After tough 2017, new Royals outfielder Michael Saunders trying to re-establish career
Newly-signed Royals outfielder Michael Saunders won’t make an excuse for the poor 2017 season he put together.
It was just a tough year, he said. He hit .205 with nine doubles, six home runs and 20 RBIs in 61 games with the Phillies and batted .167 (3 for 18) in 12 September games with the Blue Jays, the same team that granted him free agency in November 2016.
Within a year and a half of getting an All-Star nod in 2016, he saw himself on the free-agent market on three separate occasions.
It's time for Saunders, 31, to re-establish his career. The Royals, with their crowded outfield competition, presented him the best opportunity.
“I really feel you learn more from failure than you do from success,” Saunders said Sunday when he met with reporters for the first time at Royals camp. “A lot of people want to forget about those kind of seasons but it's something that, if anything, helped drive me to continue to better myself as a player.”
Saunders, a left-handed hitter, has batted .232 over nine major-league seasons. He was one of the Blue Jays’ five All-Stars in 2016, when he hit .298 with 16 home runs, 25 doubles and 42 RBIs in the first half.
But he’s struggled to stick with a major-league club since then.
It seemed Saunders would get a chance to do that with the Pirates when he signed with the club on Wednesday.
Yet, within a day of agreeing to terms with Saunders, the Pirates acquired Rays outfielder Corey Dickerson. The move weakened Saunders’ chances at breaking camp on a big-league roster. Per an agreement with the club’s general manager, he was allowed to seek greener pastures.
“I’m hoping to be in one spot at this point,” Saunders joked.
The Royals signed Saunders for outfield depth. But with the center-field job remaining open, there is still a strand of hope for Saunders to clutch.
It will be a few days before he gets game action. On Sunday morning, he wasn’t listed as part of Monday’s travel squad, which will face the San Francisco Giants in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Still, the Royals will give Saunders a fair shake alongside fellow non-roster invitees Tyler Collins, Donnie Dewees and Terrance Gore.
“There’s always somebody that’s hungry that wants your job,” Saunders said. “You can’t get complacent. … You can talk to the best players in the game and they still feel like they have things to prove — not just prove, but improve on their game. So that’s what I’m here to do.”
This story was originally published February 25, 2018 at 7:55 PM with the headline "After tough 2017, new Royals outfielder Michael Saunders trying to re-establish career."