Phillies, Dylan Moore Agree To Major League Deal
March 21: Moore and the Phillies are in agreement on a major-league deal, reports Sammon. He is expected to be on the Opening Day roster. As Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer points out, Philadelphia has a full 40-man after the additions of Moore and Justin Crawford.
March 19: Veteran infielder/outfielder Dylan Moore has triggered the uniform opt-out clause in his minor league deal with the Phillies, reports Will Sammon of The Athletic. Philadelphia now has 48 hours to add him to the 40-man roster. If he’s not added to the roster, he’ll become a free agent who can sign with any other club.
The 33-year-old Moore has logged 689 big league games, all but 18 coming with the Mariners. He’s a right-handed hitter with a lifetime .206/.310/.383 batting line, 63 homers and 118 stolen bases in 1922 plate appearances. He hits for low averages against lefties and righties alike, but Moore has above-average pop against opponents of either handedness and walks at better than a 12% clip against lefties. His .216/.327/.400 slash against lefties in his career is about 10% better than average overall, by measure of wRC+.
Moore hasn’t fared all that well this spring, tallying 37 plate appearances and batting .226/.324/.258 with a double and a pair of steals. Be that as it may, he’s a plus runner with solid pop who can play virtually anywhere on the diamond — all of which could appeal to the Phillies or another club. Moore has played every position on the diamond other than catcher, including 1308 innings at second base, 900 at shortstop, 885 in left field, 605 in right field, 431 at third base, 155 at first base and 105 in center field. He’s drawn outstanding defensive grades at second base (14 Defensive Runs Saved, 8 Outs Above Average) and left field (14 DRS, 11 OAA) in particular.
The Phillies have one bench spot up for grabs. Either Rafael Marchán or Garrett Stubbs will be the backup catcher behind J.T. Realmuto, filling one spot. (Both are out of minor league options.) Edmundo Sosa has a utility job locked down, and righty-swinging Otto Kemp is likely to make the club as a platoon option for left fielder Brandon Marsh. With outfielder Johan Rojas facing an 80-game PED suspension, Moore could be a backup center field option behind rookie Justin Crawford while providing some versatile depth for just about every other starter in the lineup. His primary competition is fellow outfielder Bryan De La Cruz, who offers far less defensive flexibility and has consistently graded out as a poor corner outfield defender.
Given the lack of competition, there’s a good case for the Phils to select Moore’s contract rather than let him become a free agent on Saturday. Of course, Philadelphia could also find some other candidates for that final bench job as other veterans with this same uniform out clause in their minor league contracts become available. MLBTR recently profiled 33 players (Moore included) with opt-out opportunities in their minor league contracts prior to Opening Day.
Checking In On The Phillies’ Roster Battle
The Phillies are expected to have an opening for their final roster spot with outfielder Johan Rojas facing a PED suspension. Multiple veterans are vying for the job in Spring Training, but manager Rob Thomson added an interesting name to the race on Friday. The skipper shared that catcher Garrett Stubbs has been working out in the infield and the outfield, per Charlotte Varnes of The Athletic. “There’s nothing that says he couldn’t be the 26th man and we carry three catchers,” Thomson said.
Stubbs does have 15 career appearances in the outfield, though more than half of them came when he debuted with the Astros in 2019. He’s played just two innings on the grass for Philadelphia. Thomson said left field could be a possibility, but he also mentioned first and third base. The extent of Stubbs’ infield experience as a professional includes one game at first base at Triple-A in 2018, and 11 appearances at second base with Sugar Land from 2019 to 2021.
The 32-year-old Stubbs has a 70 wRC+ across 521 big-league plate appearances. He’s spent parts of the past four seasons with the Phillies after coming over in a trade from Houston. Stubbs seemed like a viable backup catcher option in his first year with the club, slashing .264/.350/.462 across 50 games in 2022. His production at the plate has tailed off considerably since then. Stubbs got into just five MLB games last season, his fewest since he debuted.
Philadelphia brought back J.T. Realmuto on a three-year, $45MM pact to handle the bulk of the work behind the plate. Rafael Marchan is the leading candidate for the backup job. He’s been a better defender than Stubbs, and also provides the added benefit of being a switch-hitter. Getting a third catcher in the mix would offer some additional flexibility, but it’s not like Realmuto can slide to DH when he doesn’t catch. With Kyle Schwarber manning that spot, Realmuto will be behind the plate when he’s in the lineup. Stubbs runs well for a catcher (though so does Realmuto), so he could factor into a pinch-running scenario.
RosterResource currently has Dylan Moore securing the final roster spot in Philadelphia. The utilityman was designated for assignment by the Mariners midway through the 2025 campaign. He latched on with the Rangers for the final month of the season. Moore signed a minor league deal with the Phillies in early February. He picked up a hit on Saturday, but is batting just .188 in Spring Training.
Moore primarily offers speed and defensive versatility. He’s compiled 46 steals over the past two seasons. The 33-year-old appeared at all four infield positions, plus center and right field, with Seattle last year. Moore has flashed a bit of power at times, though it’s come with a strikeout rate above 30%.
If the Phillies look to replace Rojas with an outfielder, Bryan De La Cruz seems like the top option, at least in terms of experience. He’s spent parts of the past five seasons in the big leagues. De La Cruz was an everyday player from 2023 to 2024. The veteran is in camp as a non-roster invitee after inking a minor league deal in November. De La Cruz broke camp with the Braves last season, but hit .191 with a 36% strikeout rate and was in Triple-A by mid-April. He was claimed off waivers by the Yankees and spent the rest of the year at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
De La Cruz launched a career-high 21 home runs in 2024, splitting the year between the Marlins and Pirates. He finished the year with a 78 wRC+ and didn’t garner much attention in free agency. De La Cruz has spent time at all three outfield positions. He grades out negatively by Defensive Runs Saved at each of them. His worst spot has been left field (-7 DRS), which is likely the opportunity available in Philadelphia. Adolis Garcia is penciled in for right field, with Crawford in center field and Marsh in left field. If Crawford is on the bench, Marsh would slide to center.
Photo courtesy of Jonathan Dyer, Imagn Images
Phillies, Dylan Moore Agree To Minor League Deal
The Phillies reached agreement with utilityman Dylan Moore on a minor league contract, reports Will Sammon of The Athletic. The Klutch Sports client receives a non-roster invitation to MLB camp.
Moore is a veteran of seven big league seasons. He’d spent his entire MLB career with the Mariners until they released him last August. Moore signed a minor league deal with the Rangers and was quickly called up after Corey Seager needed an appendectomy. Moore spent the final month of the season on the MLB roster and appeared in 18 games as a Ranger.
That was a homecoming for the Central Florida product, who began his professional career as a seventh-round pick by the Rangers in 2015. Texas traded him to the Braves before he made it out of A-ball. Moore bounced around the minors before establishing himself in Seattle upon signing there as a minor league free agent.
A right-handed hitter, Moore has done the majority of his damage against left-handed pitching in his career. A .216 batting average against southpaws isn’t going to turn many heads, but he has walked at a 12% rate and has 28 homers in 819 career plate appearances with the platoon advantage. Moore didn’t produce against pitchers of either handedness last season, yet he was a decent role player for the majority of his time in the Pacific Northwest.
His offensive approach skews heavily toward the three true outcomes, particularly strikeouts and walks. Moore has a trio of double digit home run seasons and has stolen at least 11 bases in all but one year of his career. He’s not a burner but has generally done well to take extra bases when opportunities present themselves.
Moore will vie for a multi-positional role off Rob Thomson’s bench. He has experience everywhere on the diamond except catcher. He shouldn’t play much shortstop or center field but rates as a solid or better defender anywhere else. Edmundo Sosa will be the top utility infielder, while Otto Kemp has a similar defensive skillset to Moore and also hits right-handed. Depth outfielders Johan Rojas and Pedro León, plus non-roster invitee Bryan De La Cruz, also bat from that side. The Phils will have a lot of competition for potential platoon partners for Brandon Marsh and prospect Justin Crawford, who’ll go into camp with a good chance to win the center field job.
Corey Seager To Undergo Appendectomy, Not Ruled Out For Season
Rangers shortstop Corey Seager has appendicitis and will undergo an appendectomy. President of baseball operations Chris Young relayed the news to reporters, including Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News, saying that Seager will be “out a period of time” but hasn’t been ruled out for the entire year. Per Jeff Wilson of DLLS Sports, infielder Dylan Moore will be added to the roster with outfielder Evan Carter moved to the 60-day injured list to open a 40-man spot.
Though Seager isn’t completely ruled out for the season, it’s obviously a rough blow. Seager is the best player on the team. Despite missing some time due to hamstring strains and only playing in 102 games, he has produced four wins above replacement, in the eyes of FanGraphs. He has 21 home runs, a 13% walk rate, 19.6% strikeout rate, .271/.373/.487 batting line, 137 wRC+ and excellent grades for his shortstop defense.
No club ever wants to lose its best player to an injury but the Rangers are in an especially precarious spot. They have been hovering around .500 for most of the year, currently sporting a 68-67 record. That puts them 4.5 games back of a playoff spot with a month left to go.
They’re not totally knocked out but they’ve taken a few big punches lately. In the past month-plus, they have lost Seager, Carter, Marcus Semien, Nathan Eovaldi, Jake Burger, Sam Haggerty, Chris Martin, Jon Gray and Cole Winn to the injured list. Carter recently suffered a wrist fracture and this transfer means he’s ineligible to return before mid-October. Semien’s foot injury is going to cost him four to six weeks. Eovaldi’s rotator cuff strain is likely season-ending.
The club still has a chance to make a late charge for a postseason spot but doing so without so many key contributors will be tough. There’s also a ticking clock right now due to some granular MLB rules. The Rangers tried to avoid the competitive balance tax this year but reportedly went just over the line when making upgrades to the roster ahead of the trade deadline. They could sneak back under the tax line if a few players are claimed off waivers. However, a player would only be postseason eligible with a new club if claimed prior to September 1st. Since waivers are a 48-hour process, the Rangers would have to put guys on the wire in the next 24 hours or so, or else they would suddenly have significantly less appeal to other teams.
Merrill Kelly, Tyler Mahle, Danny Coulombe, Hoby Milner, Phil Maton, Shawn Armstrong and Patrick Corbin are all impending free agents. They therefore have no value for the Rangers beyond this year. If the club decides to punt on 2025, they could place some or all of them on waivers. It’s unlikely all of them would get claimed but Kelly definitely would and a few others probably would as well. Adolis García can be retained for 2026 but is a non-tender candidate and could make sense for the wire as well.
Time will tell if Seager’s injury pushes them to make that bold decision. For now, Josh Smith will likely step in for Seager at shortstop, per Wilson. That will leave playing time at second, which will be taken by some combination of Ezequiel Durán, Cody Freeman and Moore.
Moore and the Rangers just signed a minor league deal a few days ago after he had been released by the Mariners. He’s having an awful season, which prompted that release. He has a .193/.263/.359 batting line and 35.7% strikeout rate.
He has been better than that in the past. He came into the year with a career .206/.316/.384 line and 102 wRC+, despite striking out in 29.8% of his plate appearances. He had 104 stolen bases and had played every position except catcher.
Though he hasn’t been good this year, he’s essentially free for the Rangers. Since the Mariners released him, they remain on the hook for the majority of his salary. The Rangers only have to pay him the prorated portion of the league minimum salary for any time he spends on their roster. That amount will be subtracted from what the Mariners pay.
Photo courtesy of Kevin Jairaj, Imagn Images
Rangers, Dylan Moore Agree To Minor League Deal
The Rangers have agreed to a minor league contract with utilityman Dylan Moore, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. Moore, a client of Klutch Sports, was recently released by the division-rival Mariners.
Moore now returns to the organization that drafted him a decade ago. Texas selected him in the seventh round in 2015 out of the University of Central Florida. He didn’t advance beyond High-A before being traded to Atlanta a year later. Moore spent time in the Braves’ and Brewers’ systems until finally getting an MLB opportunity in Seattle as a minor league free agent.
It proved to be an adept pickup for the M’s front office. Moore played parts of seven seasons in Seattle and was a capable role player for most of that time. He won a Gold Glove in a utility capacity just last year. Moore bounced around the diamond while generally hitting for power against left-handed pitching. He has never been a high average hitter but showed enough of a well-rounded skillset that Seattle signed him to a three-year, $8.875MM extension in Spring Training 2023.
The first two seasons of that deal went well enough. Moore’s bat has absolutely cratered this year, as he’s hitting .193/.263/.359 across 213 plate appearances. He’s batting .149 with 44 strikeouts in 109 plate appearances with the platoon advantage and has gone a staggering 3-63 (.048) with 36 strikeouts in 41 games since the start of June. Seattle could no longer live with that kind of production, even in a bench capacity, while they fight for a playoff spot.
There’s neither much risk nor a huge ceiling on the deal for Texas. Seattle is on the hook for the rest of Moore’s $3.575MM salary. Texas would only pay him the prorated $760K league minimum for time he spends on the MLB roster. Moore will be a free agent at season’s end. He’ll provide an alternative to Ezequiel Duran and Josh Jung for infield playing time if he gets called up. Texas just lost Marcus Semien to what appears to be a season-ending foot fracture. Moore would be playoff eligible if Texas makes a surprise September run.
Mariners Place Dylan Moore On Unconditional Release Waivers
TODAY: Moore has now been placed on unconditional release waivers, the Mariners announced.
AUGUST 23: The Mariners announced this afternoon that they’ve designated utility man Dylan Moore for assignment. Moore’s spot on both the 40-man and active roster will go to outfielder Victor Robles, who was activated from the 60-day injured list in a corresponding move. Robles was recently dealt a ten-game suspension for an incident where he threw his bat towards the pitcher’s mound during a minor league rehab game. Robles will need to serve that suspension in the majors, but Daniel Kramer of MLB.com writes that Robles is expected to be in tonight’s lineup while he appeals the suspension.
Moore, 33, was the longest-tenured player on the Mariners roster prior to his DFA. The utility man debuted with the club back in 2019 and appeared in 113 games before breaking out in a big way during the shortened 2020 season. Moore appeared in 38 games for Seattle that year, and slashed an excellent .255/.358/.496 (140 wRC+) with eight homers and 12 steals in 159 trips to the plate. That was enough to make him the second best hitter on the roster, behind only catcher Austin Nola.
He dropped back below average in 2021, but starting in 2022 enjoyed a three-year stretch of above-average offense (113 wRC+) that also saw him swipe 60 bases and win a Gold Glove award. Even in his leaner offensive seasons of 2019 and ’21, Moore’s impressive versatility was enough to make him a valuable piece of the Mariners roster. He’s appeared at every position on the diamond except for catcher throughout his time in the majors, included a one-inning cameo on the mound during his rookie season.
That versatility combines with his speed (116 steals in 156 career attempts) to make Moore a valuable role player every season. Another notable trait of Moore’s that has made him valuable to the Mariners over the years is his knack for hitting well against southpaws. While he’s a career 92 wRC+ hitter against right-handed pitching, that jumps up to 110 when looking at his work in 675 plate appearances against lefties. His work against opposite-handed pitching has been even more impressive in recent years, as he slashed .233/.356/.425 (129 wRC+) against lefties during his peak seasons from 2022 to ’24.
All of that came apart in 2025, unfortunately. This year has been the worst of Moore’s career by a wide margin. He’s hit just .193/.263/.359 (78 wRC+) in 88 games while striking out at a career-high 35.7% clip. His typically strong defense all over the diamond hasn’t rated well by the metrics this year. Most concerning is his vanishing production against left-handed pitching; while his 91 wRC+ against righties this year is right in line with his career norms, Moore has hit just .149/.257/.309 (66 wRC+) with a 40.4% strikeout rate in 109 plate appearances against lefties this year.
That production simply wasn’t tenable for even a bench role, and now the Mariners have opted to part ways with the veteran just a few months before he otherwise would have reached free agency. Seattle will have one week to attempt to pass Moore through waivers, where he can be claimed by any MLB club willing to give him a spot on their roster and pay the remainder of his 2025 salary. Should he clear waivers unclaimed, the club could try to outright him to the minor leagues but he has more than enough service time to reject that outright assignment in favor of free agency.
Replacing Moore on the roster is Robles, who suffered a dislocated shoulder back in April and has been on the injured list ever since. A former top prospect who spent parts of eight seasons with the Nationals, Robles broke out with the Mariners at the age of 27 last year as he slashed .328/.393/.467 with 30 steals in just 77 games. That elite production was enough to earn Robles a two-year extension with the club, but year one of that deal hasn’t gone especially well between his lengthy stay on the IL and the aforementioned suspension he incurred during his rehab assignment. With Randy Arozarena and Julio Rodriguez entrenched in left and center field respectively, Robles figures to share time with Dominic Canzone and Luke Raley in right going forward.
Mariners Making Dylan Moore Available In Trade Talks
The Mariners made one of the first moves of trade season when they acquired Josh Naylor from the Diamondbacks earlier this week, and with a 55-49 record that puts them firmly in playoff contention. That should make them a clear buyer in the coming days, and several reports have already suggested they have interest in reuniting Naylor with his corner infield partner from Arizona, third baseman Eugenio Suarez. That doesn’t mean they wouldn’t consider dealing from their big league roster, however, as Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic writes that Seattle has made utility man Dylan Moore available in trade talks.
Rosenthal adds that the Mariners might be especially willing to part with Moore if they manage to swing a deal for Suarez. That makes plenty of sense, seeing as Moore is a player who has gotten the majority of his work this year on the infield against left-handed pitching. Suarez, meanwhile, would slot is as Seattle’s everyday third baseman and sports a career 126 wRC+ against left-handed pitching. A revamped infield that has both Naylor and Suarez in the mix at the corners would seemingly leave little room for Moore to get playing time, particularly with J.P. Crawford locked in at shortstop on a regular basis and top prospect Cole Young getting an extended look at the keystone.
With that being said, it’s worth noting that the Mariners may not be in position to get much of anything meaningful in return for Moore’s services. While the utility man’s versatility, respectable career numbers against left-handed pitching, and Gold Glove caliber defense last year are all attractive assets on paper, Moore has been mired in a brutal slump for well over a month at this point that figures to limit his trade value. He’s hitting .201/.264/.374 (83 wRC+) overall this year, a slash line that would be perfectly acceptable for a bench piece on a contender. Since the start of June, however, Moore has slashed an anemic .040/.111/.100 at the plate.
Those brutal numbers come across a sample of just 54 plate appearances, of course, but a 2-for-50 stretch is hard to write off as just a cold streak and would likely leave most prospective buyers unwilling to do more than take the remainder of Moore’s $3.66MM salary off of Seattle’s hands. Perhaps a deal could still come together if a team with weak bench options is willing to take a gamble on Moore and the Mariners are motivated to move his salary, however. The Mariners added minimal salary to their roster this winter, and while there have been signals that ownership is open to increasing payroll this summer it’s not entirely clear how far that expanded budget will go.
No teams have been directly connected to Moore, but he could make sense for teams with weak bench mixes who could value his versatility. The Yankees, Cubs, Brewers, and Astros are among the contenders with at least one bench piece who has been less productive than Moore’s overall numbers this year, although the Astros would be a tricky fit as the Mariners’ primary rival in the AL West and a team already loaded with right-handed bats. The Yankees in particular could be an intriguing fit for Moore’s services given that his right-handed bat could serve as a solid complement to the recently-added Ryan McMahon at third base, to say nothing of other lefties in the lineup like Trent Grisham and Ben Rice.
The Mariners Need To Shake Up Their Offense
Mariners fans entered the season with something of a sour outlook on the 2025 season. That's understandable, given an offseason in which the front office was clearly handcuffed by payroll limitations and a paper-thin trade market for big league hitters. Armed with a only a reported $15-16MM to patch over multiple needs in the infield, there wasn't a lot out there for president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto and general manager Justin Hollander to realistically pursue.
Seattle wound up rolling the dice on a handful of cost-effective infield options. Jorge Polanco returned on a one-year deal with a conditional player option. Donovan Solano snagged a $3.5MM guarantee. Rowdy Tellez signed a minor league deal and made the team after a big spring showing (.298/.320/.574 in 50 plate appearances).
Frustration was understandable. The Mariners had made a big splash at the prior deadline, reeling in Randy Arozarena from the Rays, but fans hoping for a similarly bold strike in the offseason after another narrow playoff miss were left wanting.
That frustration likely faded for many as the Mariners raced out to a blistering start. On May 7, they sat with a 22-14 record, leading the American League West by a three-game margin and sporting a +31 run differential. One might imagine that the Mariners were again being carried by their brilliant rotation, but that wasn't the case -- at least not entirely. George Kirby has still yet to throw a pitch in 2025 as he recovers from some shoulder inflammation. Logan Gilbert hit the injured list on April 25 and remains there. Bryan Woo has been brilliant. Luis Castillo has been good. Gilbert was his typically excellent self prior to his flexor injury. But the Mariners' starting pitching, as a whole, has been a middle-of-the-pack unit.
Instead, Seattle's hot start was largely attributable to a surprisingly potent offense. Through that previously mentioned May 7 date, M's hitters were slashing .247/.340/.415, resulting in a 122 wRC+ that ranked third in the majors. They were fourth in home runs, seventh in runs scored, 12th in batting average, second in on-base percentage and ninth in slugging percentage.
In the week-plus since that time, the Mariners have lost five of six games and posted a collective .206/.259/.326 batting line (70 wRC+). Typically, there's little sense panicking over a week of poor results, but there was already reason to be a bit skeptical of Seattle's sudden offensive prowess. Good as Cal Raleigh is, he's not going to continue at a 50-homer pace. Polanco isn't going to keep his OPS north of 1.000. J.P. Crawford isn't sustaining a .410 OBP, nor will Leo Rivas keep hitting .341. Those timely early-season hot streaks buoyed the Seattle offense but can't all be sustained.
The Mariners seemingly recognize that some new blood is needed; they claimed Leody Taveras off waivers from the division-rival Rangers and took on about $3.7MM in salary to do so. That was an understandable move with both Victor Robles and Luke Raley on the injured list for the foreseeable future, but it shouldn't be the only one the Mariners consider.
Let's run through a few easy ways to bolster a lineup that is facing even more pressure than usual now that Bryce Miller has joined rotation-mates Kirby and Gilbert on the injured list...
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Mariners Select Samad Taylor, Place Dylan Moore On IL
The Mariners announced that infielder/outfielder Samad Taylor has been selected to the roster. He will take the active roster spot of infielder/outfielder Dylan Moore, who has been placed on the 10-day injured list. The IL placement, which is retroactive to April 26th, is due to right hip inflammation. To open a 40-man spot for Taylor, right-hander Gregory Santos has been transferred to the 60-day IL.
Moore has been out to a red-hot start this year, with a .286/.346/.557 line to this point while bouncing around to all four infield spots and right field. He earned American League Player of the Week honors for the week of April 14th to 20th. It seems this hip issue will put that on pause. He hasn’t played since Friday, which is why the M’s were able to backdate his IL placement. The club hasn’t provided any updates but it’s possible he could rejoin them in a week if he just needs a bit of rest.
For now, Taylor will come up and take his spot. Like Moore, he’s capable of bouncing around the diamond. In the big leagues, he has experience at second base, third base, center field and left field. He has also played some shortstop in the minors, though not this year.
Offensively, he has hit just .215/.288/.277 in his 74 big league plate appearances, but with much better numbers on the farm. Dating back to the start of 2022, he has stepped to the plate 1,392 times at the Triple-A level with a .277/.371/.427 line and 108 wRC+. That includes a strong .321/.389/.560 showing so far this year. Speed is also a big part of Taylor’s game. He has stolen at least 23 bases in each minor league season dating back to 2018, including 50 last year. He already has six so far in 2025.
He will presumably move around to various positions for the M’s, perhaps doing some pinch running as well. He still has an option remaining, so he could be easily sent back down to the minors if Moore gets healthy relatively quickly.
As for Santos, it was reported last week that he would be undergoing surgery to repair cartilage in his right knee. His exact timeline isn’t clear but this transfer to the 60-day IL indicates that the club expects him to be out beyond the middle of June.
Photo courtesy of Mark J. Rebilas, Imagn Images
The Mariners’ Second Base Competition
The Mariners spent most of the offseason looking to address the infield. They eventually made a pair of relatively small free agent pickups. Donovan Solano was brought in as a right-handed platoon partner for Luke Raley at first base. Seattle surprisingly re-signed last year’s second baseman Jorge Polanco after the worst season of his career. The M’s are attributing that dip mostly to knee issues that required postseason surgery.
Polanco is moving to third base. That’s an effort to reduce how much he’ll move laterally to hopefully put less stress on his knees. The Mariners needed to do something at third base. Josh Rojas, who’d provided very little offensively after the first month of last season, was non-tendered. Polanco’s return will hopefully provide a boost at the hot corner, but it leaves second base open. There’ll likely be a camp battle between a veteran utilityman, a couple players with limited big league experience, and perhaps one of the organization’s top prospects.
A six-year major league veteran, Moore has easily the most experience of anyone in the competition. He has been a productive role player for Seattle. Moore typically plays in over 100 games per season while bouncing around the diamond. He takes a lot of walks and brings some right-handed pop, but his batting averages have hovered around the Mendoza line. He’s a career .206/.316/.384 hitter. He posted a .201/.320/.367 line with 10 homers and 32 stolen bases across a career-high 441 plate appearances last year.
Park-adjusted metrics like wRC+ and OPS+ had his overall offensive output right around league average — a reflection of how difficult it is to hit at T-Mobile Park. Moore’s splits are stark. He hit .249/.362/.478 away from Seattle but mustered only a .144/.269/.234 slash line at home. He was also far better against left-handed pitching. Moore hit .229/.352/.410 when he held the platoon advantage, compared to a .183/.299/.339 mark against righties.
Daniel Kramer of MLB.com wrote last night that Moore was the frontrunner for the starting job, though the M’s haven’t made a final decision. The 32-year-old has never had one settled position. He played all four infield spots and in left field last year. Moore has logged over 100 career innings at every position aside from catcher. He’s miscast at shortstop and in center field but plays solid defense everywhere else. Both Defensive Runs Saved and Statcast have credited him as an above-average defender in his nearly 1100 career innings at the keystone.
Bliss, 25, is a former second-round pick by Arizona whom the Mariners acquired in the Paul Sewald trade. He’s coming off a strong year at Triple-A Tacoma. The Auburn product hit .269/.377/.456 with 12 homers and 50 stolen bases (albeit with 13 times caught stealing) over 93 games. He drew walks at an excellent 14.1% clip against an average 22.4% strikeout rate. The Mariners called him up in late May.
Over his first 33 MLB contests, the righty-swinging Bliss hit .222/.290/.397. He hit a couple homers and swiped five bases, but he had a tough time making contact. Bliss struck out in 22 of his 71 plate appearances (a 31% rate) with a huge 16.5% swinging strike rate. That was a small sample in his first look at MLB pitching, so some struggles are to be expected, but the M’s optioned him back to Triple-A for the final two months of the season.
Listed at 5’7″ and 165 pounds, Bliss isn’t going to be a prototypical slugger. His average exit velocity and hard contact rate at both the Triple-A and MLB levels were solid, though. He has more power than it might seem at first glance. He’s a good athlete with decent strike zone discipline. The biggest question is whether the bat-to-ball skills will develop enough to make him a regular.
While Moore provides a ton of defensive flexibility, Bliss has a more limited profile. He played exclusively second base in the majors. Bliss has played on the left side of the infield (mostly shortstop) in the minors, but his arm strength is a question. He’s fast enough that the Mariners could eventually get him some work in the outfield, though his professional experience there consists of two minor league games in left field. Bliss still has a pair of options, so he’s likelier to end up back in Triple-A if he doesn’t win the second base job.
Young, 21, was Seattle’s first-round pick in 2022. He has ranked among Baseball America’s Top 100 overall prospects in all three professional seasons. Young has primarily played shortstop in the minors, but he started 37 games at second base with Double-A Arkansas last season. Barring injury to J.P. Crawford, Young figures to break into the majors as a second baseman.
Could that be as soon as Opening Day? President of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto has left the door open. “We are open to the idea that if any of our young players — if we feel like they have the ability to impact us in a meaningful way — show us that this is their time, we’re just going to let them run,” Dipoto said (via Kramer).
Young is coming off a strong Double-A season. He hit .271/.369/.390 with a robust 12.1% walk rate and a modest 15.8% strikeout percentage. While he only hit nine homers, he has an advanced hit tool and plate discipline. BA credits him as a potential plus hitter with fringe power who could play an above-average second base.
The lefty hitter has no Triple-A experience. The conventional path would be for him to begin the season in Tacoma with an eye towards a midseason promotion. That’s the likeliest outcome, but a big performance in Spring Training might accelerate the timeline.
Rivas, a switch-hitter, is likelier to wind up as a depth infielder than a regular. He reached the majors last year for the first time as a 26-year-old, hitting .233/.333/.274 in 43 games. Rivas posted big numbers in Triple-A. He turned in a .296/.441/.424 slash behind a massive 20.7% walk rate. He’ll work plenty of free passes but has limited power. Rivas can play shortstop and is better suited as a utility player. With two minor league options, he’ll likely bounce on and off the active roster.
Seattle acquired the 29-year-old Mastrobuoni in a DFA trade with the Cubs last month. He’s a .219/.279/.263 hitter over parts of three seasons. He’s unlikely to play regularly but could get occasional work around the infield if he holds onto his 40-man roster spot. He still has an option remaining.