DUNEDIN, Fla. – There was no shortage of new faces in the Toronto Blue Jays’ Dunedin clubhouse Monday, as the team officially opened the 2015 season with a light workout.
The new third baseman, Josh Donaldson, arrived after a brisk eight hour drive from Daphne, Alabama. The new catcher, Russell Martin, had to ask for directions to the team bus, and spent more than half an hour scrumming with the media in both of our nation’s official languages. The new second baseman (if not now, then sometime in the near future), Devon Travis, spent the morning getting acquainted with his superiors, primarily bench coach DeMarlo Hale, who gave him mocking grief for being the last man to the bus, saying Travis is “gonna be five minutes early every day for the rest of camp, right?”
But overlooked in all the commotion was another new face, that of Victoria, BC’s Michael Saunders, who didn’t look out of place at all because he’s been in Florida for two weeks, working out at the Blue Jays facility well before Monday’s first day of school. The 28-year-old is a meticulous guy, a polished professional who spent the last decade of his baseball career logging springs in Arizona with the Seattle Mariners. This is his first time changing teams, and possibly his last, so he wants to get it right. That meant getting to his new camp extra early to acclimate himself to his new surroundings, settling his wife and two young children into a temporary Clearwater home and properly meeting his new teammates.
“I’ve played with a lot of veteran guys who went about their business the right way,” Saunders says. “That’s taught me how to handle myself and mesh with different guys. I’m looking to come in and meet everyone and learn from them. This is a new experience for me. I’m going to try to be the best teammate I can be.”
Saunders arrives in Toronto after an incredibly frustrating 2014 with Seattle. Although Saunders had been the club’s everyday centre fielder for large portions of 2012 and 2013, the Mariners decided to give that job to Abraham Almonte out of spring training last season, forcing Saunders into a platoon with Stefen Romero in right field.
But less than a month in, Almonte had been optioned to triple-A, Romero was struggling mightily and fourth outfielder Logan Morrison was injured, which meant Mariners manager Lloyd McClendon had little choice but to finally give Saunders the chance to play regularly. He responded with a torrid month of May, batting .318/.357/.477 in 26 games.
“Every day I looked at the lineup and my name wasn’t there—I wasn’t happy. I wanted to play. And I honestly felt like I deserved to play,” Saunders says. “So whenever I got the chance to go out there, I tried to prove I belonged.”
But then came the injuries. Saunders played through a hyper-extended knee in May and then tried to play through a shoulder strain in June, but the ailments eventually became too limiting and he went to the disabled list for 15 days to get healthy. Then, on July 10—less than two weeks after he’d returned to the lineup—Saunders checked a swing and immediately felt a searing pain in his left oblique. He’d never had any kind of back or core injury in his life, but as soon as he took a step out of the batter’s box he knew this was serious. It was a grade two sprain — an inch and a half by an inch tear. Back to the DL he went.
“Nobody was as frustrated and disappointed as I was with that injury,” Saunders says. “I felt like I was letting the guys down in the clubhouse. I was watching them battle every night. I wanted to be out there more than anybody.”
By mid-August Saunders felt well enough to return and started a rehab assignment with Seattle’s triple-A club in Tacoma. During that stint, Saunders’ wife Jessica went into labour with their second child, and Saunders left the team to be there for the birth of his son, Declan. While in the hospital, Saunders came down with a mysterious yet vicious sickness with symptoms similar to Fifth Disease that derailed everything (blood work would later determine that, not only was it not Fifth Disease, it was an ailment the doctors had never even seen before). He couldn’t keep anything but water and Gatorade down for a week; his joints swelled up; he lost 12 pounds and could barely get out of bed. He was held out until September, when he returned to find himself back in yet another platoon, this time with Chris Denorfia, who batted .152/.263/.364 in nine September starts, compared to Saunders’ .257/.409/.543 in 11 starts.
“I thought I could have brought a lot more to the team if I was given the opportunity. I didn’t play nearly as much when I was healthy as I would have liked. I really thought I could’ve done more,” Saunders says. “That’s why nobody’s more excited than I am to be a Blue Jay.”
It’s true. Saunders had a good idea he was going to get traded this off-season and in his heart of hearts he was hoping it would be to Toronto. He knew the Blue Jays had been trying to acquire him for years; he’s always hit well at the Rogers Centre; and the sentimentalist in him truly believed it would be special to play for the only team in his home country. Plus, for the first time in a long time, Saunders felt valued as a ballplayer.
“The moment I got off the phone with Alex [Anthopoulos,] the first thing I told everyone was how excited I was and how nice it feels to be wanted,” Saunders says. “It goes a long way to know that a club really wants you around. It was such a great feeling.”
Naturally, Saunders is looking to be a key contributor on the field, where he’s hoping to return to the prime form he showed in 2012 when he batted .247/.306/.432 with 19 homers, 31 doubles and 21 stolen bases. But he’d like to be a positive influence off of it as well, which he feels starts here in spring training.
Saunders has never been a vocal clubhouse presence, instead molding his leadership style after the teammates he most admired like Ken Griffey Jr., Mike Sweeney, Adrian Beltre and, most recently, Robinson Cano. Players who weren’t exceptionally loud in the clubhouse but spoke up when needed. Players who went about their business professionally and were always supportive of their teammates. Players who led by example.
Shortly after he was traded, Saunders texted his fellow outfielders, Jose Bautista and Dalton Pompey, to introduce himself. The message to Bautista was one of admiration, saying he respects how the 34-year-old has turned around his career and can’t wait to play in a lineup with an MVP-calibre player. But the message to Pompey was different.
The 22-year-old Pompey—also a Canadian—is slated to be the Blue Jays’ starting centre fielder this season, an appointment that caps a remarkable rise through the minor leagues that began last April in single-A Dunedin. Saunders took a similar path to the majors, debuting with the Mariners at 22 after breezing through their minor league system. It ended up being too much too soon, as Saunders struggled tremendously at the MLB level and eventually had to remake his entire swing to become the player he is today. He told Pompey that if he ever wanted to talk to someone who’s been through it all before, he knows where to go.
“Hopefully I can be an outlet for him and give him advice if he’s looking for it,” Saunders says. “I struggled a lot when I first came up and it was really tough to go through. Obviously, I hope he doesn’t struggle at all. I hope Pompey can be that guy who just picks up where he left off in the minor leagues and never looks back. But if he has his ups and downs, I’ve left the door open for him to come and talk to me.”
It’s just a small part of how Saunders is trying to acclimate himself to the Blue Jays, and do everything he can to be the player he knows he can be. It starts with being healthy and continues with how he handles himself between the lines and in the clubhouse. Saunders knows this is the biggest opportunity of his career. He won’t let it go to waste.
“When I got the phone call that I got traded to Toronto, I was on cloud nine. Just the opportunity that’s there right now, the direction of the organization and the big league club—it’s really exciting,” Saunders says. “Just to have the opportunity to play everyday, in that lineup, with a lot of professional hitters, and to play north of the border in my home country—that says it all for me. It’s a great situation I’ve been put into. I know I’ve said it a lot, but I can’t begin to express how excited I am. I want to make it a great year.”
