GM: Mark Shapiro (since 2002)
| Player | Age | Service | G | fWAR | Salary $M | Surplus $M |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shin-Soo Choo | 26 | arb | 156 | 5.1 | 0.4 | +11.6 |
| Cliff Lee↔ PHI | 30 | FA-elig | 22 | 4.1 | 3.9 | +5.8 |
| Asdrúbal Cabrera | 23 | pre-arb | 131 | 3.0 | 0.4 | +6.6 |
| Grady Sizemore | 26 | arb | 106 | 2.1 | 4.8 | +0.2 |
| Carl Pavano↔ MIN | 33 | FA-elig | 21 | 1.8 | 1.0 | +3.3 |
| Victor Martinez↔ BOS | 30 | FA-elig | 99 | 1.4 | 3.8 | -0.4 |
| David Huff | 24 | – | 23 | 1.3 | – | – |
| Mark DeRosa↔ STL | 34 | FA-elig | 71 | 1.3 | 2.8 | +0.2 |
| Jamey Carroll | 35 | FA-elig | 93 | 1.3 | 2.5 | +0.5 |
| Aaron Laffey | 24 | pre-arb | 25 | 1.3 | 0.4 | +2.6 |
| Travis Hafner | 32 | FA-elig | 94 | 1.2 | 11.5 | -8.6 |
| Ryan Garko↔ SFG | 28 | arb | 78 | 1.1 | 0.3 | +2.4 |
| Jeremy Sowers | 26 | arb | 23 | 1.1 | 0.4 | +2.2 |
| Justin Masterson↔ BOS | 24 | pre-arb | 11 | 0.8 | 0.1 | +1.8 |
| Jhonny Peralta | 27 | FA-elig | 151 | 0.7 | 3.6 | -1.9 |
| Kerry Wood | 32 | FA-elig | 58 | 0.3 | 10.0 | -9.2 |
| Rafael Betancourt↔ COL | 34 | FA-elig | 29 | 0.3 | 1.6 | -0.8 |
| Kelly Shoppach | 29 | arb | 89 | 0.3 | 1.9 | -1.2 |
| Matt Herges↔ COL | 39 | – | 21 | 0.3 | – | – |
| Tony Sipp | 25 | pre-arb | 46 | 0.3 | 0.4 | +0.2 |
| Chris Perez↔ STL | 23 | pre-arb | 32 | 0.2 | 0.2 | +0.4 |
| Joe Smith | 25 | pre-arb | 37 | 0.2 | 0.4 | +0.1 |
| Ben Francisco↔ PHI | 27 | pre-arb | 89 | 0.2 | 0.3 | +0.2 |
| Matt LaPorta | 24 | – | 52 | 0.2 | – | – |
| Roberto Hernandez | 28 | arb | 24 | 0.2 | 2.9 | -2.6 |
| Josh Barfield | 26 | arb | 17 | 0.1 | 0.4 | -0.2 |
| Jess Todd↔ STL | 23 | – | 19 | 0.1 | – | – |
| Anthony Reyes | 27 | arb | 8 | 0.1 | 0.4 | -0.2 |
| Jose Veras↔ NYY | 28 | arb | 22 | 0.0 | 0.2 | -0.1 |
| Luis Valbuena | 23 | pre-arb | 103 | 0.0 | 0.4 | -0.4 |
| Rich Rundles | 28 | – | 1 | -0.0 | – | – |
| Trevor Crowe | 25 | pre-arb | 68 | -0.0 | 0.4 | -0.5 |
| Zach Jackson | 26 | arb | 3 | -0.1 | 0.4 | -0.5 |
| Lou Marson↔ PHI | 23 | pre-arb | 14 | -0.1 | 0.3 | -0.4 |
| Scott Lewis | 25 | pre-arb | 1 | -0.1 | 0.4 | -0.6 |
| Masa Kobayashi | 35 | pre-arb | 10 | -0.1 | 3.0 | -3.3 |
| Vinnie Chulk | 30 | – | 8 | -0.1 | – | – |
| Niuman Romero | 24 | – | 10 | -0.1 | – | – |
| Rafael Perez | 27 | arb | 54 | -0.1 | 0.4 | -0.8 |
| Winston Abreu↔ TBR | 32 | – | 3 | -0.1 | – | – |
| Greg Aquino | 31 | – | 10 | -0.2 | – | – |
| Mike Gosling | 28 | – | 15 | -0.2 | – | – |
| David Dellucci↔ TOR | 35 | FA-elig | 14 | -0.2 | 2.5 | -3.0 |
| Tony Graffanino | 37 | – | 7 | -0.2 | – | – |
| Luis Vizcaino↔ CHC | 34 | FA-elig | 11 | -0.3 | 2.6 | -3.2 |
| Carlos Carrasco | 22 | pre-arb | 5 | -0.4 | 0.4 | -1.2 |
| Jensen Lewis | 25 | pre-arb | 47 | -0.4 | 0.4 | -1.3 |
| Wyatt Toregas | 26 | pre-arb | 19 | -0.5 | 0.4 | -1.5 |
| Michael Brantley | 22 | – | 28 | -0.6 | – | – |
| Andy Marte | 25 | arb | 47 | -0.7 | 0.4 | -2.0 |
| Chris Gimenez | 26 | – | 45 | -0.7 | – | – |
| Tomo Ohka | 33 | – | 18 | -0.7 | – | – |
52 players appeared (WAR is complete); salary & surplus are on record for 38 of them (73%). 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 |