Michael Saunders thought he was coming to the Phillies in the second Lee trade

By Tim Kelly, Sports Talk Philly editor

In sports, things have a way of coming full-circle. Roy Halladay reportedly wanted to become the ace of the Philadelphia Phillies at the 2009 trade deadline, but the team instead traded for Cliff Lee at the deadline. Halladay would join the Phillies the next offseason, but only after the team also traded Lee to the Seattle Mariners. Eventually, things came full circle and the Phillies re-signed Lee, allowing him to join Halladay, Cole Hamels and Roy Oswalt prior to the 2011 season, which turned out to be one of the more magical regular seasons in franchise history. 

In 2017, another part of the Lee and Halladay saga, perhaps one that most had forgotten, will come full circle. 

In an interview with Ryan Lawrence of Philly Voice, Saunders explained how he once thought he was coming to the Phillies in 2009 as part of the trade that saw the Phillies send Lee to the Seattle Mariners: 

“They said I was on the Sportscenter tracker in the trade where we were getting Cliff Lee in that three-way deal,” Saunders recalled in a phone interview with PhillyVoice on Wednesday afternoon. “So I called my agent and he had to do a little bit of digging, he made some calls, called me back and he said, ‘You know what, it's time to to start packing your bags.’”

But then Saunders’ phone buzzed again 10 minutes later. Stay put, his agent said.

“I was a last-minute subtraction from the deal,” Saunders said. “In my eyes, I was going to Philadelphia. But it ended up not happening. And here I am seven years later putting on the red pinstripes, so I’m excited.”

The deal which sent Lee to Seattle turned out to be the most lopsided deal the organization made since sending Curt Schilling to the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2001. The Phillies got Phillippe Amount, J.C. Ramirez and Juan Ramirez in the deal, none of whom turned out to be relevant major leaguers. Lee had one of the most dominant seasons of his career in 2010, splitting time in Seattle and with the eventual American League champion Texas Rangers. 

Had Saunders been included in the trade, he would have outperformed the three players acquired in the deal but not changed the minds of Phillies fans who wished to see Halladay and Lee together in 2010. Still, it's crazy that seven seasons later, and years after the careers of Halladay and Lee ended, Saunders has ended up with the Phillies.