Phillies To Sign Michael Saunders!

David_Criss 2017-01-16 17:37:06 UTC #1

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/author/steveadams
Source says Phillies and Saunders close to a deal

Phillies 2016-2017 offseason Discussion

Slinging_Southpaw 2017-01-16 17:57:01 UTC #2

This is the guy I wanted in the Cliff Lee deal.
Will be 30 this coming season. Fragile, mediocre to bad fielder with a lifetime OPS of .711. That said, I like him better than Brandon Moss or giving up anything substantial for Jay Bruce.
I just hope this doesn't take any AB's from our real future.

Lawman 2017-01-16 18:11:51 UTC #3

Philsmania 2017-01-16 18:22:36 UTC #4

So much for that.

Phils2020 2017-01-16 18:26:48 UTC #5

Where would you bat Saunders? in the 5 hole?

and where to play him? Right field?

xogfog 2017-01-16 18:47:35 UTC #6

I don't like that he will take at bats away from Altherr. I'm also not thrilled with the idea of the OF being Saunders in left, Quinn in center and Kendrick in right.

andyb 2017-01-16 19:01:10 UTC #7

Big picture here. This is a perfect signing. One year for money (perhaps even overpaying him because we can afford it).

He fills a huge need on the roster. Maybe he will only platoon against RHP if we want to keep Altherr in a platoon. Altherr, for his part, really only has to play better than Kendrick to play regularly. Kendrick is coming off a 696 OPS season, is worse defensively that Altherr (and Saunders if healthy) and if Altherr can't play better than that maybe he should be in AAA (not what I want, but kind of true).

Finally this is looking like a real lineup. Saunders might be a significant trade chip. He makes the current team better. He really should not take playing time away from any young players if the young players play well. Assume he plays RF if Altherr is not in the lineup, LF if both Altherr and Herrera are. What's not to like?

allentown 2017-01-16 19:18:08 UTC #8

There's no reason this can't work, especially since Altherr is unlikely to start season fully recovered from his injury. Still, I just don't trust our manager to make it work.

andyb 2017-01-16 19:27:37 UTC #9

That is not a reason not to do a move. It is a reason to fire a manager. Why the lack of confidence in Klentak to do the right thing? His major league moves have been almost universally sound (draft/international is too early to tell). A little pressure on guys like Williams and Altherr and Goeddel and Quinn to earn some playing time may not be a bad thing. Did we really want to see 200+ AB from Daniel Nava?

bkeich 2017-01-16 19:47:35 UTC #10

I would have preferred Moss, but Saunders does fill the need. I like it being a 1 year deal, really not much to lose. Honestly I would still say that Altherr is the starter and Saunders has to unseat him or simply serve as the 9th starter, but I suspect that the Phils plan is to use Saunders as the primary RF and move Altherr to 4th OF.

They needed to do something to improve the horrendous offense, this doesnt solve much, but it is an improvement over whoever was going to be the 5th OF. Presumably Saunders is tradeable at the deadline if he even comes close to last years first half performance.

Phils2020 2017-01-16 19:55:39 UTC #11

According to FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal, the Phillies have signed outfielder Michael Saunders to a one-year, $9 million contract with an $11 million club option for 2018.

I like it. They didnt have to give up any prospects and they can flip him to a contender who wants another bat at the trade deadline. The Phillies knew they had to add some power in the outfield after only hitting 35 homers, the 6th worse in baseball last year.

schooldoc 2017-01-16 20:35:35 UTC #12

Hi everybody, been gone since the site re-design but good to be back.

I like the Saunders signing for what it is, as a one-year deal for a moderate price (hard to believe I'm saying that about $9 million!) that should not block a significant prospect that shows he's ready for MLB by July. He balances the lineup with some added LH pop.

I think the lineup looks like:
Cesar
Kendrick
Odubel
Maikel
Saunders
Joseph
Rupp
Galvis
P

phillychuck 2017-01-16 20:35:48 UTC #13

Of Hernandez, Kendrick, Altherr, and Saunders only 3 can get regular playing time in LF, RF, and at 2B. One of them is going to get traded, injured, or benched. My guess is Altherr gets the fewest ABs over the first couple of months, at least. He can also pick up ABs in CF if needed since he's more than adequate there, and he can be a defensive caddy in RF. This could work if they think it out, but I'd like to see Altherr get a full chance, at least 400-450 ABs.

Austinfan 2017-01-16 20:37:22 UTC #14

They may want to limit Altherr's AB anyway until they're confident the wrist is 100%.

phillychuck 2017-01-16 20:38:03 UTC #15

The lineup is better but the defense isn't really that good in LF and RF. (And 1B for that matter.) I'd be worried if I were one of our pitchers.

Phils2020 2017-01-16 20:40:56 UTC #16

I was thinking the same thing, in batting Saunders in the 5 hole. I am kinda liking out lineup right now. Looking forward to a full year of Joseph at 1B and Kendrick in the outfield. I hope Galvis can keep up the power but i am not expecting him to hit 20 homers again. More along the 10-15 homers range for Galvis.

California_Dreamin 2017-01-16 20:44:19 UTC #17

I like this move a lot and was actually thinking this morning after reading that Toronto and Bautista were close to a 2 year deal that this made the signing of Saunders almost a certainty.

I always thought that the connection with fellow Canadian and friend, Matt Stairs, would help if all things were equal and I always thought that the Blue Jays would welcome one of the two [Bautista or Saunders] back but not both of them.

As for Altherr, I agree with andyb that if the prognosis of 18 months to completely heal a wrist injury like his is correct, he will still struggle in 2017 and might not be completely recovered till 2018, if then.

I was in Atlanta when slugger Bob Hoerner suffered a wrist injury and I recall the discussion that he was never the same after the wrist damage and that the two worst injuries for major league everyday players were Achillies tendon and wrist injuries. While I still have hope for AA's eventual recovery I am not prepared to bank on it. And the same with Quinn. I would love to believe his almost habitual battles with injuries is simply bad luck but I am not so sure at this stage,

This seems to me to be a win win for the Phils. If AA and Quinn struggle with injury, Saunders is a wonderful addition. And if either/both AA and Quinn remain healthy and productive the Phils can either move Saunders in July or bid him farewell at the end of the season.

I think this is an outstanding move, and costs the team nothing but money. Whats not to like?

Philsmania 2017-01-16 21:51:53 UTC #18

I like that suggestion too but I likewise doubt PMack does it.

Philsmania 2017-01-16 21:57:43 UTC #19

Even in a best case scenario, Altherr's injury came with terrible timing. He didn't have a big window of opportunity to stake a claim to his position. By the time he is fully healed, others (ie. Williams, Cozens, just to name a couple) may blow past him on the depth chart. I remember thinking that when he first got hurt last spring, that possibly there went his big chance with this organization.

andyb 2017-01-16 21:59:35 UTC #20

I wonder if they also work Saunders in at 1B a little in Spring Training. He has never played it (and Blanco, Franco, and Kendrick all have), but that might provide a left-handed option there if Joseph struggles and Altherr needs playing time. That was Moss's one roster advantage but it is not like almost anyone (especially a 6'4" guy who is a decent athlete) can't learn it pretty easily.

On further reflection I can't believe how well the Phillies played the free agent market here. This guy is really 95% as good as Josh Reddick. He is young and there is still upside because of all the injuries. There is a non-zero chance he is our best offensive player. Also a non-zero chance his failures in the second half were real, but he is really young enough where they should not be. He has a decent track record when healthy and going to the slightly weaker league might help him finally put it together.