GM: Hank Peters (since 1988)
| Player | Age | Service | G | fWAR | Salary $M | Surplus $M |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greg Swindell | 23 | pre-arb | 33 | 6.3 | 0.1 | +1.9 |
| Tom Candiotti | 31 | arb | 31 | 4.5 | 0.2 | +1.2 |
| Doug Jones | 31 | FA-elig | 51 | 3.7 | 0.1 | +1.0 |
| Joe Carter | 28 | arb | 157 | 3.2 | 0.8 | +0.2 |
| Julio Franco | 29 | FA-elig | 152 | 3.1 | 1.0 | -0.0 |
| John Farrell | 25 | pre-arb | 31 | 2.6 | 0.1 | +0.7 |
| Cory Snyder | 25 | pre-arb | 142 | 2.6 | 0.2 | +0.6 |
| Rich Yett | 25 | arb | 23 | 1.4 | 0.1 | +0.3 |
| Andy Allanson | 26 | pre-arb | 133 | 1.3 | 0.1 | +0.3 |
| Ron Kittle | 30 | FA-elig | 75 | 1.2 | 0.3 | +0.1 |
| Rod Nichols | 23 | – | 11 | 0.8 | – | – |
| Luis Medina | 25 | – | 16 | 0.8 | – | – |
| Brook Jacoby | 28 | FA-elig | 152 | 0.7 | 0.8 | -0.6 |
| Bill Laskey | 30 | – | 17 | 0.6 | – | – |
| Bud Black↔ KCR | 31 | FA-elig | 16 | 0.5 | 0.3 | -0.2 |
| Willie Upshaw | 31 | FA-elig | 149 | 0.3 | 0.9 | -0.8 |
| Eddie Williams | 23 | – | 10 | 0.1 | – | – |
| Jon Perlman | 31 | – | 10 | 0.1 | – | – |
| Terry Francona | 29 | – | 62 | 0.1 | – | – |
| Mike Walker | 21 | – | 3 | 0.1 | – | – |
| Jeff Kaiser | 27 | – | 3 | 0.0 | – | – |
| Daniel Firova | 31 | – | 1 | 0.0 | – | – |
| Ron Washington | 36 | FA-elig | 69 | -0.0 | 0.1 | -0.1 |
| Brad Havens↔ LAD | 28 | FA-elig | 28 | -0.1 | 0.1 | -0.2 |
| Tom Lampkin | 24 | – | 4 | -0.1 | – | – |
| Scott Jordan | 25 | – | 7 | -0.1 | – | – |
| Reggie Williams | 27 | – | 11 | -0.1 | – | – |
| Houston Jimenez | 30 | – | 9 | -0.1 | – | – |
| Don Gordon | 28 | – | 38 | -0.1 | – | – |
| Domingo Ramos↔ ANA | 30 | – | 22 | -0.1 | – | – |
| Ron Tingley | 29 | FA-elig | 9 | -0.1 | 0.1 | -0.1 |
| Chris Codiroli | 30 | – | 14 | -0.2 | – | – |
| Rod Allen | 28 | – | 5 | -0.2 | – | – |
| Pat Tabler↔ KCR | 30 | FA-elig | 41 | -0.2 | 0.3 | -0.3 |
| Scott Bailes | 26 | pre-arb | 37 | -0.2 | 0.1 | -0.2 |
| Rick Rodriguez | 27 | – | 10 | -0.2 | – | – |
| Dave Clark | 25 | pre-arb | 63 | -0.2 | 0.1 | -0.2 |
| Chris Bando | 32 | – | 32 | -0.3 | – | – |
| Jeff Dedmon | 28 | arb | 21 | -0.3 | 0.3 | -0.4 |
| Mel Hall | 27 | FA-elig | 150 | -0.5 | 0.7 | -0.9 |
| Carmen Castillo | 30 | FA-elig | 66 | -0.6 | 0.3 | -0.5 |
| Paul Zuvella | 29 | FA-elig | 51 | -0.6 | 0.1 | -0.3 |
| Dan Schatzeder↔ MIN | 33 | FA-elig | 15 | -0.7 | 0.2 | -0.4 |
| Jay Bell | 22 | pre-arb | 73 | -0.9 | 0.1 | -0.4 |
44 players appeared (WAR is complete); salary & surplus are on record for 25 of them (57%). 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 |