Michael Saunders' Return Critical for Seattle Mariners' Playoff Push

After missing nearly two months, outfielder Michael Saunders returned to the Seattle Mariners’ starting lineup on Monday night.

Saunders strained his left oblique on a checked swing in Seattle’s game against the Minnesota Twins on July 10, leaving the Mariners with a barren outfield before the trade deadline acquisitions of Chris Denorfia and Austin Jackson.

It was unfortunate timing, as Jason Churchill of Prospect Insider points out Saunders had been hitting well since becoming an everyday player.   

A few days on paternal leave and a viral infection slowed down Saunders’ rehab, causing him to miss more than the expected six weeks for the injury.

The circumstances were far from ideal, but manager Lloyd McClendon realized the importance of Saunders and put him in the starting lineup the same day he was activated, via Greg Johns of MLB.com. 

"We did the best we could do. He took some batting practice, ran, threw. From a conditioning standpoint, he's ready to go. I don't know if he's game ready or not, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed and hopefully he can jump-start us."

The Mariners have performed well during a few different stretches while Saunders has been out, but there’s no doubt they have missed him in the lineup. Saunders has a 115 wRC+ and 1.7 WAR, both of which are tied for third on the team among position players despite all the missed time.

As Jeff Sullivan of FanGraphs pointed out, Saunders' absence was a big blow to the Mariners' offense.

After dropping a disappointing series to the Houston Astros, the Mariners are now half a game behind the Detroit Tigers for the second wild-card spot and have a difficult remaining schedule. Seattle needs Saunders to produce at a high level over the last three weeks to make the playoffs.

Saunders should receive the majority of starts in right field for the remainder of the season, with Denorfia and Endy Chavez taking on fourth outfielder roles. Although Chavez has been quite good at the plate lately (115 wRC+ in the second half) and Denorfia is a strong defender, those have been the ideal roles all along.

A starting outfield of Saunders, Jackson and Dustin Ackley looks pretty good, particularly compared to the situation at the All-Star Break. Unfortunately, that alignment had to wait a few days, as Ackley has been dealing with ankle soreness but could be back on Friday, according to Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune.

The question for McClendon now becomes how to divvy up playing time. Even with reduced roles, Chavez and Denorfia are still going to get some starts here and there.

Ted S. Warren/Associated Press

A likely scenario is that Denorfia platoons with one of the corner outfielders against left-handed pitching. However, that may not be the ideal choice, as Saunders has been above average against both lefties and righties this season, and Ackley doesn’t have a big platoon split for his career.

If the Mariners want to get Denorfia in against lefties, one possibility is to cycle Saunders over to designated hitter on those days. Kendrys Morales improved in August but still isn’t hitting very well and has been below average against left-handers during his career, although he is posting a big platoon split the other way in 2014.

Chris Szagola/Associated Press

After two stints on the disabled list this season, Saunders has certainly earned his “injury-prone” label. It’s entirely possible he needs a day or two off per week, which is where Chavez could get in to a few games.

The Mariners offense actually performed well in August without Saunders, scoring the eighth-most runs in the majors. Logan Morrison had a good month, Morales was at least average and Ackley continued his red-hot second half.

Still, Saunders projects as an improvement over Chavez, Denorfia or whoever else was receiving starts in right field. He’ll have to be, as the Mariners have one series left against a team below .500, and the other wild-card contenders face relatively easy schedules.

The Mariners already received production from Saunders on Monday, when the offense was struggling. Saunders went 1-2 with two walks, scored a run in the eighth inning on Brad Miller’s go-ahead triple and made an outstanding defensive play that turned a home run into a triple.  

Seattle needs a boost in the playoff push. Saunders’ return couldn’t have come at a better time.

All stats via FanGraphs.com unless otherwise noted.