GM: Mark Shapiro (since 2002)
| Player | Age | Service | G | fWAR | Salary $M | Surplus $M |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jim Thome | 31 | FA-elig | 147 | 7.3 | 8.0 | +4.5 |
| CC Sabathia | 21 | pre-arb | 33 | 3.6 | 0.7 | +5.5 |
| Omar Vizquel | 35 | FA-elig | 151 | 3.3 | 4.5 | +1.1 |
| Ellis Burks | 37 | FA-elig | 138 | 3.1 | 6.7 | -1.4 |
| Chuck Finley↔ STL | 39 | FA-elig | 18 | 2.3 | 4.5 | -0.4 |
| Bartolo Colon↔ WSN | 29 | arb | 16 | 2.2 | 2.4 | +1.3 |
| Danys Baez | 24 | pre-arb | 39 | 2.1 | 4.1 | -0.5 |
| Milton Bradley | 24 | pre-arb | 98 | 1.9 | 0.2 | +3.0 |
| Ryan Drese | 26 | pre-arb | 26 | 1.4 | 0.2 | +2.2 |
| Paul Shuey↔ LAD | 31 | FA-elig | 39 | 1.1 | 1.9 | -0.1 |
| Karim Garcia↔ NYY | 26 | – | 51 | 1.0 | – | – |
| Matt Lawton III | 30 | FA-elig | 114 | 0.9 | 5.2 | -3.7 |
| Ricardo Rincon↔ OAK | 32 | arb | 46 | 0.7 | 1.0 | +0.2 |
| Bob Wickman | 33 | FA-elig | 36 | 0.7 | 3.4 | -2.3 |
| John McDonald | 27 | arb | 93 | 0.5 | 0.2 | +0.6 |
| Mark Wohlers | 32 | FA-elig | 64 | 0.4 | 0.6 | +0.1 |
| Jason Davis | 22 | – | 3 | 0.3 | – | – |
| Dave Elder | 26 | – | 15 | 0.3 | – | – |
| Brian Tallet | 24 | – | 2 | 0.3 | – | – |
| Brandon Phillips | 21 | – | 11 | 0.2 | – | – |
| Dave Burba↔ TEX | 35 | FA-elig | 12 | 0.2 | 0.7 | -0.3 |
| Terry Mulholland↔ LAD | 39 | FA-elig | 16 | 0.2 | 1.4 | -1.0 |
| Chad Paronto | 26 | – | 29 | 0.2 | – | – |
| Carl Sadler Jr. | 25 | – | 24 | 0.2 | – | – |
| Cliff Lee | 23 | – | 2 | 0.1 | – | – |
| Alex Herrera | 25 | – | 5 | 0.1 | – | – |
| Coco Crisp | 22 | – | 32 | 0.1 | – | – |
| Ricardo Rodriguez | 24 | – | 7 | 0.1 | – | – |
| Jake Westbrook | 24 | pre-arb | 11 | 0.1 | 0.2 | -0.1 |
| Josh Bard | 24 | – | 24 | 0.1 | – | – |
| David Riske | 25 | arb | 51 | 0.0 | 0.2 | -0.2 |
| Jason Beverlin↔ DET | 28 | – | 4 | 0.0 | – | – |
| Victor Martinez | 23 | – | 12 | 0.0 | – | – |
| Nerio Rodriguez↔ STL | 31 | – | 1 | 0.0 | – | – |
| Jerrod Riggan | 28 | pre-arb | 29 | -0.0 | 0.2 | -0.2 |
| Wil Cordero↔ WSN | 30 | FA-elig | 6 | -0.0 | 0.3 | -0.4 |
| Bruce Aven | 30 | – | 7 | -0.1 | – | – |
| Jason Phillips | 28 | – | 8 | -0.1 | – | – |
| Greg LaRocca | 29 | – | 21 | -0.1 | – | – |
| Chris Magruder | 25 | – | 87 | -0.1 | – | – |
| Roy Smith | 26 | – | 4 | -0.1 | – | – |
| Dave Maurer | 27 | – | 2 | -0.1 | – | – |
| Charles Nagy | 35 | FA-elig | 20 | -0.2 | 6.0 | -6.3 |
| Ben Broussard | 25 | – | 39 | -0.2 | – | – |
| Chad Allen | 27 | – | 5 | -0.2 | – | – |
| Todd Dunwoody | 27 | – | 2 | -0.3 | – | – |
| Sean DePaula | 28 | – | 5 | -0.3 | – | – |
| Heath Murray | 29 | – | 9 | -0.3 | – | – |
| Eddie Pérez | 34 | FA-elig | 42 | -0.3 | 0.5 | -1.0 |
| Jaret Wright | 26 | arb | 8 | -0.3 | 4.3 | -4.9 |
| Brady Anderson | 38 | FA-elig | 34 | -0.4 | 0.2 | -0.9 |
| Earl Snyder | 26 | – | 18 | -0.4 | – | – |
| Bill Selby | 32 | – | 65 | -0.4 | – | – |
| Russell Branyan↔ CIN | 26 | arb | 50 | -0.5 | 0.1 | -0.9 |
| Lee Stevens↔ WSN | 34 | FA-elig | 53 | -0.6 | 1.8 | -2.9 |
| Einar Díaz | 29 | FA-elig | 102 | -0.9 | 1.1 | -2.6 |
| Travis Fryman | 33 | FA-elig | 118 | -1.2 | 5.8 | -7.8 |
| Jolbert Cabrera↔ LAD | 29 | arb | 38 | -1.3 | 0.2 | -2.4 |
| Ricky Gutierrez | 32 | FA-elig | 94 | -1.3 | 2.2 | -4.4 |
59 players appeared (WAR is complete); salary & surplus are on record for 31 of them (53%). 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 |