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Phoenix Clark Sanders (born June 5, 1995) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played college baseball for Daytona State College and the University of South Florida. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Tampa Bay Rays.
Sanders began his college baseball career at Daytona State College after not receiving any NCAA Division I scholarship offers out of high school. As a freshman, he made 12 starts in which he was 4-6 with a 3.17 ERA. He played collegiate summer baseball for the Willmar Stingers of the Northwoods League after his freshman season and had a 1–0 record over three starts with a 1.89 ERA and 14 strikeouts in 13 innings. He was named to the Northwood’s League 200 Top Prospect list by College Baseball Daily. As a sophomore, Sanders made 16 appearances with 14 starts and three complete games, and went 6–6 with a 2.50 ERA and 71 strikeouts.
After the season, he transferred to the University of South Florida for his remaining collegiate eligibility. As a junior in 2016, he was 5-5 with a 4.15 ERA and 95 strikeouts (5th in the conference) in 95.1 innings. As a senior, Sanders was 6–2 with a 2.78 ERA and 109 strikeouts (2nd in the conference) in 97 innings over 16 starts, with 4.36 strikeouts per walk (2nd). He was named 2017 All-American Athletic Conference Second Team.
He was assigned to the Double-A Montgomery Biscuits at the start of the 2019 season, for whom he was a Southern League Mid-Season All Star, after pitching in 37 games and posting a 3–3 record with 15 saves (2nd in the league) and a 1.81 ERA, with 57 strikeouts in 49.2 innings (10.3 strikeouts per 9 innings). He was then promoted to the Triple-A Durham Bulls, with whom he was 1-0 with a 2.38 ERA in 11.1 innings. He was invited to Rays' spring training as a non-roster invitee in 2020 but was eventually reassigned to the minor leagues. Sanders did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the Minor League Baseball season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
He returned to Durham for the 2021 season. He had a 5–2 record with two saves and a 3.38 ERA and 80 strikeouts in 64 innings pitched (11.3 strikeouts per 9 innings) over 50 relief appearances (2nd in the league), 1.5 walks per 9 innings pitched (5th), an 0.906 WHIP (6th), and 7.27 strikeouts/walk (4th).
Sanders was promoted to the Rays major league roster on April 14, 2022. He made his MLB debut the same day, giving up one earned run and striking out two batters in three innings pitched in a 3–6 loss to the Oakland Athletics. He was designated for assignment on August 22. For the season, he was 0-0 with a 3.07 ERA in 14.2 innings.
Sanders began the 2023 season with Triple-A Norfolk, making 9 relief appearances and registering a 2.00 ERA with 11 strikeouts in 9 innings pitched. On May 19, 2023, Sanders was released by the Orioles organization.
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