GM: Hank Peters (since 1988)
| Player | Age | Service | G | fWAR | Salary $M | Surplus $M |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brook Jacoby | 30 | FA-elig | 155 | 3.7 | 1.0 | +0.7 |
| Candy Maldonado | 29 | FA-elig | 155 | 3.1 | 0.8 | +0.5 |
| Mitch Webster | 31 | FA-elig | 128 | 2.9 | 0.6 | +0.7 |
| Greg Swindell | 25 | arb | 34 | 2.7 | 0.8 | +0.4 |
| Bud Black↔ TOR | 33 | FA-elig | 29 | 2.4 | 0.7 | +0.4 |
| Sandy Alomar Jr. | 24 | pre-arb | 132 | 2.4 | 0.1 | +0.9 |
| Jerry Browne | 24 | arb | 140 | 2.3 | 0.3 | +0.7 |
| Tom Candiotti | 33 | FA-elig | 31 | 2.3 | 1.1 | -0.0 |
| Alex Cole | 24 | pre-arb | 63 | 1.6 | 0.1 | +0.6 |
| Chris James | 27 | arb | 140 | 1.6 | 0.6 | +0.1 |
| Steve Olin | 24 | pre-arb | 50 | 1.5 | 0.1 | +0.6 |
| Doug Jones | 33 | FA-elig | 66 | 1.4 | 0.9 | -0.3 |
| John Farrell | 27 | arb | 17 | 0.7 | 0.3 | +0.0 |
| Felix Fermin | 26 | arb | 148 | 0.6 | 0.2 | +0.1 |
| Turner Ward | 25 | – | 14 | 0.5 | – | – |
| Carlos Baerga | 21 | pre-arb | 108 | 0.5 | 0.1 | +0.1 |
| Joel Skinner | 29 | FA-elig | 49 | 0.5 | 0.3 | -0.1 |
| Jeff Manto | 25 | pre-arb | 30 | 0.4 | 0.1 | +0.1 |
| Stan Jefferson↔ BAL | 27 | arb | 49 | 0.3 | 0.1 | +0.0 |
| Kevin Wickander | 25 | pre-arb | 10 | 0.3 | 0.1 | +0.0 |
| Tom Brookens | 36 | FA-elig | 64 | 0.2 | 0.4 | -0.3 |
| Dion James | 27 | FA-elig | 87 | 0.1 | 0.7 | -0.6 |
| Mauro Gozzo | 24 | – | 2 | 0.0 | – | – |
| Sergio Valdez↔ ATL | 25 | arb | 24 | -0.0 | 0.1 | -0.1 |
| Charles Nagy | 23 | pre-arb | 9 | -0.0 | 0.1 | -0.1 |
| Mike Walker | 23 | pre-arb | 18 | -0.0 | 0.1 | -0.1 |
| Rafael Santana | 32 | FA-elig | 7 | -0.1 | 0.2 | -0.3 |
| Steve Springer | 29 | – | 4 | -0.1 | – | – |
| Jeff Kaiser | 29 | arb | 5 | -0.1 | 0.1 | -0.2 |
| Beau Allred | 25 | pre-arb | 4 | -0.1 | 0.1 | -0.2 |
| Colby Ward | 26 | pre-arb | 22 | -0.2 | 0.1 | -0.2 |
| Efrain Valdez | 23 | – | 13 | -0.2 | – | – |
| Albert Belle | 23 | pre-arb | 9 | -0.2 | 0.1 | -0.2 |
| Al Nipper | 31 | – | 9 | -0.2 | – | – |
| Rudy Seanez | 21 | – | 24 | -0.2 | – | – |
| Mark McLemore↔ ANA | 25 | arb | 8 | -0.2 | 0.0 | -0.2 |
| Kevin Bearse | 24 | pre-arb | 3 | -0.3 | 0.1 | -0.2 |
| Jeff Shaw | 23 | pre-arb | 12 | -0.4 | 0.1 | -0.3 |
| Jesse Orosco | 33 | FA-elig | 55 | -0.5 | 0.8 | -1.1 |
| Rod Nichols | 25 | pre-arb | 4 | -0.5 | 0.1 | -0.3 |
| Ken Phelps↔ OAK | 35 | FA-elig | 24 | -0.7 | 0.4 | -0.6 |
| Cory Snyder | 27 | arb | 123 | -0.7 | 0.7 | -1.0 |
| Keith Hernandez | 36 | FA-elig | 43 | -0.7 | 1.8 | -2.1 |
| Cecilio Guante | 30 | FA-elig | 26 | -0.8 | 0.7 | -1.0 |
44 players appeared (WAR is complete); salary & surplus are on record for 38 of them (86%). 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 |