Michael Saunders batted .178/.252/.357 with eight homers in 214 plate appearances over the final two and a half months after a first half that earned him a spot on the all-star team with 24 homers and 57 RBI.
Bad luck can be attributed to at least some of this, as his BABIP took a nose dive to .221 during that time. So, while the .377 BABIP he had in the first half was not sustainable, his second-half .221 seems equally fluky.
Signing Saunders has little impact on the Phillies roster flexibility as so far Odubel Herrera is the lone starting outfielder signed for 2018. Roman Quinn and Aaron Altherr will compete in spring training for bench roles. Dylan Cozens and Nick Williams, two top prospects, will start the season at Triple-A.
Danny Duffy pitched a career-high 179 1/3 innings in 2016, with a 3.51 ERA, 9.4 K/9, a 2.1 BB/9, a 36.4 percent ground-ball rate and a fastball that averaged 94.8 mph.
The Astros have been seeking rotation upgrades for much of the offseason, and while the team’s pursuit of White Sox lefty Jose Quintana hasn’t gained much traction, FOX’s Ken Rosenthal tweets that Houston has also maintained contact with the Athletics regarding Sonny Gray. Despite throwing just 56 percent of the innings he totaled in 2015, Gray allowed more home runs in 2016, setting a new career-worst with 18.
Gary Sanchez finished with 20 homers in 229 plate appearances over 53 games following his arrival to the majors on Aug. 3, and he will head to spring training in Tampa next month expected to be in the middle of the order.
Sanchez tailed off during the final two weeks of 2016. After homering twice on Sept. 21 to finish an incredible four-game stretch in which he hit five homers, Sanchez went deep just once the rest of the season. In his last 41 plate appearances, he had just four hits and struck out 13 times.
The Giants and Rangers are both interested in Jay Bruce, who hit 33 homers last season, but was a disappointment in his two-month stint with the Mets after arriving at the trade deadline from Cincinnati.
Travis D’Arnaud struggled with a shoulder injury in 2016, earning him a slash line of .247/.307/.323, while hitting only four home runs with 15 RBI over 75 games (251 AB). Mets catchers combined for a .607 OPS, 28th in baseball.
If Toronto falls out of contention in 2017, they will probably look to dump guys, perhaps even Donaldson, who will be a free agent after next season.
Why would Donaldson want to stick around if the Jays embark on a rebuild anyway?
The Jays training staff are going to have their hands full this season with seven offensive players over 30 years old:
Jose Bautista (36)
Troy Tulowitzki (32)
Kendrys Morales (33)
Russell Martin (33)
Steve Pearce (33)
Josh Donaldson (31)
Melvin Upton Jr. (32)
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