GM: Mark Shapiro (since 2002)
| Player | Age | Service | G | fWAR | Salary $M | Surplus $M |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shin-Soo Choo | 27 | arb | 144 | 6.0 | 0.5 | +13.5 |
| Roberto Hernandez | 29 | arb | 33 | 2.8 | 5.1 | +1.4 |
| Justin Masterson | 25 | pre-arb | 34 | 2.6 | 0.4 | +5.5 |
| Travis Hafner | 33 | FA-elig | 118 | 1.9 | 11.5 | -7.1 |
| Carlos Santana | 24 | – | 46 | 1.8 | – | – |
| Mitch Talbot | 26 | pre-arb | 28 | 1.4 | 0.4 | +2.8 |
| Russell Branyan↔ SEA | 34 | FA-elig | 52 | 1.4 | 0.7 | +2.4 |
| Austin Kearns↔ NYY | 30 | FA-elig | 84 | 1.2 | 0.5 | +2.3 |
| Chris Perez | 24 | pre-arb | 63 | 1.0 | 0.4 | +1.8 |
| Shelley Duncan | 30 | – | 85 | 0.9 | – | – |
| Asdrúbal Cabrera | 24 | arb | 97 | 0.9 | 0.4 | +1.6 |
| Jhonny Peralta↔ DET | 28 | FA-elig | 91 | 0.7 | 3.0 | -1.3 |
| Jayson Nix↔ CHW | 27 | pre-arb | 78 | 0.7 | 0.3 | +1.4 |
| Jake Westbrook↔ STL | 32 | FA-elig | 21 | 0.7 | 7.0 | -5.3 |
| Josh Tomlin | 25 | – | 12 | 0.7 | – | – |
| Aaron Laffey | 25 | arb | 29 | 0.6 | 0.4 | +0.9 |
| Jason Donald | 25 | – | 88 | 0.5 | – | – |
| Carlos Carrasco | 23 | – | 7 | 0.4 | – | – |
| Luke Carlin | 29 | – | 6 | 0.4 | – | – |
| Rafael Perez | 28 | arb | 70 | 0.3 | 0.8 | -0.0 |
| Jeanmar Gómez | 22 | – | 11 | 0.3 | – | – |
| Jensen Lewis | 26 | arb | 37 | 0.3 | 0.4 | +0.3 |
| Drew Sutton↔ CIN | 27 | – | 11 | 0.2 | – | – |
| Chris Gimenez | 27 | – | 28 | 0.1 | – | – |
| Jess Todd | 24 | – | 5 | 0.1 | – | – |
| Vinnie Pestano | 25 | – | 5 | 0.0 | – | – |
| Andy Marte | 26 | arb | 81 | 0.0 | 0.4 | -0.4 |
| Frank Herrmann | 26 | – | 40 | 0.0 | – | – |
| Jamey Wright↔ SEA | 35 | FA-elig | 18 | -0.0 | 0.4 | -0.4 |
| Mark Grudzielanek | 40 | FA-elig | 30 | -0.1 | 0.6 | -0.8 |
| Jordan Brown | 26 | – | 26 | -0.1 | – | – |
| Justin Germano | 27 | – | 23 | -0.2 | – | – |
| Joe Smith | 26 | arb | 53 | -0.2 | 0.4 | -0.9 |
| David Huff | 25 | pre-arb | 15 | -0.2 | 0.4 | -0.9 |
| Kerry Wood↔ NYY | 33 | FA-elig | 23 | -0.2 | 5.1 | -5.7 |
| Grady Sizemore | 27 | FA-elig | 33 | -0.2 | 5.8 | -6.3 |
| Anderson Hernandez↔ HOU | 27 | – | 22 | -0.3 | – | – |
| Hector Ambriz | 26 | pre-arb | 34 | -0.4 | 0.4 | -1.2 |
| Michael Brantley | 23 | pre-arb | 72 | -0.5 | 0.4 | -1.6 |
| Trevor Crowe | 26 | – | 122 | -0.6 | – | – |
| Tony Sipp | 26 | pre-arb | 70 | -0.7 | 0.4 | -1.9 |
| Mike Redmond | 39 | FA-elig | 22 | -0.7 | 0.8 | -2.4 |
| Matt LaPorta | 25 | pre-arb | 110 | -0.7 | 0.4 | -2.1 |
| Lou Marson | 24 | pre-arb | 87 | -1.2 | 0.4 | -3.3 |
| Luis Valbuena | 24 | pre-arb | 91 | -1.3 | 0.4 | -3.4 |
45 players appeared (WAR is complete); salary & surplus are on record for 29 of them (64%). 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 |