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A 1-year 5-ish deal for Wash?  Has the entire planet gone bonkers, or just me?  OF COURSE you take that deal.   Has everyone ALREADY forgotten $8 million for Jeff Weaver?!?  Or Silva?!?  Are we seriously going to quibble about $5 million for Washburn, and pretend EITHER the price is too high -- OR, that it's realistic to expect to be able to land a CAREER 109 ERA+ pitcher for less?!?
If you're talking 3/30, then yeah, I'd be first betting on the pass line.  But a dirt cheap 1-year?!? 
I'm thinking everyone is VASTLY misprojecting the economic situation for 2010.  Last off-season was unique in that at the point where the signings began were smack in the middle of a financial crisis that looked like it could EASILY implode into the 2nd Great Depression.  THAT was the economic backdrop for last year's off-season.  This year, while the economy may still be in bad shape -- it looks a WHOLE LOT more like the Reagan Recession, (not placing blame - just chronology for any political sensitives out there). 
Does the fact that Anaheim doubled the years AND the dollars for Abreu not at least hint at what is to come this off-season?  He DID get a year older, y'know? 
By all means, if you find a solid average player WILLING to sign 1-year deals for bargain basement prices, YOU DO IT! 
But I seriously doubt that any such sort of deal is very likely.  While salaries may not bounce back all the way to 2008 levels, I see no reason to believe the salary suppression of last year is going to remain.  Even if he only managed a 4.20 ERA in 2010, that would still be an incredible bargain.  Ask the Yanks how happy they were with Pettitte's 4.16 for $5 mil this year.  And then tell me, if Pettitte signs another 1-year for 2010 ... anyone here think it's just going to be for $5 million again?