The Phillies deepened their lineup and added a veteran bat to the outfield mix on Thursday, announcing the signing of free agent Michael Saunders to a one-year deal with a club option for the 2018 season. Saunders will reportedly be guaranteed $9MM in the form of an $8MM salary and a $1MM buyout on an $11MM option for 2018. His contract is also said to contain escalators that can push the option’s value to $14MM.
The 30-year-old Saunders, a client of Meister Sports Management, has been linked to the Phillies on multiple occasions over the past several weeks. Philadelphia has had its eye on a number of outfield bats and reportedly has a preference to add a left-handed bat to its lineup. Saunders checks both of those boxes and will deepen a Philadelphia lineup that scored the fewest runs in all of Major League Baseball last year.
[Related: Updated Philadelphia Phillies Depth Chart]
Saunders turned in his first full, healthy season since 2013 last season, playing in a career-high 140 games and tallying a career-high 558 plate appearances. The overall results — a .253/.338/.478 batting line with 24 homers, 32 doubles and a pair of triples — look very strong on paper, although Saunders’ season was fairly dichotomous in nature. The first half of the 2016 season saw Saunders break out and perform at a superstar level. In 344 first-half plate appearances, Saunders hit a ridiculous .298/.372/.551 with 16 home runs — all of which was impressive enough to merit his first All-Star selection.
However, Saunders’ production fell off a cliff early in the second half. Over the final two and a half months of the season, he batted a woeful .178/.252/.357 with eight homers in 214 plate appearances. Certainly, there was some poor luck at play, as Saunders watched his BABIP plummet. While his first-half mark of .377 was never sustainable, his second-half mark of .221 seems equally fluky. The poor second half can’t be solely attributed to luck, though; Saunders’ strikeout rate spiked from 26 percent to more than 30 percent, and his infield-fly rate more than doubled as well (3.8 percent first half to 7.2 percent second half). He also saw his hard-contact rate drop by about six percent while his weak-contact rate rose accordingly.
Saunders once rated as a plus defender in the outfield corners, but his work in both left field and right field checked in below-average last season (per Defensive Runs Saved and Ultimate Zone Rating). Saunders will enter the 2017 campaign one more year removed from surgery on his left knee, however, and he won’t have to play half of his games on artificial turf next season. As such, it’s possible that his glovework could experience a rebound. It should also be noted that Saunders has had shoulder troubles in the past as well, so durability has to be at least somewhat of a concern.
While there are a number of red flags with Saunders, the bottom line is that he’s been a decidedly above-average bat when healthy enough to take the field. Dating back to the 2012 season, Saunders owns a .249/.325/.435 batting line, which is more impressive than it first appears when considering the fact that the majority of those games have come in Seattle’s cavernous Safeco Field. Park-adjust metrics like wRC+ and OPS+ grade Saunders’ overall offensive output at 10 percent and 11 percent better than the league-average bat, respectively, in that span.
Saunders averaged 21 homers per 162 games in that time, and as he demonstrated last year when hitting 24 home runs, there’s the potential for a greater total in a more hitter-friendly setting than Seattle. He’s also hit quite a bit better against left-handed pitching in recent years than he did early in his career (.277/.364/.486), although that improved production has come across just 200 plate appearances, so it’s perhaps worth taking with a grain of salt. If he struggles against southpaws like he did earlier in his career, Saunders could potentially platoon with the right-handed-hitting Aaron Altherr.
Assuming Saunders’ deal is pushed across the finish line, he’ll slot into right field alongside trade acquisition Howie Kendrick in left field and recently extended Odubel Herrera in center field. The Phils do have a number of young options to whom they could’ve entrusted the right field job, but none comes with any degree of certainty. Fleet-footed Roman Quinn, for instance, looked respectable in a brief September cameo last year but hasn’t even played at the Triple-A level. Altherr showed very poorly in his return from a wrist injury, hitting .197/.300/.288 in 227 plate appearances. Top prospect Nick Williams, meanwhile, had a dismal year in Triple-A, while slugger Dylan Cozens, like Quinn, has yet to play in Triple-A.
MLB Network’s Jon Paul Morosi first reported that an agreement was close (Twitter link). Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com tweeted that medical reviews were underway. FanRag’s Jon Heyman tweeted that there’s an agreement in place. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported the terms (Twitter links). ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick gave a timeline for Saunders’ physical and added some details on the incentives (Twitter links).
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Good they need it!
Yeah they have a good rotation just need offensive help and some pen help too
I would say potentially a good rotation if the stars align right
They’re definitely on the right path as far as rebuilding goes
They need it? They already have 5 OF at or near major league ready. This makes no sense
It makes perfect sense cause Roman Quinn is not 100% ready to start he’s a off the bench guy for now, Altherr can start, Oduble can start, Saunders can start. He rest of there maybe proven outfielders are in triple a and the point of this deal is to have him help some young guys and try and trade him away at the deadline either this year or next fro prospects
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They already have Kendrick as a veteran outfielder they don’t need two. Now they’re gonna have Altherr riding the bench when he should be out there getting everyday playing time.
How can they be “proven outfielders” if they’re in Triple A?
Altherr is a bench guy, not a starter. He is better than what he did last year, but not a good everyday option.
Quinn is a speedster with bad legs, Altherr has proved he can hit steady yet. And everyone else is in AA.
You should read more
K’s alot, terrible defensively and is probably gonna cost a multi year deal… why Klentak.. why?
I would doubt he gets a multi-year deal.
Why sign him? They need offensive support to take pressure off Franco, Herrera, and Joseph as they develop. He gives them depth, Quinn goes back to AAA for some additional seasoning; they don’t need to rush him, Williams, or Cozens if there’s an injury. He’s also better than Daniel Nava.
He’s also a bounceback candidate, who, if he hits the way he did in the first half could be a decent trade chip. He’s got a great relationship with Matt Stairs who may be able to coach him up.
Herrera and Joseph were just fine last year, and Franco was just fine in the first half too. Saunders isn’t really good for anything other than home runs, which in this day and age, doesn’t mean much. I’d rather throw out Altherr for 50 games until one of Cozens, Quinn and WIlliams comes up lol.. Saunders literally has one good half season in 3 years
Exactly. They need to see what young guys like Altherr can do. Saunders has almost no upside.
His upside is that he’s a veteran who can take pressure off those young guys. I’d rather Saunders take at-bats away from younger players now, when it doesn’t matter for the team, then for them to come up and feel the pressure of being “the guy” and struggle because of it. Franco was horrible last year, and took a major step backwards. Was it due to him being the only player in the lineup who could hit the ball out of the park, and did it change the way he approached playing? Possibly. I don’t expect the Phillies to make the playoffs in ’17 (I expect around a .500 record), but I hope they continue to get better, and having a veteran around likely helps younger players develop.
Altherr is a John Mayberry type 4th/5th outfielder. We know that.
Quinn has 0 at bats at AAA. Cozens and Williams need to refine their approach.
There will be plenty of chances for these guys to get playing time either due to injury, trade, or ineffectiveness.
You, along with the rest of us, have no idea what Altherr can be. He’s young, has some pop and is a good defender. He needs to be playing everyday especially on a team that’s not competing.
You couldn’t be more wrong. This is exactly the time for young guys to come up and struggle, because the team isn’t competing. Struggle now, get used to big league pitching, and they’ll be more seasoned when the team is ready to win.
I don’t know that? That’s been his ceiling since he’s been in the system. What has he done to show otherwise?
So unheralded prospects can never be quality big leaguers? He hit very well in his first taste of the bigs (125 wRC+ with a .489 SLG) and has proven to be an above average fielder. Last year was a struggle when he came back so late from injury. There’s potential there to be an average starter.
Altherr is alterrible. We all watched him strike out every at bat and he doesn’t even use his size to generate power. Williams isn’t near ready and Cozens needs a good bit in AAA. Saunders is fine for a low price one year.
He has a .263/.325/.414 line in 8 minor league seasons. Most scouts see him as a 4th/5th outfielder. From watching him play he looks like a John Mayberry/Ben Francisco type player who could hold down an every-day gig if someone gets hurt but shouldn’t be over exposed. There’s a ton of value in that kind of role.
I don’t believe in “giving” anyone playing time. He’s done nothing to earn a crack at a regular time gig. Let’s see how he does in a part time role this year and go from there. Let him earn the opportunity. If he out performs Kendrick/Saunders he will get at bats over them.
That batting line combined with really good defense is a starting caliber player. The reason they should “give” him playing time is because he is still young and has some upside, playing for a rebuilding team. Saunders does absolutely nothing to help the Phillies reach the ultimate goal of winning a World Series. Altherr on the other hand, whether as an everyday player or 4th OF, could play an important role. Time to see what he can do. Players often struggle when they’re given sporadic playing time, look at Jorge Soler. And remember what the Royals did? Many of their prospects (Cain, Hosmer Moose) struggled mightily for a few years. KC stuck with them, they all got better from that everyday playing time, and were the core of a championship team.
Soler and the KC guys all had better prospect Pedigrees. That’s why they’re given opportunities and allowed to struggle. That’s why when Alfaro, Quinn, Crawford, etc show up they will be given every opportunity to fail. They have the prospect pedigree and that’s earned them an opportunity when they’re ready.
Altherr has always been seen as a 4th/5th guy. He needs to change that perception. Just because he’s young and he might overachieve isn’t enough reason to give him an opportunity IMO and obviously in the Phillies opinion. Even if they felt he was worthy of the opportunity right now they didn’t have the depth to cover if they suffered significant injuries to the outfield.
If two of Kendrick/Quinn/Herrera got hurt what would’ve happened? Do they rush Williams/Cozens up? Do they start Nava? Now they have plenty of depth.
How did Jayson Werth become an every day player? He earned the opportunity. Same with Herrera, they started as part time players and moved up from there.
That’s exactly what they should do, start Altherr and if anyone gets hurt you can start Nava… This team is not competing so why play a 30 year old over a 26 year old? Whether you or the Phillies think he has significant upside is irrelevant. Altherr has 6 years of control (I believe, maybe it’s 5) and Saunders is gonna be on a one year deal. Play the guy who could contribute to your next title contending team. Saunders gives you nothing. Finding a mediocre veteran backup won’t be a problem if/when someone struggles or gets hurt.
Saunders can be flipped at the deadline if he hits like he did for Toronto last year. This is how the Cubs rebuilt. They signed veterans to 1 year deals and flipped them while their guys developed.
The Phillies aren’t tanking. They need guys like Saunders and Kendrick to come in, provide leadership and stabilize a young line up the way Hellickson stabilized a young rotation last year. They want to be competitive.
How many guys started in the outfield last year? There will be plenty of opportunities. For guys to get at bats. Using Aaron Altherr as a 4th outfielder will not negatively affect the rebuild. If anything this helps the rebuild, Quinn needs the seasoning.
Exactly right taking at bats away from young when team won’t be good.
You’re so correct. Someone who gets it. I watch almost every game, and I’ve seen enough of Altherr to know he is a backup at best.
No one in the minors is ready. I’m hoping by mid season someone deserves a promotion, but I’m not very hopeful. this was absolutely a necessary addition, and I love it.
We are developing a young pitching staff as well. They had the worst run support in baseball. Let’s score more, get the young pitchers some wins, and develop a bullpen and closer.
Love how average fans know more than baseball executives who pay people to evaluate talent. I follow the minors pretty intensely and can see that this is the smart move.
Because if he has a 1st half like last year he becomes a valuable trade piece to a club looking for help at the deadline.
Nobody gonna want Saunders at the deadline lol
So are the Phillies continuing to tear down? They basically committed to building up at the end of last year when they benched Bourjous, Howard and Ruiz for Quinn, Rupp and Joseph, why take another step back?
If he’s doing good and on a 1-yera deal, flip him for anything in June/July and then call someone up to develop at the MLB level. If he’s doing bad around June/July, release him and call someone up.
Nobody is gonna want Saunders at the deadline man, he’s just not a very good player. No reason for the Phillies to do this other than appeasing fans who think this team can compete.
You can’t lose so many games in a big market. Look at the big picture. If the Phils don’t satisfy their fans, they won’t get people in the ball park. Look what happened to Montreal. Some fans never come back. I’m not renewing this year cause the Phils don’t give season ticket holders any benefits and they have a terrible team. They need a Jay Bruce in the outfield to get results and excitement. Bruce would hit 40 in Citizens Bank.
Have you heard of the Cubs? They literally lost as many games as they could for a three year stretch, and never blocked youngsters by aging veterans. Fans were patient with the team and look how that turned out. Guess Phillies fans would rather be mediocre than do the rebuild right.
When the phillies win, they’ll all come back… Jay Bruce isn’t any good either. Defense matters too.. and Bruce is absolutely awful at it.
115 OPS plus last season. At least 106 OPS plus in four out of the last five seasons and as high as 128 in 2014. Good power, hits lefthanded. By calling him “not very good” is not accurate. He might not be a perfect fit for the Phillies but he’s an asset and could definitely be flipped at the trade deadline.
Which was fueled by an uncharacteristic first half last year. He didn’t hit after the ASG.
Explain the other four productive seasons then. He’s been good in the four out of five years he wasn’t injured (played only 9 games in 2015).
He had two semi-productive seasons in 2012-2013 where he was roughly league average, or a bit above that where he was still bad defensively, or his half season in 2014 before he got hurt (again?). Hes been a league average player (2 WAR) over the course of a full season one time. Hes 29, hes nothing special.
Yea, why would anyone want a player who was an All Star as recently as 2016? Cause the Phils have so many of those type players already. Really, rols?
Because being an allstar means something? The guy was among the worst every day players in the second half. Hes just not very good. He a 1.5 WAR player, which is bad.
prich:
Yep, if Jay Bruce ends up on the Phillies I’ll switch and become a fan for sure. What a draw at the gate ! People definitely will pay to see a statue in the OF and a K-Master at the plate.
My goodness, have you ever heard about the Cubs? The Phils are mirroring their player development and the Cubs bought a lot of one year guys when their youngsters were still in the minors. The Phils are just following the process.
Your right let’s get more minor leaguers for a team that has extremely high ticket prices in a market that only wants wins. It is a very smart move to get a major league player back on a one year deal and Franco was terrible last season. He swings at everything. Saunders will provide protection when Tommy Joe slumps. Idk how you can classify this as a bad deal. Williams and Quinn are not near ready and Cozens needs a full season at AAA. Don’t tell me Altherr is any good either. He can’t hit at all and will strike out 150 times and maybe walk 15 times.
Yeah, because minor leaguers like Quinn and Williams might have a future. Michael Saunders hit .178 in the second half last year… hes basically Peter Bourjos without the glove.
He’s been a considerably above-league-average bat dating back to 2012 whenever he’s been on the field. He’s nothing like Bourjos, whose OPS+ is 30 points lower than Saunders in that stretch.
Williams hit less than 180 in the second half in AAA and struck out in 35% of his plate appearances. He is a long shot. Quinn has never played more than 100 games so don’t count on him being anything in the near future.
He’s still not a very good hitter (career wRC+ of 97 is below average). Combined with awful defense Saunders just isn’t a good player. And now he’s blocking young guys from getting everyday playing time.
Saunders is an upgrade no matter how you put it.
No he’s not an upgrade he was a 1.4 fWAR player last year. And even if he was a slight upgrade who cares? They Phillies should care about developing you guys not going from 72 to 73 wins.
There’s no real reason to include his age 23-25 seasons when forecasting what he’s going to do in 2017, though. He’s clearly made marked improvements from those years, as evidenced by four straight seasons with above-average offensive production.
The only guy he’s “blocking” at the moment is probably Altherr, who played terribly in his return from injury last season and may simply not be viewed as a viable everyday option by the team’s decision-makers.
Even if you wanna give him the benefit of the doubt that he will continue hitting like he has in recent years (he’s projected for 102 wRC+ by steamer by the way) he’s still a below average defender on the wrong side of 30. Altherr may be nothing more than a bench bat, but he showed considerable promise during his brief stint in 2015. Hard to give him too much blame for what he did last year considering he wa coming back from a pretty serious injury. There’s no reason why he shouldn’t be playing everyday for the Phillies, they’re a rebuilding team and need to find a few diamonds in the rough. Saunders we know is not that.
How is 30 the wrong side of 30?
That’s what you’re gonna nitpick out of that? He’s 30, that’s past when most major leaguers start to decline especially bat first guys like Saunders.
No way he gets more than one year
Good. Took long enough.
You posted you were going to vomit over Saunders. Change your mind?
I think he said he’d vomit if he kept having to hear the rumors.
Hopefully a good signing! As long as it’s not a huge AAV and no more than 2 or 3 years he’s a good place holder for the young guys
Why…. They already have Altherr, Herrera, Kendrick, Quinn and Nick Williams. Phillies are at best a 4th place team so why are you blocking young guys from playing?
They have 2 outfielders in Herrera and Kendrick. You don’t know how Williams and Quinn are. They are not near MLB ready and awful Altherr will be a disaster over a full season.
Glad you can see the future on Atherr. The Phillies aren’t gonna win more than 75 game so why not see what the kid can do? And Quinn and Williams are nearly ready, they need to be getting playing time upon arrival. A mediocre veteran on a last place team with youngsters around makes zero sense.
Mediocre is Howie Kendrick. Nick Williams can’t pay off triple A pitching so he won’t be up anytime soon. Quinn may be a quick mover, but he takes Kendricks spot and Saunders plays the whole year and hits 25 bombs and drives home 80. Saunders will be better because Matt Stairs likes him as well.
Saunders is bad too.
Well we just aren’t living in the same world if you think Saunders is better than Kendrick, and you use RBI in your analysis. It’s not 1975.
I think the phillies could reach 79 wins, they have a young rotation, the offense needs to score runs, they are ahead of schedule on the rebuild, give them one more year and I think they will be back at the top of the nl east.
No chance man they won’t be reaching the top of the east for at least 2-3 more years.
The name of the game is scoring runs and you don’t score runs if you can’t hit them in. Your not worth a damn if you can’t hit when a pitcher bears down with runners on second and third with 2 outs. That is why Granderson isn’t worth much to me.
I think the Phils big jump will be after the 2018 season. Nats lose Harper and the Phils make big signings and win the division in 2019 with 95 wins.
I don’t even know what you’re talking about anymore. Granderson is way better than Saunders. And who cares about scoring runs when you’re trying to rebuild?
This again? RBI aren’t a skill. They are a function of how many guys are on base ahead of you when you bat. Remember that terrible season of Ryan Howard’s a few years back where he still drove in almost 100 runs? He didn’t have good numbers in “clutch” situations. He just happened to bat with more runners on base than any other hitter in baseball.
The name of the game is actually baseball and the goal of that game is to score more runs than your opponent, not just to score runs.
Saunders may help you score some runs, but his abysmal defense will also cost you some.
Listing one example does not provide a convincing argument. Managers have regularly placed a player who “drives in” runs” in the 3 and 4 spots of the order. Miguel Cabrera is an example to counter Ryan Howard. His batting average with runners in scoring position is better than with the bases empty. Some players just rise to the occasion, and are put in those spots because the lineup is set to provide those runners on base when they come up. Yes, Howard did have some luck, but he was there because the team had no one better. If the Tigers batted Jose Iglesias third, you would see what the value in RBIs are.
Saunders has had exactly one bad season with bad defensive ratings in the corner outfield, and it came a year after knee surgery while playing half his games on artificial turf.
It’s not as if he’s had some Jermaine Dye-esque 4-5 year run of putrid defense. “Abysmal” is an overstatement.
Sure, he could be considerably below average again in 2017, but it’s not as if he’s so far gone that he can’t turn in a solid season with the glove, either.
Agreed. I’d take Micheal Saunders in a heartbeat again as a Blue Jay. I would take him over Morales for defence, perhaps not Pearce though. I call him and Bautista even when it comes to defence.
Quinn and Williams could absolutely use more AAA time, Altherr was pretty bad last year but will still get his at-bats and Kendrick will be a super utility guy. There’s no down-side to a 1 year deal for Saunders.
good player, just makes a lot of boneheaded defensive and baserunning mistakes. wish him the best
Phillies need a major league bat and Jay Bruce was the best option. Saunders is a good consolation prize. Probably a 1 year around 10 mil with incentives. He will slot in 4th behind Franco and will give Franco much needed protection.
The Phillies suck who cares about run production this year. They need to be figuring out which of their young OF are legit.
Just because they figure it out faster than you, doesn’t mean they haven’t done so.
they are just trying to fix what was the worst offense in baseball last year, they need major league ready bats, altherr was awful, williams and quinn don’t appear ready and may not pan out you never know. i like this deal for them
Sign Saunders move Kendrick to 2nd and trade Hernandez to the Dodgers for prospects
Selling high on Hernandez would be smart.
This is a good suggestion. I wonder if they have had any talks with the dodgers about this
I wonder if this means Kendrick is now the utility guy barring a poor showing from both Quinn and Altherr. Have to assume it’s about 7 million AAV, which wouldn’t make a lot of sense if he wasn’t starting.
I think the phillies will be a sleeper team this year if the offense can score runs, the pitching is there, and so is the bullpen, they just need to score runs.
The Phillies are terrible and at best a 4th place team. Max 75 wins.
they got off to a nice start last year, then they just fell flat. they have a nice young rotation led by Nola, then adding bucholz and bringing back hellickson, they will be improved this year I think.
They got off to a nice start by flukily outperforming their Pythagorean record (aka their run differential was terrible and they fluked into a lot of wins). The second half was the real Phillies.
Some would say grinded alot of wins…
Well sure, if you wanna use random cliches. I guess the teams they were playing weren’t “grinding”. They got lucky, there’s no if and or buts about it.
You mean the second half when most of their regular rotation and bullpen got injured? They were basically doing bullpen games half the time at the end of the year with pitchers who should have been in AA.
Pythagorean is misleading because good pitching/bad hitting teams tend to win close games and lose more in blowouts, where the opposite is true with good hitting/bad pitching teams. It’s about as telling a stat as BA or RBI’s.
Some of us watch the games, you know.
The best part? No Jay Bruce!
Saunders is a poor man’s Jay Bruce.
If he comes close to matching his 1st half 2016 production he’s going to be pretty tradeable at the break.
It really was a choice between Saunders and Daniel Nava, as the team didn’t have enough players to fill out a 25 man roster.
Should’ve gone with Nava who at least wouldn’t be taking everyday at bats away from Altherr. They needed a veteran bench bat, not a veteran starter.
good move for Phils – his D was atrocious last year (eye test from row 1 outfield BJ season ticket holder) but he can hit at times. if his falloff was due to stamina (plausible) should be good move for Phils. Has trade value mid-season..
Do the Phillies sacrifice a draft pick if they sign him? If so, is it a second round pick?
a .298 batting average, ridiculous? no, run of the mill.
This opens up trading Hernandez. Kendrick to 2nd. Can play Quinn if healthy
This would be the only scenario where this signing makes some sense.
not excited, but as long as its 1 year deal, who cares?
didnt really make a difference between saunders, moss and Bruce (if not giving up anything); actually, probably preferred Moss due to more power and ability to play first; just a platoon guy to take pressure off Franco/Joseph/Rupp against righties in the middle of the lineup.
Altherr was hurt last year and it takes a year to recover from that injury. He was a spark plug the 2nd half of 2015. If I was another team I would trade for him. He could become a very good player. He has the tools. You can’t base your opinion on last year.
I like Altherr but there isnt alot in his professional career other than 2015 to make you think 2015 was the norm. last year he get an excuse i understand. just dont see a starting OF.
I will say that getting a team option makes this deal more palatable for the Phillies. Given that Saunders as a player has little upside, at least the contract itself has upside.
Not a bad deal for the Phils. If he has another strong first half, and in a park that will make him look better, sell high on him. Id also agree to sell high on Hernandez who i believe peaked last year. Im hoping and praying Cozens comes in and is a monster. More of a Howatd, not a Ruf. I think thats everyones hope. An OF of a productive Cozens, Herrera and perhaps a FA in 2018 like Harper, teamed with Joseph, Kingery, Crawford, Franco or Franco to first and sign Machado with all that bank they have…makes this team a legit threat again for 10 years. You have a strong catcher in Alfaro who could be a masher coming up as well as Moniak. Your staff could be set by 2018 as well as they gain experience. Not to mention whatever top prospects you may still get for Buchholz, Kendrick, Benoit and now Saunders when playoff teams come calling this summer. Exciting times.
Not to mention i am NOT a fan of Altherr. REALLY believe he is another Asche, and barely a Dom Brown, with one less good half in him. Cut bait now.
Does the signing cost the Phillies a draft pick? Even a second round pick?
No he wasn’t extended a QO.
Outstanding, then why not? The Phillies are light on payroll right now and the guy has everything to gain by proving himself and creating his next contracts value moving forward. Worst case he flops and is gone in a year, or they flip him for a prospect at the deadline. Best case is he plays well and it fills a hole for some period of time. I don’t anticipate all of the OF prospects panning out in the near term. Excited about Moniak though when his time comes.
If Saunders is healthy, Phils fans are going to love him, he can rake. He is a plodder in the outfield, play him in left. In To last year he was a machine but ran out of gas after the break. Plus he couldn’t lay off the high inside after the break fastball. He is good for 25 hr/90 RBI and taking some walks. He’ll catch most balls hit his way. Decent throwing arm too. On a 1 year term, it is a great signing, low risk with trade bait at the deadline. Teams will trade for a lefty power bat.
It seems like a lot of guys had great first halves then dropped off considerably. Not accusing Saunders of anything but I am curious if the good first half numbers by a lot of players relates to a PED that would get them caught if taken later in season.
For Saunders it might be a huge first half led to him swinging for the fences more as evidenced by the increase in strikeouts and infield pop ups. A good hitting coach might make this a great low risk high reward signing.
Without argument a good deal for the phils. If he stays healthy and has a performance as last year’s first half.
Hope all the best for the phil’s, My second team.
HMy preference was to sign Moss to have a backup option at 1b for Joseph,but I’m certainly happy with Saunders.he gives us a lh bat to put in the middle of the lineup and split up the rh bats of Franco,Joseph and Rupp.figure if Hoskins opens the year in aaa,maybe Stassi could give us a lh option for some at bats at 1b.ofcourse they could go to Nava as well.still a question of will we carry 12 or 13 position players to.
and his infield-fly rate more than doubled as well (3.8 percent first half to 7.2 percent second half) ~ me thinks someone needs to work on their math.
Who play 1b for the phils?
tommy joseph.
Loved Choi, really wished he would have stayed in Anaheim but i guess it’s just how the cookie crumbles
Man, I wish I had the option to add bonus escalators in my work contract based on my performance…For me, moving staircases are the best way to vertically transport!
with his bum knee I suggest he take the option of an escalator
Makes no sense why Toronto didn’t sign him back. In need of another corner outfield and crying for left handed bats he even said he hoped to sign back on but they refuse to open the purse for him.
They have Upton/Carrera/Pearce/Pompey for that 3rd outfield spot, why create more of a logjam by spending more money on another player that is not really much better than what you already have (Saunders, Carrera and Upton were basically all worth the same value per AB last year)?
There is always Jay Bruce….lol.
They have a logjam and just signed Bautista, so….?
Because he sucks in right field. I’d rather have Reyes
Glad the Orioles didn’t bother with Saunders they have enough guys like him already.