GM: Mark Shapiro (since 2002)
| Player | Age | Service | G | fWAR | Salary $M | Surplus $M |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grady Sizemore | 25 | arb | 157 | 7.4 | 3.2 | +13.6 |
| Cliff Lee | 29 | FA-elig | 31 | 6.7 | 4.0 | +11.1 |
| Jhonny Peralta | 26 | arb | 154 | 3.3 | 2.5 | +5.0 |
| Kelly Shoppach | 28 | arb | 112 | 3.3 | 0.4 | +7.0 |
| Shin-Soo Choo | 25 | arb | 94 | 3.2 | 0.4 | +6.8 |
| CC Sabathia↔ MIL | 27 | FA-elig | 18 | 2.8 | 5.7 | +0.7 |
| Franklin Gutierrez | 25 | arb | 134 | 2.1 | 0.4 | +4.4 |
| Jamey Carroll | 34 | FA-elig | 113 | 1.8 | 2.1 | +2.0 |
| Ben Francisco | 26 | – | 121 | 1.7 | – | – |
| Asdrúbal Cabrera | 22 | pre-arb | 114 | 1.4 | 0.4 | +2.9 |
| Casey Blake↔ LAD | 34 | FA-elig | 94 | 1.4 | 3.8 | -0.6 |
| Rafael Perez | 26 | pre-arb | 73 | 1.2 | 0.4 | +2.3 |
| Aaron Laffey | 23 | – | 16 | 0.6 | – | – |
| Roberto Hernandez | 27 | pre-arb | 22 | 0.5 | 0.5 | +0.7 |
| Zach Jackson↔ MIL | 25 | – | 9 | 0.5 | – | – |
| Anthony Reyes↔ STL | 26 | arb | 6 | 0.4 | 0.1 | +0.9 |
| Jeremy Sowers | 25 | – | 22 | 0.4 | – | – |
| Victor Martinez | 29 | FA-elig | 73 | 0.4 | 4.5 | -3.6 |
| Matt Ginter | 30 | – | 4 | 0.3 | – | – |
| Jake Westbrook | 30 | FA-elig | 5 | 0.3 | 10.0 | -9.4 |
| Scott Elarton | 32 | – | 8 | 0.2 | – | – |
| Paul Byrd↔ BOS | 37 | FA-elig | 22 | 0.2 | 5.5 | -5.0 |
| Scott Lewis | 24 | – | 4 | 0.2 | – | – |
| Jason Michaels↔ PIT | 32 | FA-elig | 21 | 0.2 | 0.4 | +0.1 |
| Rafael Betancourt | 33 | arb | 69 | 0.2 | 2.0 | -1.6 |
| Sal Fasano | 36 | – | 15 | 0.2 | – | – |
| Jorge Velandia↔ TOR | 33 | – | 7 | 0.1 | – | – |
| Edward Mujica | 24 | – | 33 | 0.1 | – | – |
| Rich Rundles | 27 | – | 8 | 0.1 | – | – |
| Juan Rincon↔ MIN | 29 | FA-elig | 23 | 0.1 | 1.2 | -1.1 |
| Jon Meloan | 23 | – | 2 | 0.0 | – | – |
| Craig Breslow↔ MIN | 27 | arb | 7 | -0.0 | 0.1 | -0.1 |
| Jensen Lewis | 24 | pre-arb | 51 | -0.0 | 0.4 | -0.4 |
| David Dellucci | 34 | FA-elig | 113 | -0.0 | 3.8 | -3.8 |
| Rick Bauer | 31 | – | 4 | -0.0 | – | – |
| Jason Tyner | 31 | – | 1 | -0.1 | – | – |
| Bryan Bullington | 27 | – | 3 | -0.1 | – | – |
| Masa Kobayashi | 34 | pre-arb | 57 | -0.1 | 3.0 | -3.3 |
| Jorge Julio↔ ATL | 29 | FA-elig | 15 | -0.1 | 0.6 | -0.9 |
| Brian Slocum | 27 | – | 2 | -0.1 | – | – |
| Andy Marte | 24 | arb | 80 | -0.2 | 0.4 | -0.8 |
| Brendan Donnelly | 36 | – | 15 | -0.2 | – | – |
| Ryan Garko | 27 | arb | 141 | -0.2 | 0.4 | -0.9 |
| Andy González | 26 | – | 10 | -0.3 | – | – |
| Josh Barfield | 25 | – | 12 | -0.3 | – | – |
| Michael Aubrey | 26 | – | 15 | -0.4 | – | – |
| Tom Mastny | 27 | – | 14 | -0.4 | – | – |
| Joe Borowski | 37 | FA-elig | 18 | -0.4 | 4.0 | -5.0 |
| Travis Hafner | 31 | FA-elig | 57 | -1.0 | 8.1 | -10.3 |
49 players appeared (WAR is complete); salary & surplus are on record for 28 of them (57%). 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 |