I want to fully admit this before we go any further: This is not an official report, but rather, us trying to read the tea leaves of the situation regarding the Seattle Mariners and former outfielder Michael Saunders.

Let's break down what we know in its simplest form:

1) The Mariners hired Saunders as a roving baserunning coordinator for the 2025 season.

2) We caught up with Saunders at spring training in Peoria, Ariz. last February, and he talked about how happy he was to be back with the Mariners, as well as why he felt the Mariners could be successful in 2025:

I ​mean, ​so ​close the ​last ​couple ​years, ​and ​we ​truly ​believe, ​hence ​why, ​I ​don't ​want ​to ​speak ​on ​behalf ​of ​Jerry (Dipoto), ​but, ​you ​know, ​kind ​of ​kept ​the ​core ​group ​together ​because ​we ​truly ​believe ​in ​it. One ​year further ​along ​and ​being ​together. ​And, ​​I ​think ​the ​biggest ​thing ​that ​I've ​noticed ​is ​the ​belief. ​The ​belief ​and ​the ​expectations. ​You've ​got ​a ​new ​skipper ​in ​Dan ​Wilson, ​who's ​been ​fantastic, ​excited ​for ​what ​he's ​bringing ​to ​the ​table. But ​you ​can ​really ​feel ​that, that ​oozing ​confidence ​among ​one ​another, ​and ​it's ​contagious.

3) On Friday, Kevin Glew, who does a great job at reporting on baseball in Canada, wrote that Saunders has moved back to Canada and has started "Saundo Athletics." He has founded - and committed to being at - four youth camps.

He has also decided to share his baseball expertise by launching his new business called “Saundo Athletics,” which will kick off with four baseball camps (for 8-to-14 year-olds) at Lambrick Park Field in Victoria in July and August.

4) We are unclear if this move and this new endeavor have officially taken Saunders out of the M's coaching picture for 2026. Glew was unclear as well, but he did offer this answer when we asked him on social media.

Sorry, I didn't ask him directly about this. But he has committed to being at the entirety of his four different camp sessions, so that's four weeks he will be in Victoria in July and August. My guess is that he is not returning to the Mariners in the same role as last year.

5) Again, we are unsure of what all this means for the Mariners right now. Saunders could still be at spring training in February and March to help the Mariners even if he doesn't have a full-time organizational role. We will work to learn more as we get closer to 2026.

A popular player in Seattle, Saunders spent parts of six seasons with the M's. He was a career .232 hitter and made the All-Star Game with the Blue Jays in 2016.

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