The 2010 off-season isn’t filled with the superstars or the biggest names.  Most teams came into the off-season looking to spend money wisely, not blow it all on one big contract.But that didn’t stop some teams from making a splash in the free-agent market.  These rankings do not just take talent into consideration.  How much the team was forced to spend, how much of an impact the player will have and what we can expect over the length of the contract were all taken into consideration.

These are the top spenders in free-agency this offseason
St. Louis $128,450,000
Boston $120,500,000
NY Mets $73,875,000
Milwaukee $47,650,000
Seattle $37,075,000

These are the lowest spenders in free-agency this offseason
Tampa Bay $7,750,000
San Diego $7,425,000
Chicago Sox $5,875,000
Cleveland $850,000
Florida $0

Lets face it, no team wants to make the same mistake as the 2007 Mariners (signed Carlos Silva to 4-year $48 million deal) or the 2009 Chicago Cubs (signed Milton Bradley to 3-year $30 million deal).

1. Chone Figgins, Seattle Mariners, 4 years $36 million

Sorry folks, the best free agent signing of 2010 was not John Lackey or Matt Holliday. Figgins, 32, will add speed, defense, and leadership to Seattle Mariners team who will be in playoff contention in 2010.  His versatility and willingness to play almost anywhere in the field is priceless.  Figgins, who has averaged 44 steals over the past six seasons, will be a dominant threat at the top of the order with Ichiro. The Mariners have made the most noise this offseason, and Seattle fans expect the noise to payoff this season.

2. John Lackey, Boston Red Sox, 5 years $82.5 million

Lackey will fit in nicely with an already loaded Boston Red Sox rotation.  Sporting a 3.83 earned run average last season, Lackey was the ace of the American League West champion Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.  While the Red Sox may have overpaid ($16.5 million each season), they have put themselves in a position in 2010 to challenge the defending World Series champion New York Yankees.  With a rotation of Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, Lackey, Daisuke Matsuzaka and Clay Buchholz, all Boston has to worry about now is where the offense will come from.

3. Orlando Hudson, Minnesota Twins, 1 year $5 million

No, this is not a typo or a mix-up.  Orlando Hudson is the third best free agent signing of 2010, and here’s why.  The Twins did not have to overpay or commit more than one year to the 32-year-old second baseman.  Hudson is not dominant at the plate (77 career homeruns in eight seasons), but he sports a career .282 batting average and fills a defensive gap.  No, Hudson is not as good as Matt Holliday, but the Twins were able to pay $115 million less for this 2009 All-Star than the St. Louis Cardinals had to for Holliday.

4. Matt Holliday, St. Louis Cardinals, 7 years $120 million

Lets clear this up right away.  It hurts me to put Holliday this high in the ranking.  The Cardinals drastically overpaid for the 30-year-old left fielder.  Roughly $17 million per season for this guy is absurd.  Regardless, the Cardinals shored up their lineup and kept protection for Albert Pujols, the 2009 National League Most Valuable Player.  Holliday was traded to St. Louis with 63 games left in the season in 2009 and was nothing short of marvelous.  While Cardinals management and fans are happy now, they might be kicking themselves when Holliday is 37 and producing half the numbers he is now.

5. Jason Bay, New York Mets, 4 years $66 million

Just like in Holliday’s case, it hurts me to put Bay so high in the rankings.  While Bay is a playmaker and an offensive threat, $16.5 million per season is way too high.  A career .280 hitter, Bay’s 2009 batting average slipped to .267, but his power did not.  The Mets endured plenty of injuries last season, and a power hitter in the middle of the lineup is just what the doctor ordered.  The Mets offense should be fine for the 2010 season, but their lack of pitching is what is concerning fans in Queens, N.Y.

The Head Scratchers

1. Brandon Lyon, Houston Astros, 3 years $15 million

No doubt the biggest head scratcher of them all.  Lyon, a relief pitcher with a career 4.20 ERA, has yet to have a good season.  His best was in 2008 when he had 26 saves with the Arizona Diamondbacks but also sported a 4.70 ERA with five blown saves.  If the Astros thought Lyon was their answer when Jose Valverde left for Detroit, they were dead wrong.  Houston will soon be kicking itself for this signing, and don’t be surprised if someone loses his or her job for this botched signing.

2. Marlon Byrd, Chicago Cubs, 3 years $15 million

You would think the Cubs would have learned its lesson when they signed Bradley to a three-year contract last season.  Look how that turned out.  And now Chicago has done it again.  Giving an unproven Byrd a three-year contract was just another terrible idea in the history of terrible ideas.  In Chicago’s defense, Byrd did have a breakout season last year with 20 homeruns and 89 runs batted in, but the question is can he do it again?  And the answer is probably not.  The pressure to win is high in Chicago, and Byrd won’t be able to live up to the expectations.  If the Cubs would have given Byrd a one-year $5 million contract, we wouldn’t be having this discussion.

1. Ben Sheets, Oakland Athletics, 1 year $10 million

I was quite honestly shocked when I heard Billy Beane made such a large financial commitment to an injury prone pitcher.  Sheets, who sat out all last season with an arm injury, can be deadly when healthy.  The key word here is when.  Sheets has not pitched 200 innings in a season since 2004 with the Milwaukee Brewers.  Since then though, he has battled injuries and has lacked consistency, which is why this signing is such a head scratcher.  Giving Sheets $10 million in guaranteed money is ridiculous.  No team was willing to give him that much money except the A’s.  If for some miraculous reason Sheets does pitch the whole season without injury though, this could end up being a steal.

2. Aroldis Chapman, Cincinnati Reds, 6 years $30.25 million

On January 10, 2010 the Reds made an investment on a 21-year-old kid who has never thrown one pitch in MLB.  That is the biggest problem I have with this signing.  Chapman pitched well for the Cuban national team in the 2009 Baseball World Classic, but shouldn’t have received such a lucrative deal based on that showing alone.  While his fastball supposedly has been clocked at reaching 102 mph, experts say he may not reach the big leagues for two to three seasons.  This is just too big of an investment for such a young man.

3. Adrian Beltre, Boston Red Sox, 1 year $10 million

The length of the deal is obviously not the issue.  The problem with this deal is it doesn’t solve anything other than defense.  I’m not going to say defense is not important because it is, but $10 million for a Gold Glove third baseman seems steep to me.  Since his breakout season in 2004 when he batted .334 with 48 HR and 121 RBI for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Beltre has been an average ballplayer.  With the loss of Manny Ramirez and the slowing down of David Ortiz, the Red Sox could have gone after some more offense for the hot corner position.

The Best Still Available

1. Johnny Damon, 2009 Team: New York Yankees

Damon has been holding out for a multiyear deal, but may have waited a bit too long.  He’s 36 years old, but should have something left in the tank.

2010 Prediction: Oakland Athletics

2. Erik Bedard, 2009 Team: Seattle Mariners

Bedard has struggled with injuries the past two seasons and is still looking for a new contract and a rotation spot.  You can expect him to sign with someone familiar.

2010 Prediction: Baltimore Orioles

3. Felipe Lopez, 2009 Team: Milwaukee Brewers

A versatile player for the Arizona Diamondbacks and Brewers, many are surprised Lopez is still on the open market.  Expect him to sign this month.

2010 Prediction:  Washington Nationals

4.  Pedro Martinez, 2009 Team: Philadelphia Phillies

With Martinez coming so close to another World Series Championship, he will sign on with a winner.  And with so many teams in need for pitching, expect it to be soon.

2010 Prediction:  Phillies or Mets

5.  Carlos Delgado, 2009 Team: New York Mets

Delgado is another player who caught the injury bug last season.  At 37, he would still be a valuable pinch hitter or designated hitter.  Expect him to sign with an AL team.

2010 Prediction:  Toronto Blue Jays