This winter's free-agent class included a Prince (Fielder) who got a deal fit for a king and a reliever who came away looking like a pauper by major league salary standards.
Free agency isn't just about who throws the most money around, though it often seems that way for teams such as the Angels, Phillies, Red Sox, New York Yankees and Detroit Tigers, who snagged Fielder with a nine-year, $214-million deal.
With that in mind, here's a look by position at the best and worst free-agent values of the offseason:
FIRST BASE
Best: Carlos Pena, one year, $7.25 million, Tampa Bay.
No team stretches a $60-million budget like the Rays, who contend in the American League East despite puny payrolls. In Pena, 33, they have another low-cost, high-impact player.
Worst: Albert Pujols, 10 years, $240 million, Angels.
This contract will look great if the slugger leads the Angels to a World Series or two in the next five years. If not, it could become a financial albatross.
SECOND BASE
Best: Aaron Hill, two years, $11 million, Arizona.
Hill, 30, slumped in 2011, hitting .246 with eight homers and 61 runs batted in, but he flourished after an August trade from Toronto to Arizona, hitting .315 with a .386 OBP. Hill has freakish power -- 62 homers, 176 runs batted in over the 2009 and 2010 seasons -- for a second baseman.
Worst: Mark Ellis, two years, $8.75 million, Dodgers.
Ellis, 34, is an excellent defender and clubhouse leader, but shouldn't a little offense be a standard feature with this sticker price?
SHORTSTOP
Best: Jimmy Rollins, three years, $38 million, Philadelphia.
The length of this deal made it attractive to the Phillies to retain their sparkplug, who was looking for a five-year contract.
Worst: Jose Reyes, six years, $106 million, Miami.
The dynamic 28-year-old switch hitter has game-changing speed and had a .383 OBP to go with his NL-leading .337 average in 2011. But who pays $17.6 million a year for a leadoff guy?
THIRD BASE
Best: Aramis Ramirez, three years, $36 million, Milwaukee.
The knock on Ramirez, 33, is he has bad body language and occasionally takes defensive plays off, but he has consistently put up excellent power numbers and will ease the loss of Fielder.
Worst: Wilson Betemit, two years, $3.25 million, Baltimore.
It's the years, not the money, that make this deal a head-scratcher.
CATCHER
Best: Ramon Hernandez, two years, $6.4 million, Colorado.
Hernandez is 35 with heavy mileage on his knees, and he's reached double figures in homers just twice in five seasons. But he is better suited to tutor 22-year-old Wilin Rosario, the Rockies' top position-playing prospect, than Chris Iannetta.
Worst: Rod Barajas, one year, $4 million, Pittsburgh.
Barajas, 36, hits for power despite a .238 career average, but the Pirates say he will catch only 80-90 games.
LEFT FIELD
Best: Josh Willingham, three years, $21 million, Minnesota.
The Twins hit an American League-low 103 homers last season, and Willingham had 29 homers, 98 RBIs and a .332 OBP for Oakland.
Worst: Jason Kubel, two years, $15 million, Arizona.
Kubel, 29, has 25-homer potential, but he is a below-average defender.
CENTER FIELD
Best: Grady Sizemore, one year, $5 million, Cleveland.
Injuries limited Sizemore, 29, to 104 games the past two seasons, and two knee surgeries will prevent the two-time Gold Glove winner from playing his usual 160 games.
Worst: Coco Crisp, two years, $14 million, Oakland.
The A's can't afford to keep productive outfielders David DeJesus and Willingham, they trade star closer Andrew Bailey and superb starter Gio Gonzalez because of their rising price tags, and they give $14 million to a 32-year-old leadoff hitter with no power?
RIGHT FIELD
Best: David DeJesus, two years, $10 million, Chicago Cubs.
The 31-year-old struggled in 2011 after being traded from Kansas City to Oakland, hitting .240 with a .323 OBP and .376 slugging percentage.
Worst: Michael Cuddyer, three years, $31.5 million, Colorado.
The Rockies will give Cuddyer, 32, $10.5 million more over three years than the Twins will give Willingham.
STARTING PITCHER
Best: Wei-Yin Chen, three years, $9.3 million, Baltimore.
A sleeper pick, the Taiwanese left-hander has a 93-mph fastball, a hard, slurve-like breaking ball and the potential to be a No. 3 starter. Chen, 26, pitched in Japan last season, with a 2.68 earned run average in 1642/3 innings for the Chunichi Dragons.
Worst: Yu Darvish, six years, $56 million in salary plus a $51.7-million posting fee, Texas.
RELIEF PITCHER
Best: Ryan Madson, one year, $8.25 million, Cincinnati.
In his first season as a closer, the 31-year-old had a 4-2 record with a 2.37 ERA and 32 saves in 60 2/3 innings. He struck out 62, walked 16, gave up two homers and had a 1.154 WHIP (walks plus hits/innings pitched).
Worst: Papelbon, four years, $50 million, Philadelphia.
He has six years of closing experience, but his 2011 season (4-1, 2.94 ERA, 31 saves, 0.933 WHIP, 87 strikeouts, 10 walks, three homers in 641/3 innings) was only slightly better than Madson's.
