GM: Hank Peters (since 1988)
| Player | Age | Service | G | fWAR | Salary $M | Surplus $M |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greg Swindell | 26 | arb | 33 | 5.9 | 2.0 | +1.5 |
| Charles Nagy | 24 | pre-arb | 33 | 3.2 | 0.1 | +1.8 |
| Tom Candiotti↔ TOR | 33 | FA-elig | 15 | 3.0 | 1.1 | +0.7 |
| Albert Belle | 24 | pre-arb | 123 | 2.9 | 0.1 | +1.6 |
| Rod Nichols | 26 | arb | 31 | 2.9 | 0.1 | +1.6 |
| Carlos Baerga | 22 | pre-arb | 158 | 2.7 | 0.2 | +1.4 |
| Eric King | 27 | arb | 25 | 2.6 | 1.4 | +0.1 |
| Alex Cole | 25 | pre-arb | 122 | 1.5 | 0.2 | +0.7 |
| Dave Otto | 26 | – | 18 | 1.4 | – | – |
| Mark Whiten↔ TOR | 24 | pre-arb | 70 | 1.4 | 0.1 | +0.7 |
| Glenallen Hill↔ TOR | 26 | pre-arb | 37 | 1.1 | 0.1 | +0.6 |
| Steve Olin | 25 | pre-arb | 48 | 0.9 | 0.2 | +0.4 |
| Felix Fermin | 27 | arb | 129 | 0.8 | 0.6 | -0.1 |
| Beau Allred | 26 | pre-arb | 48 | 0.8 | 0.1 | +0.4 |
| Doug Jones | 34 | FA-elig | 36 | 0.8 | 2.0 | -1.6 |
| Mike Huff↔ CHW | 27 | pre-arb | 51 | 0.7 | 0.1 | +0.3 |
| Jesse Orosco | 34 | FA-elig | 47 | 0.5 | 0.9 | -0.6 |
| Mike Aldrete↔ SDP | 30 | arb | 85 | 0.3 | 0.4 | -0.3 |
| Eric Bell | 27 | – | 10 | 0.3 | – | – |
| Shawn Hillegas | 26 | – | 51 | 0.3 | – | – |
| Tony Perezchica↔ SFG | 25 | – | 17 | 0.3 | – | – |
| Joel Skinner | 30 | FA-elig | 99 | 0.2 | 0.6 | -0.5 |
| Jose Gonzalez↔ LAD | 26 | FA-elig | 33 | 0.2 | 0.1 | -0.0 |
| Mike York | 26 | – | 14 | 0.1 | – | – |
| Turner Ward↔ TOR | 26 | pre-arb | 40 | 0.1 | 0.1 | -0.0 |
| Bruce Egloff | 26 | pre-arb | 6 | 0.1 | 0.1 | -0.0 |
| Jeff Mutis | 24 | pre-arb | 3 | 0.1 | 0.1 | -0.1 |
| Mike Walker | 24 | – | 5 | 0.0 | – | – |
| Ever Magallanes | 25 | – | 3 | -0.0 | – | – |
| Efrain Valdez | 24 | – | 7 | -0.0 | – | – |
| Garland Kiser | 22 | – | 7 | -0.0 | – | – |
| Jeff Shaw | 24 | – | 29 | -0.0 | – | – |
| Mauro Gozzo | 25 | – | 2 | -0.0 | – | – |
| Jose Escobar | 30 | – | 10 | -0.1 | – | – |
| Jim Thome | 20 | pre-arb | 27 | -0.1 | 0.1 | -0.2 |
| Sergio Valdez | 26 | – | 6 | -0.1 | – | – |
| Tom Kramer | 23 | pre-arb | 4 | -0.1 | 0.1 | -0.2 |
| Rudy Seanez | 22 | – | 5 | -0.2 | – | – |
| Willie Blair | 25 | – | 11 | -0.2 | – | – |
| Denis Boucher↔ TOR | 23 | – | 5 | -0.2 | – | – |
| Wayne Kirby | 27 | pre-arb | 21 | -0.3 | 0.1 | -0.2 |
| Jeff Manto | 26 | pre-arb | 47 | -0.3 | 0.1 | -0.3 |
| Carlos Martinez | 25 | – | 72 | -0.3 | – | – |
| Luis Medina | 28 | – | 5 | -0.3 | – | – |
| Brook Jacoby↔ OAK | 31 | FA-elig | 66 | -0.4 | 0.6 | -0.8 |
| Eddie Taubensee | 22 | pre-arb | 26 | -0.4 | 0.1 | -0.3 |
| Mitch Webster↔ LAD | 32 | FA-elig | 13 | -0.4 | 0.1 | -0.3 |
| Luis Lopez | 26 | – | 35 | -0.4 | – | – |
| Mark Lewis | 21 | – | 84 | -0.6 | – | – |
| Sandy Alomar Jr. | 25 | arb | 51 | -0.6 | 0.4 | -0.7 |
| Reggie Jefferson↔ CIN | 22 | pre-arb | 26 | -0.8 | 0.1 | -0.6 |
| Jerry Browne | 25 | arb | 107 | -1.2 | 0.8 | -1.5 |
| Chris James | 28 | arb | 115 | -2.1 | 1.4 | -2.6 |
53 players appeared (WAR is complete); salary & surplus are on record for 33 of them (62%). 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 |