GM: John Hart (since 1992)
| Player | Age | Service | G | fWAR | Salary $M | Surplus $M |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albert Belle | 28 | FA-elig | 143 | 7.2 | 4.5 | +2.4 |
| Jim Thome | 24 | arb | 137 | 6.0 | 0.8 | +4.9 |
| Kenny Lofton | 28 | arb | 118 | 3.8 | 1.9 | +1.7 |
| Dennis Martinez | 41 | FA-elig | 28 | 3.3 | 4.5 | -1.4 |
| Manny Ramirez | 23 | pre-arb | 137 | 3.2 | 0.1 | +2.9 |
| Charles Nagy | 28 | arb | 29 | 3.2 | 1.9 | +1.2 |
| Eddie Murray | 39 | FA-elig | 113 | 2.6 | 3.0 | -0.5 |
| Orel Hershiser | 36 | FA-elig | 26 | 2.5 | 1.5 | +0.9 |
| Jose Mesa | 29 | FA-elig | 62 | 2.1 | 1.4 | +0.6 |
| Carlos Baerga | 26 | arb | 135 | 2.0 | 3.6 | -1.7 |
| Mark Clark | 27 | arb | 22 | 1.8 | 0.8 | +0.9 |
| Julian Tavarez | 22 | pre-arb | 57 | 1.6 | 0.1 | +1.5 |
| Chad Ogea | 24 | pre-arb | 20 | 1.5 | 0.1 | +1.3 |
| Omar Vizquel | 28 | FA-elig | 136 | 1.4 | 2.9 | -1.6 |
| Ken Hill↔ STL | 29 | FA-elig | 12 | 1.4 | 1.8 | -0.5 |
| Sandy Alomar Jr. | 29 | FA-elig | 66 | 1.3 | 2.5 | -1.3 |
| Eric Plunk | 31 | FA-elig | 56 | 1.1 | 0.7 | +0.4 |
| Herbert Perry Jr. | 25 | pre-arb | 52 | 0.9 | 0.1 | +0.8 |
| Paul Assenmacher | 34 | FA-elig | 47 | 0.8 | 1.3 | -0.5 |
| Bud Black | 38 | FA-elig | 11 | 0.5 | 0.3 | +0.1 |
| Paul Sorrento | 29 | FA-elig | 104 | 0.4 | 1.1 | -0.8 |
| Jim Poole | 29 | arb | 42 | 0.3 | 0.3 | -0.1 |
| Alan Embree | 25 | arb | 23 | 0.2 | 0.1 | +0.1 |
| Jeromy Burnitz | 26 | pre-arb | 9 | 0.2 | 0.2 | +0.0 |
| Albie Lopez | 23 | pre-arb | 6 | 0.2 | 0.1 | +0.1 |
| Brian Giles | 24 | pre-arb | 6 | 0.2 | 0.1 | +0.1 |
| Tony Peña Sr. | 38 | FA-elig | 91 | 0.2 | 0.5 | -0.3 |
| Billy Ripken | 30 | – | 8 | 0.2 | – | – |
| John Farrell | 32 | – | 1 | 0.2 | – | – |
| Jesse Levis | 27 | arb | 12 | 0.1 | 0.1 | -0.0 |
| David Bell↔ STL | 22 | pre-arb | 2 | 0.1 | 0.0 | +0.0 |
| Paul Shuey | 24 | pre-arb | 7 | 0.1 | 0.1 | -0.1 |
| Joe Roa | 23 | – | 1 | -0.0 | – | – |
| Wayne Kirby | 31 | arb | 101 | -0.0 | 0.4 | -0.4 |
| Gregg Olson↔ KCR | 28 | FA-elig | 3 | -0.1 | 0.1 | -0.2 |
| Scooter Tucker↔ HOU | 28 | arb | 17 | -0.1 | 0.1 | -0.2 |
| Dennis Cook↔ TEX | 32 | FA-elig | 11 | -0.2 | 0.1 | -0.3 |
| Alvaro Espinoza | 33 | FA-elig | 66 | -0.3 | 0.5 | -0.8 |
| Jason Grimsley | 27 | FA-elig | 15 | -0.4 | 0.3 | -0.7 |
| Ruben Amaro Jr. | 30 | arb | 28 | -0.5 | 0.2 | -0.7 |
| Dave Winfield | 43 | FA-elig | 46 | -0.8 | 0.6 | -1.4 |
41 players appeared (WAR is complete); salary & surplus are on record for 38 of them (93%). 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 |