Mark Buehrle hasn’t decided if he wants to return for another season. The soon to be 37 year old has thrown at least 198 innings every season since 2001, the first year he made more than three starts. Remarkable durability really. He won 15 games with a 3.81 ERA and 1.24 WHIP last season. According to Baseball Reference he’s made nearly $139 million in his career. I wish I was left-handed.  

Anthony DeSclafani upped his ground ball rate from 36 to 45 percent in his second season. He went 9-13 with a 4.05 ERA, 1.35 WHIP and 7.36 K/9 mark. Pretty tough to find a more boring, league average arm.

Dee Gordon signed a deal with the Marlins. Here’s what we’ve got. Gordon, who will be 28 in April, signed a 5-year deal for $50 million. The deal includes a vesting $14 million option for a sixth year (it will vest if he reaches 600 plate appearances in Year Five, or if he posts 1,200 plate appearances in Years Four & Five). The five years of the deal that are guaranteed cover three years of arbitration eligibility with Gordon as well as two years of free agency. I will have more on Gordon in the soon to be released Fantasy Alarm Draft Guide (the targets date is less than two weeks away), but let’s just say that 2015 might end up being a career year for the fleet of foot infielder.

I need a space filler… Batman vs. Joker seems like a good way to take it up.

 

The Orioles have agreed to a 1-year, $9.15 million deal with Mark Trumbo to avoid arbitration. I’ve talked, and written, about Trumbo of late, trying to let people know that this guy could easily return to the 30-90 level that he’s been at in the past. For more on Trumbo see Price a Gazillionare. By the way, per 162 games Trumbo has averaged 31 homer, 96 RBIs and 74 runs scored. Some others: Evan Longoria (30-102-91), Nelson Cruz (35-100-84) and Chris Davis (37-101-87). #JustSaying

Sounds like Alexei Ramirez is close to inking a one year deal with the Padres. The team is also negotiating with Ian Desmond, but he would cost a lot more and is a less likely target given where the Padres are right now (they aren’t going to win in 2016 so they might as well look into a cheaper alternative at shortstop). Ramirez is 34 years old and coming off a down season. He hit .249 with a .285 OBP, career worst numbers that were scary bad. He also didn’t drive the ball at all with a .357 SLG, another career worst. On the flipside he posted a 0.46 BB/K ratio, a four year best. He hit 10 homers with 17 steals, 62 RBIs and 54 runs scored last season, and those are passable numbers for a middle infield option. The best part of Ramirez? Perhaps it’s his health. He’s appeared in at least 154 games each of the last six seasons. Only two other men belong to that club: Robinson Cano and Adrian Gonzalez.

The Coon…

 

 

Ray Flowers can be heard Monday through Friday, 7 PM EDT and Friday on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio (Sirius 210, XM 87). You can also hear Ray Sunday nights at 5 PM on the channel talking fantasy sports. Follow Ray’s work at Fantasy Alarm and on Twitter (@baseballguys).