GM: John Hart (since 1992)
| Player | Age | Service | G | fWAR | Salary $M | Surplus $M |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jim Thome | 25 | arb | 151 | 7.4 | 1.6 | +4.7 |
| Charles Nagy | 29 | FA-elig | 32 | 5.4 | 3.5 | +1.1 |
| Albert Belle | 29 | FA-elig | 158 | 5.2 | 5.7 | -1.3 |
| Kenny Lofton | 29 | arb | 154 | 4.6 | 3.6 | +0.3 |
| Manny Ramirez | 24 | arb | 152 | 4.3 | 1.1 | +2.5 |
| Orel Hershiser | 37 | FA-elig | 33 | 3.8 | 1.8 | +1.4 |
| Jack McDowell | 30 | FA-elig | 30 | 3.5 | 4.8 | -1.8 |
| Omar Vizquel | 29 | FA-elig | 151 | 3.2 | 3.0 | -0.3 |
| Julio Franco | 37 | FA-elig | 112 | 2.9 | 2.4 | +0.0 |
| Chad Ogea | 25 | pre-arb | 29 | 1.9 | 0.1 | +1.5 |
| Eric Plunk | 32 | FA-elig | 56 | 1.7 | 0.8 | +0.6 |
| Dennis Martinez | 42 | FA-elig | 20 | 1.5 | 3.8 | -2.5 |
| Brian Giles | 25 | pre-arb | 51 | 1.4 | 0.1 | +1.1 |
| Paul Assenmacher | 35 | FA-elig | 63 | 1.4 | 0.9 | +0.3 |
| Jose Mesa | 30 | FA-elig | 69 | 1.4 | 1.9 | -0.7 |
| Jeromy Burnitz↔ MIL | 27 | arb | 71 | 1.2 | 0.1 | +0.9 |
| Kevin Seitzer↔ MIL | 34 | FA-elig | 22 | 1.1 | 0.2 | +0.8 |
| Sandy Alomar Jr. | 30 | FA-elig | 127 | 1.0 | 2.6 | -1.7 |
| Julian Tavarez | 23 | arb | 51 | 0.9 | 0.4 | +0.4 |
| Mark Carreon↔ SFG | 32 | FA-elig | 38 | 0.5 | 0.3 | +0.1 |
| Jeff Kent↔ NYM | 28 | arb | 39 | 0.5 | 0.6 | -0.2 |
| Paul Shuey | 25 | pre-arb | 42 | 0.5 | 0.1 | +0.2 |
| Danny Graves | 22 | – | 15 | 0.4 | – | – |
| Brian Anderson | 24 | – | 10 | 0.4 | – | – |
| Alvaro Espinoza↔ NYM | 34 | FA-elig | 59 | 0.2 | 0.2 | -0.1 |
| Damian Jackson | 22 | – | 5 | 0.2 | – | – |
| Kent Mercker↔ BAL | 28 | FA-elig | 10 | 0.2 | 1.2 | -1.0 |
| Albie Lopez | 24 | arb | 13 | 0.1 | 0.1 | -0.0 |
| Jim Poole↔ SFG | 30 | FA-elig | 32 | 0.1 | 0.2 | -0.1 |
| Nigel Wilson | 26 | arb | 10 | 0.1 | 0.1 | -0.0 |
| Casey Candaele | 35 | FA-elig | 24 | 0.0 | 0.1 | -0.1 |
| Ryan Thompson | 28 | arb | 8 | -0.0 | 0.3 | -0.3 |
| Einar Díaz | 23 | – | 4 | -0.0 | – | – |
| Geronimo Pena | 29 | – | 5 | -0.0 | – | – |
| Joe Roa | 24 | – | 1 | -0.0 | – | – |
| Jose Vizcaino↔ NYM | 28 | FA-elig | 48 | -0.1 | 0.7 | -0.8 |
| Greg Swindell↔ HOU | 31 | FA-elig | 13 | -0.2 | 2.8 | -2.9 |
| Wayne Kirby↔ LAD | 32 | arb | 27 | -0.3 | 0.1 | -0.3 |
| Herbert Perry Jr. | 26 | – | 7 | -0.3 | – | – |
| Eddie Murray↔ BAL | 40 | FA-elig | 88 | -0.4 | 1.2 | -1.5 |
| Scott Leius | 30 | FA-elig | 27 | -0.5 | 0.3 | -0.7 |
| Alan Embree | 26 | arb | 24 | -0.6 | 0.2 | -0.7 |
| Tony Peña Sr. | 39 | FA-elig | 67 | -0.6 | 0.6 | -1.1 |
| Carlos Baerga↔ NYM | 27 | FA-elig | 100 | -1.5 | 3.8 | -5.1 |
44 players appeared (WAR is complete); salary & surplus are on record for 37 of them (84%). 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 |