AVOIDING ARBITRATION

Yonder Alonso signed a 1-year deal for $2.65 million with the Athletics. He should be the regular first baseman for the team this season. He can get on base, his career OBP is .340 and the mark was .361 last season, but he’s also failed to reach 10 homers ever and has been under 360 at-bats each of the last three years. He’s an AL-only option.

Tom Wilhelmsen agreed to a 1-year, $3.1 million deal with the Rangers. He will serve as the setup man in front of Shawn Tolleson. Tom posted 13 saves last season with a 3.19 ERA and 1.37 WHIP for the Mariners. For his career he owns a 2.97 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 8.47 K/9 and a solid 45.4 GB-rate. The only real negative is a terrible 4.03 BB/9 mark.

Wilson Ramos agreed to 1-year, $5.35 million deal with the Nationals. Ramos has hit at least 11 homers each of the past three years, and in two of those seasons he’s hit at least 15 homers including last season when he also knocked in a career best 68 runners. He hit only .229 and his .616 OPS was a career worst. #NotGood

Justin Wilson agreed to a 1-year, $1.525 million deal with the Tigers. He had 66 strikeouts in 61 innings last season.

FREE AGENT SIGNINGS

Some recent signings… none to care about (for all the signings check out our 2016 Free Agent Tracker article).

Edwin Jackson will make $11 million this season. He signed a deal with the Marlins after being released by the Cubs who are on the hook for all but $507,000. The 32 year old righty had made at least 27 starts each season from 2007-14. Last season he transitioned to the bullpen making 47 appearances and had some success with a 3.07 ERA and 1.17 WHIP. He also saw his K/9 rate dip to a 7-year low at 6.47 leading to a 1.90 K/BB ratio.

Justin Marks joined the Rays on a minor league deal. He posted a 5.63 ERA and 1.57 WHIP at Triple-A last season.

John Mayberry signed a deal with the Tigers. If he’s not on the roster at the end of Spring Training, he can get out of the deal. He has just 256 at-bats the last two seasons.

Jordan Schafer signed with the Dodgers. He’s 28 years old but never does anything. From 2011-14 he did steal 22 or more bases each season. A lot would have to go wrong for the Dodgers to have Jordan hit that number this season. Word is the former pitcher will be given a shot to make it this season as a hurler. 

Anthony Swarzak signed a minor league deal with the Yankees. He pitched in Korea last season.

Carlos Villanueva signed a deal with the Padres for $1.5 million for the 2016 season. He posted a 2.95 ERA and 1.16 WHIP over 61 innings last season for the Cardinals. He’s a long man, a league specific option.

 

NO HOME YET

Ian Kennedy is still looking for a club. Sounds like the Royals, Nationals, Astros and Rockies are all in the mix with the Royals really interested. Kennedy is solid is as solid does, but he is tied to a first round draft pick after turning down the Padres qualifying offer which certainly is a bit of a stumbling block. He posted a mere 4.28 ERA and 1.30 WHIP last season, but he’s also made at least 30 starts in 6-straight seasons and he’s been over 160 strikeouts each of those six years. He’s a solid add, but obviously I would rather see him stay in the National League.

 

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).