After beginning the 2009 season with the Rainiers where he hit .313 with 13 home runs and 32 RBI in 243 at-bats,Saunders was promoted from Tacoma on July 25,when the Mariners designated Wladimir Balentien for assignment.[9][10] Saunders made his MLB debut that day in a game against the Cleveland Indians at Safeco Field,where he went hitless in a 10–3 loss. His first MLB hit was a single off of Cliff Lee on July 26.[11]
Saunders with the Mariners in 2012
On May 6,2010,Saunders was recalled from Tacoma after the Mariners put Milton Bradley on the restricted list.[12] Three days later,Saunders hit his first MLB home run off Angels pitcher Ervin Santana.[11] He finished his rookie season with a .211 batting average,10 home runs,and 33 RBI. Saunders played only 58 games for the Mariners in 2011 and batted .149 with just two home runs and eight RBI.[13]
In 2012,Saunders played a career-high 139 games and greatly improved upon his 2011 . He hit .247 with 19 home runs and 57 RBI. He played in 132 games the following season. Saunders finished 2013 with a .236 batting average,12 home runs,and 46 RBI. In 2014,Saunders battled a number of injuries that limited him to 78 games,but finished with a career-high .273 average with 8 home runs and 34 RBI.[13][7] At the end of the season,general managerJack Zduriencik criticized Saunders' work ethic,which Saunders challenged.[7]
Toronto Blue Jays
On December 3,the Mariners traded Saunders to the Toronto Blue Jays in for pitcher J. A. Happ.[14][15] Saunders agreed to a one-year,$2.875 million contract on January 16,2015,avoiding salary arbitration.[16]
On February 25,Saunders stepped on a sprinkler head while shagging fly balls and tore his meniscus.[17] Initially,the expectation was for Saunders to be on the disabled list until the All-Star break. However,after having surgery to remove 60% of his meniscus,the estimate was reduced to 4–6 weeks.[18] He was assigned to the Advanced-A Dunedin Blue Jays for a rehab assignment on April 8.[19] After the Blue Jays lost 12–3 to the Tampa Bay Rays on April 24,Saunders was activated off the disabled list.[20] He experienced discomfort in his knee in early May,missing several games after having fluid drained and receiving a cortisone injection. Saunders returned to the lineup on May 9 but was placed on the 15-day disabled list the following day to rest his knee.[21] After remaining on the disabled list into August,Saunders was officially shut down for the rest of the 2015 season on August 18.[22] He appeared in just nine games for the Blue Jays,batting .194 with three RBI.[13]
Saunders during 2016 spring training
On January 15,2016,Saunders and the Blue Jays avoided salary arbitration by agreeing to a one-year,$2.9 million contract.[23] In a 13–3 win over the Baltimore Orioles on June 17,Saunders hit three home runs for the first time in his career,joining Joey Votto,Justin Morneau,and Larry Walker as the only Canadian-born players ever to hit three home runs in an MLB game and became the first to do so for a Canadian team.[24] He also had eight RBI in the game,which established another career-high.[25] Saunders was named as one of five candidates for the All-Star Game Final Vote campaign on July 5.[26] He was announced as the Final Vote winner on July 8.[2][27] After the All-Star break,Saunders struggled to a .178 batting average,eight home runs,and 15 RBI.[28] Despite the poor second half of his season,Saunders still established several career-highs in 2016. He ended the campaign with a .253 batting average,24 home runs,and 57 RBI in 140 games played.[13] He appeared in eight postseason games for the Blue Jays,his only postseason appearance,batting .381.[29] He homered in Game 3 of the American League Championship Series.[30][31]
Philadelphia Phillies
On January 16,2017,Saunders agreed to a one-year,$8 million contract with the Philadelphia Phillies that also includes a $9 million club option for the 2018 season.[32] The contract became official on January 19.[33] He struggled to a .205 average with six home runs for the last-place Phillies during the first three months of the season. On June 20,Saunders was designated for assignment by the Phillies.[34] He was released three days later.[35]
Toronto Blue Jays (second stint)
On June 28,2017,Saunders signed a minor league contract with the Toronto Blue Jays.[36] On August 31,Blue Jays' manager John Gibbons announced that Saunders would be called up on September 1.[37] He played in 12 games to end his MLB career,batting 3-for-18 with one RBI.[13]
Return to the minors:Baltimore Orioles and Chicago White Sox
Saunders signed a minor league contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates on February 21,2018.[38] After Pittsburgh acquired Corey Dickerson the following day,Saunders requested his release from the team. On February 23,he signed a minor league contract with the Kansas City Royals.[39] The Royals released Saunders on March 24,[40] and he signed a minor league contract with the Baltimore Orioles on April 2.[41] He made 25 appearances for the Triple-A Norfolk Tides,batting .161/.291/.253 with one home run,14 RBI,and two stolen bases. On May 15,Saunders asked for and was granted his release by the Orioles.[42]
On May 21,Saunders signed a minor league contract with the Chicago White Sox.[43] In 13 games for the Triple-A Charlotte Knights,he slashed .152/.235/.239 with one home run and four RBI. Saunders was released by the White Sox organization on June 21.[44]
On December 30,Saunders signed a minor league deal with the Colorado Rockies.[45] He was released prior to the start of the season on March 17,2019.[46]
International career
Saunders represented Canada at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.[47] Serving as Canada's primary right-fielder,Saunders had eight hits in 28 at-bats out of the third spot in the line-up. He scored five runs and had four RBI in seven games,while his two home runs led Canada to a 6th-place finish.
Saunders represented Canada at the 2013 World Baseball Classic (WBC) and was named as one of three outfielders on the All-WBC Team after batting .727 in the tournament.[48]
In January 2025,the Seattle Mariners announced Saunders would served as their minor league baserunning coordinator.[53] Later in 2025,Lambrick Park Secondary School announced Saunders would join the school's baseball academy staff in 2026.[4]
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