GM: John Hart (since 1992)
| Player | Age | Service | G | fWAR | Salary $M | Surplus $M |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kenny Lofton | 26 | pre-arb | 148 | 7.0 | 0.5 | +5.3 |
| Albert Belle | 26 | arb | 159 | 4.9 | 1.7 | +2.4 |
| Carlos Baerga | 24 | arb | 154 | 4.4 | 1.4 | +2.2 |
| Jose Mesa | 27 | FA-elig | 34 | 2.9 | 0.3 | +2.0 |
| Wayne Kirby | 29 | pre-arb | 131 | 2.5 | 0.1 | +1.9 |
| Eric Plunk | 29 | FA-elig | 70 | 1.5 | 0.7 | +0.5 |
| Jerry Dipoto | 25 | pre-arb | 46 | 1.1 | 0.1 | +0.8 |
| Paul Sorrento | 27 | arb | 148 | 1.1 | 0.3 | +0.6 |
| Jim Thome | 22 | pre-arb | 47 | 1.1 | 0.1 | +0.8 |
| Derek Lilliquist | 27 | arb | 56 | 1.1 | 0.7 | +0.2 |
| Randy Milligan↔ CIN | 31 | FA-elig | 19 | 1.1 | 0.1 | +0.8 |
| Sandy Alomar Jr. | 27 | arb | 64 | 0.8 | 1.3 | -0.6 |
| Mike Bielecki | 33 | FA-elig | 13 | 0.7 | 0.5 | +0.1 |
| Sam Horn | 29 | – | 12 | 0.7 | – | – |
| Alvaro Espinoza | 31 | FA-elig | 129 | 0.6 | 0.5 | +0.0 |
| Charles Nagy | 26 | arb | 9 | 0.6 | 0.5 | -0.0 |
| Jeff Treadway | 30 | FA-elig | 97 | 0.6 | 0.4 | +0.1 |
| Jason Grimsley | 25 | arb | 10 | 0.5 | 0.1 | +0.3 |
| Mark Clark | 25 | pre-arb | 26 | 0.5 | 0.1 | +0.3 |
| Bill Wertz | 26 | pre-arb | 34 | 0.4 | 0.1 | +0.2 |
| Bob Ojeda | 35 | FA-elig | 9 | 0.3 | 1.7 | -1.5 |
| Junior Ortiz | 33 | FA-elig | 95 | 0.2 | 0.4 | -0.3 |
| Lance Parrish | 37 | FA-elig | 10 | 0.0 | 0.1 | -0.1 |
| Cliff Young | 28 | arb | 21 | 0.0 | 0.1 | -0.1 |
| Dennis Cook | 30 | arb | 25 | 0.0 | 0.6 | -0.6 |
| Ted Power↔ SEA | 38 | FA-elig | 20 | 0.0 | 0.2 | -0.2 |
| Dave Mlicki | 25 | pre-arb | 3 | -0.0 | 0.1 | -0.1 |
| Scott Scudder | 25 | arb | 2 | -0.0 | 0.8 | -0.8 |
| Matt Young | 34 | – | 22 | -0.1 | – | – |
| Mike Christopher | 29 | pre-arb | 9 | -0.1 | 0.1 | -0.2 |
| Mark Lewis | 23 | pre-arb | 14 | -0.1 | 0.2 | -0.2 |
| Julian Tavarez | 20 | pre-arb | 8 | -0.1 | 0.1 | -0.2 |
| Heathcliff Slocumb↔ CHC | 27 | pre-arb | 20 | -0.1 | 0.1 | -0.2 |
| Albie Lopez | 21 | – | 9 | -0.2 | – | – |
| Candy Maldonado↔ CHC | 32 | FA-elig | 28 | -0.2 | 0.5 | -0.6 |
| Bob Milacki | 28 | – | 5 | -0.2 | – | – |
| Tom Kramer | 25 | pre-arb | 39 | -0.2 | 0.1 | -0.3 |
| Kevin Wickander↔ CIN | 28 | arb | 11 | -0.3 | 0.0 | -0.3 |
| Paul Abbott | 25 | – | 5 | -0.4 | – | – |
| Thomas Howard↔ CIN | 28 | arb | 74 | -0.4 | 0.2 | -0.6 |
| Jeremy Hernandez↔ SDP | 26 | pre-arb | 49 | -0.4 | 0.1 | -0.4 |
| Jesse Levis | 25 | – | 31 | -0.5 | – | – |
| Jeff Mutis | 26 | pre-arb | 17 | -0.6 | 0.1 | -0.6 |
| Manny Ramirez | 21 | pre-arb | 22 | -0.6 | 0.1 | -0.6 |
| Reggie Jefferson | 24 | pre-arb | 113 | -1.0 | 0.1 | -1.0 |
| Carlos Martinez | 27 | arb | 80 | -1.2 | 0.5 | -1.5 |
| Glenallen Hill↔ CHC | 28 | arb | 66 | -1.3 | 0.7 | -1.7 |
| Felix Fermin | 29 | FA-elig | 140 | -1.8 | 1.0 | -2.4 |
48 players appeared (WAR is complete); salary & surplus are on record for 42 of them (88%). 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 |