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The Detroit Tigers, who should be elated if they lose fewer than 95 games this season, just invested $40 million in a catcher with more than 1,500 games on his r?sum?. In a related development, Pudge Rodriguez might have assured himself four years of misery in a blatant grab for the cash.

 

Rodriguez's new contract smacks of short-term, public relations-driven thinking on the part of the Tigers. That's a bad mix for a team in trouble.

 

But some other big-league clubs were generous this winter for reasons only they can explain. In December, Angels owner Arturo Moreno blew away the field by signing Bartolo Colon for four years and $51 million. Sidney Ponson's three-year, $22.5 million deal with Baltimore was considered extravagant by many. And Seattle was awfully nice to give Scott Spiezio $9 million over three years to play third base, considering he's appeared in 134 games at the position in eight big-league seasons.

 

More often than not, bargain hunting was in vogue this winter, as teams grappled with debt-to-equity regulations and searched for the next Esteban Loaiza or David Ortiz.

 

Welcome to the fiscally responsible section of the ESPN.com Insider, where we pay tribute to overlooked, low-cost signings that could pay off for both the player and team in question. Here are several in the under $2 million category that spring to mind:

 

Nomar Garciaparra, who spent three years in Boston turning double plays with Jose Offerman, is in for a treat. So is Derek Lowe, who led the majors with a whopping 3.92 groundball-to-fly ball ratio last season. If Reese stays healthy, not many balls will get through the right side of Boston's infield.

 

"People who depend on (offensive) numbers so much underestimate what an excellent defensive player in the middle of the field can do," said a National League executive. "This guy is as good as they come at second." And if Garciaparra goes down with an injury, Reese can easily shift to short.

 

Kansas City upgrades its bench by signing Matt Stairs for $1 million and Tony Graffanino for two years and $2.2 million.

 

Allard Baird of the Royals did an exceptional job of roster-building with limited resources. That includes the bench, where Stairs and Graffanino give the Royals versatility and the requisite "dirt dog" mentality so important to winning clubs.

 

Graffanino played all four infield positions last year, has some pop and can steal a base. Stairs, who hit 20 homers in 305 at-bats for Pittsburgh, is with his fourth team in four years. He's the new Reggie Sanders.

 

A lot of personnel people are intrigued by the prospect of Jimenez, with his power sinker, leaving Coors Field for Cleveland. After back-to-back 2-10 seasons in Colorado, Jimenez could use a dose of sea level and sanity. His stuff and his attitude both went south in 2003.

 

Although Jimenez threw a no-hitter for St. Louis in 1999 and saved 41 games for the Rockies two years ago, he'll probably be a setup man in Cleveland. Bob Wickman goes to spring training as the frontrunner to close, with Jimenez and Dave Riske as insurance for manager Eric Wedge.

 

Michael Barrett, acquired by the Cubs in a trade with Oakland, signs with Chicago for $1.55 million.

 

Not everybody's sold on Barrett. One general manager said Barrett and Peter Bergeron never recovered from Montreal rushing them to the majors. There's also a school of thought that the Expos did Barrett no favors by shuttling him back and forth between catcher and third base.

 

Barrett's a puzzle in many ways. "He looks good doing everything, but then he'll have a passed ball," said a scout. "He has a great arm, but he doesn't throw people out. He hasn't been the kind of player you thought he could be, but maybe a change of scenery will do him good."

 

The Cubs are asking a lot of Barrett by putting him in charge of Mark Prior, Kerry Wood and that killer staff. Maybe he'll embrace his new role and surroundings and live up to his early hype. At age 27, he still has time. At $1.55 million, he's not much of a financial risk.

 

"He's a guess hitter, and he won't have to guess as much in the National League, because it's more of a fastball league," says a scout. The consensus is that Batista will also feel quite comfortable in Montreal's heavily-Latin clubhouse

 

Now for the bad news: Batista's .270 on-base percentage last year was hideous, and some scouts think he'd be better off as a DH. He's lost a lot of range, and playing on artificial turf won't help him any.

 

But baseball's third-base crop is so thin, there's something to be said for a guy who's averaged 31 homers and 97 RBI over the past five seasons. Let's put it this way: The Yankees wouldn't mind having him right now.

 

Rick Reed signs a minor-league deal with Pittsburgh that will pay him a base salary of $675,000 if he breaks camp with the Pirates, and $1 million if he starts 30 games.

 

Reed is 38 years old, went 6-12 with a 5.07 ERA last season and missed time with back and abdominal injuries. But he's still crafty enough that the Mets, Reds and three other clubs were interested in signing him.

 

This might be a nice swansong for Reed. He's four hours from his home in West Virginia, and he fits in well as a soft-tossing complement to the rest of the Pittsburgh rotation. If he can pass along a few veteran pitching tips to Kris Benson, Kip Wells and the boys, that'll be a nice fringe benefit.

 

Oliver is another guy who plays to mixed reviews. But after a 13-11 season in Colorado, he's going to a true hitters' graveyard in Florida.

 

"He's inconsistent with his command," said a scout. "He pitches these long games, and the scouts are up in the stands cussing him. But it's got to be like a breath of fresh air leaving Colorado."

 

Oliver is penciled in as the No. 5 starter in Florida until A.J. Burnett returns from Tommy John surgery in May. After that, it's up to him.

 

Brett Tomko joins the San Francisco rotation for $1.5 million.

 

While Tomko has always tantalized with his stuff, he has failed to break through in a big way because of some missing ingredient. Scouts say he's either not tough enough or too stubborn to take instruction. He's 62-51 in the majors with three 200-inning seasons, but he's been branded a disappointment and an underachiever.

 

So why could this year be different? Because: 1) Brian Sabean and Dick Tidrow like him, and everyone respects their talent-evaluating skills; 2) San Francisco is a great pitchers' park; and 3) Giants pitching coach Dave Righetti, one of the best around, is ready to take a crack at him.

 

Even though Tomko didn't flourish in a big park in Seattle or win 20 games for Brian Price or Dave Duncan, he's worth a shot. "He's worn some people out," said a scout.

"But Sabean and Tidrow don't make many bad decisions."

 

If Fernando Vina gets two years and $6 million from Detroit, it makes no sense that Walker hits .283 with 85 RBI for Boston and falls through the cracks the way he did. Yes, he lacks range at second base. But he's not a butcher.

 

You wonder if the Cubs would even have re-signed Mark Grudzielanek if they knew Walker would come so cheaply. Now they have both, and it's Dusty Baker's job to keep them productive and happy.

 

Daryle Ward signs a minor-league deal with Pittsburgh. The Pirates will pay him $600,000 if he sticks coming out of spring training.

 

Ward got mega-fat last year in Los Angeles, clashed with manager Jim Tracy and went homer-less in 109 at-bats. But he showed up at a mini-camp in January looking trim and determined. The Pirates have Craig Wilson in right field and expect to sign Randall Simon to play first base, but still could have some at-bats left over for Ward.

 

In 2002, Ward drove in 72 runs in 453 at-bats for Houston. He's the only player to hit a ball over the right field fence into the Allegheny River in the three-year history of PNC Park.

 

"He has a good swing," said a National League scout. "It's a lot easier to lose weight than it is to learn how to hit."

 

Chris Carpenter signs with St. Louis for $500,000 plus incentives.

 

Carpenter won 42 games with Toronto from 1998-2001 before continued arm problems threatened his career. Now St. Louis is counting on him to contribute 175 innings to a suspect rotation.

 

Woody Williams was a sub-.500 pitcher before he arrived in St. Louis; he's gone 34-14 for the Cardinals. "Dave Duncan works miracles with guys like that," said an AL executive. "They got 3? good years out of Garrett Stephenson, and I never would have expected that to happen."

 

Jeromy Burnitz signs with Colorado for $1.5 million, after making $12.1 million a year ago.

 

When in doubt, bet on pitchers leaving Colorado and hitters just arriving. Burnitz hit 31 homers last season while playing half his games at Shea and Dodger Stadiums. He might be good for 40 jacks (and 150 strikeouts) in a full season with the Rockies. Not bad for the price.

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Oliver is another guy who plays to mixed reviews. But after a 13-11 season in Colorado, he's going to a true hitters' graveyard in Florida.

 

"He's inconsistent with his command," said a scout. "He pitches these long games, and the scouts are up in the stands cussing him. But it's got to be like a breath of fresh air leaving Colorado."

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