Report: Phillies reach 1-year, $9M deal with Michael Saunders

The Philadelphia Phillies and free-agent outfielder Michael Saunders have agreed to a one-year deal worth $9 million, according to Fox Sports.

The contract also features a club option worth $11 million that increases to as much as $14 million, according to the report.

The 30-year-old Saunders hit a career-high 24 home runs last season for the Toronto Blue Jays and was an All-Star for the first time.

Saunders was hitting .298 when he won the All-Star final vote spot. His average slumped to .253 by the end of the season and finished with 124 hits and 57 RBIs in 140 games.

The British Columbia-born Saunders, who spent 10 years with the Seattle Mariners organization, played for Canada at the World Baseball Classic in 2013 and said, having cheered for the Blues Jays growing up, he understands the burden that comes with playing north of the border.

Saunders, who missed all but nine games in 2015 with a lingering left knee injury, was acquired for left-hander J.A. Happ in 2014 in a deal with the Mariners.