The Baltimore Wire
Fansided

Baltimore Orioles Interested In Outfielder Michael Saunders

By Ben Palmer

Oct 19, 2016; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Blue Jays left fielder Michael Saunders (21) hits a single during the fifth inning against the Cleveland Indians in game five of the 2016 ALCS playoff baseball series at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 19, 2016; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Blue Jays left fielder Michael Saunders (21) hits a single during the fifth inning against the Cleveland Indians in game five of the 2016 ALCS playoff baseball series at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

The Baltimore Orioles have expressed interest in 30-year-old outfielder Michael Saunders. Saunders last played for the Toronto Blue Jays.

As the MLB Winter Meetings get underway, rumors are sure to start moving fast about what free agents are going where, and the Baltimore Orioles will likely be in the middle of that.

According to Roch Kubatko, the Baltimore Orioles have “definite” interest in left-handed outfielder Michael Saunders. Saunders was one of five potential free agent outfielders that we thought would be good additions to the Orioles.

Saunders finished last year batting .253/.338/.478 with 24 HRs, 70 R, and 57 RBIs. He started the first half of the year last season on a tear, batting .298/.372/.551 with 16 HRs but slowed down in a big way, batting a miserable .178/.282/.357 with just 8 HRs in the second half.

Saunders could make sense as part of a platoon, as he hits lefties pretty well, batting .275 against them last year. Baltimore Orioles GM Dan Duquette has said that he’s fine with a Hyun-Soo Kim/Joey Rickard platoon in left field, so Saunders could make sense in right. Though personally I’d rather see him platoon in left with Kim who has trouble hitting lefties.

More from Baltimore Orioles

Saunders, unfortunately, has a bit of an injury history, and he’s 30 years old. He’s also a below-average defender, but that’s never stopped the Orioles from tossing someone out in the field before (see: Mark Trumbo).

He does come with a handful of positives however. Camden Yards plays well for left-handed power, and Saunders showed a lot of that last year, hitting a career-best hard hit rate of 37.4%.

The big attraction to Saunders, I think, is the fact that he’s not going to break the bank, and the Orioles don’t have a ton of money to spend. Likely the Orioles could get Saunders for something like $10-11M a year, and as an added bonus, he won’t cost the team a draft pick.

Next: Orioles Five Best Trades of All Time

We’ll see what the Orioles ultimately decide to do, but one thing is for sure, outfield is a major need the team needs to address, and a player like Saunders is someone they could sign without spending too much money.

Home/Baltimore Orioles