5.0 | -5.1 |
| Dane Sardinha | 24 | – | 1 | -0.0 | – | – |
| Jim Chamblee | 28 | – | 2 | -0.0 | – | – |
| Felix Heredia↔ NYY | 28 | FA-elig | 57 | -0.1 | 0.5 | -0.6 |
| Joe Valentine | 23 | – | 2 | -0.1 | – | – |
| Mark Budzinski | 29 | – | 4 | -0.1 | – | – |
| Jimmy Anderson | 27 | arb | 8 | -0.2 | 0.6 | -0.9 |
| Joey Hamilton | 32 | – | 3 | -0.2 | – | – |
| Dan Serafini | 29 | – | 11 | -0.2 | – | – |
| Eric Valent | 26 | – | 18 | -0.2 | – | – |
| Reggie Taylor | 26 | arb | 100 | -0.2 | 0.3 | -0.7 |
| Kelly Stinnett↔ PHI | 33 | FA-elig | 60 | -0.2 | 1.2 | -1.5 |
| Wily Mo Peña | 21 | pre-arb | 80 | -0.3 | 0.8 | -1.4 |
| Stephen Smitherman | 24 | – | 21 | -0.3 | – | – |
| Brian Reith | 25 | – | 42 | -0.4 | – | – |
| Josias Manzanillo | 35 | FA-elig | 9 | -0.5 | 0.5 | -1.4 |
| Jeff Austin | 26 | – | 7 | -0.6 | – | – |
| Tim Hummel | 24 | – | 26 | -0.6 | – | – |
| Brandon Larson | 27 | pre-arb | 32 | -0.8 | 0.3 | -1.7 |
| Ray Olmedo | 22 | – | 79 | -0.8 | – | – |
| Ruben Mateo | 25 | arb | 74 | -0.9 | 0.3 | -1.9 |
| Felipe Lopez | 23 | pre-arb | 59 | -1.0 | 0.3 | -2.1 |
57 players appeared (WAR is complete); salary & surplus are on record for 29 of them (51%). 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 |