GM: Joe Klein (since 1986)
| Player | Age | Service | G | fWAR | Salary $M | Surplus $M |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joe Carter | 26 | arb | 162 | 4.8 | 0.2 | +1.2 |
| Tom Candiotti | 29 | arb | 36 | 4.3 | 0.1 | +1.2 |
| Brook Jacoby | 26 | arb | 158 | 3.0 | 0.4 | +0.5 |
| Tony Bernazard | 29 | FA-elig | 146 | 2.9 | 0.6 | +0.3 |
| Julio Franco | 27 | arb | 149 | 2.7 | 0.6 | +0.2 |
| Brett Butler | 29 | arb | 161 | 2.5 | 0.8 | -0.1 |
| Pat Tabler | 28 | arb | 130 | 1.9 | 0.4 | +0.2 |
| Mel Hall | 25 | arb | 140 | 1.6 | 0.3 | +0.1 |
| Cory Snyder | 23 | pre-arb | 103 | 1.1 | 0.1 | +0.3 |
| Ernie Camacho | 31 | FA-elig | 51 | 1.0 | 0.1 | +0.2 |
| Greg Swindell | 21 | pre-arb | 9 | 0.9 | 0.1 | +0.2 |
| Scott Bailes | 24 | pre-arb | 62 | 0.9 | 0.1 | +0.2 |
| Phil Niekro | 47 | FA-elig | 34 | 0.8 | 0.3 | -0.1 |
| Ken Schrom | 31 | FA-elig | 34 | 0.8 | 0.3 | -0.0 |
| Carmen Castillo | 28 | arb | 85 | 0.4 | 0.2 | -0.0 |
| Doug Jones | 29 | – | 11 | 0.4 | – | – |
| Dave Clark | 23 | – | 18 | 0.4 | – | – |
| Don Schulze | 23 | arb | 19 | 0.4 | 0.1 | -0.0 |
| Andre Thornton | 36 | FA-elig | 120 | 0.3 | 1.1 | -1.0 |
| Neal Heaton↔ MIN | 26 | arb | 12 | 0.3 | 0.1 | -0.0 |
| Chris Bando | 30 | arb | 92 | 0.3 | 0.2 | -0.1 |
| John Butcher↔ MIN | 29 | FA-elig | 13 | 0.2 | 0.2 | -0.1 |
| Otis Nixon | 27 | arb | 105 | 0.2 | 0.1 | -0.0 |
| Jay Bell | 20 | – | 5 | 0.1 | – | – |
| Frank Wills | 27 | arb | 26 | 0.0 | 0.1 | -0.1 |
| Rich Yett | 23 | pre-arb | 39 | 0.0 | 0.1 | -0.1 |
| Jose Roman | 23 | pre-arb | 6 | -0.0 | 0.1 | -0.1 |
| Reggie Ritter | 26 | – | 5 | -0.0 | – | – |
| Dan Rohn | 30 | – | 6 | -0.0 | – | – |
| Eddie Williams | 21 | – | 5 | -0.2 | – | – |
| Fran Mullins | 29 | FA-elig | 28 | -0.2 | 0.1 | -0.1 |
| Jim Kern | 37 | FA-elig | 16 | -0.3 | 0.1 | -0.2 |
| Jamie Easterly | 33 | FA-elig | 13 | -0.4 | 0.3 | -0.5 |
| Dickie Noles | 29 | FA-elig | 32 | -0.9 | 0.1 | -0.4 |
| Bryan Oelkers | 25 | arb | 35 | -1.3 | 0.1 | -0.5 |
| Andy Allanson | 24 | pre-arb | 101 | -1.4 | 0.1 | -0.5 |
36 players appeared (WAR is complete); salary & surplus are on record for 30 of them (83%). 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 CLE |
|---|---|---|
| Kenny Lofton | 1991 | 42.5 |
| Corey Kluber | 2010 | 34.6 |
| Grady Sizemore | 2002 | 30.3 |
| Carlos Carrasco | 2009 | 25.5 |
| Travis Hafner | 2002 | 22.3 |
| Carlos Santana | 2008 | 21.6 |
| Michael Brantley | 2008 | 20.0 |
| Shin-Soo Choo | 2006 | 19.2 |
| Player | Year traded | WAR elsewhere |
|---|---|---|
| Jeff Kent | 1996 | 30.9 |
| Brandon Phillips | 2006 | 30.1 |
| Brian Giles | 1998 | 25.4 |
| Von Hayes | 1982 | 22.3 |
| Yandy Díaz | 2018 | 19.5 |
| Rick Sutcliffe | 1984 | 17.2 |
| Jeromy Burnitz | 1996 | 17.1 |
| Sean Casey | 1998 | 15.9 |