Everyone seems to love Seattle Mariner Dylan Moore, but two hits in two months?

As we wait to see if the Mariners make another move before Thursday’s trade deadline at 3 p.m., I’m pondering some other things that have been on my mind for a long time now.

How is Dylan Moore still on this team? And if he’s still on this team, how does he continue to get playing time?

I hope in my next life I get as many chances as Moore. I also hope that if I’m reincarnated as a terrific fielder and subpar hitter, I will be as universally well-liked as Moore has been in his seven years with the Mariners.

Since May 28th, Moore has two hits in 54 at-bats. Two hits in two months. In May he had three hits in one game.

Even worse, he doesn’t make contact very often, striking out 33 times in those 54 at-bats, whiffing all three times he made plate appearances Monday night against the A’s when he gave J.P. Crawford a night off at shortstop.

To answer my own question, Moore is still with the Mariners because no one on the squad besides Crawford can play shortstop, and he’s elite defensively, winning a Gold Glove as a utility player last season.

Crawford has struggled of late in the field and at the plate where he’s 1-for-his last-34. So you’ve currently got two black holes at an important position on a team that still lacks firepower even with the acquisition of Josh Naylor last week.

If it were up to me, I’d cut Moore and call up Leo Rivas, who has been no great shakes as a major leaguer but still rates as an improvement over the man he’d replace.

For the past two months for whatever reason - certainly not a good one - manager Dan Wilson has continued to give Moore opportunities against left-handed pitchers. It’s crazy to me how married managers are to analytics, but I’m guessing they would say how dumb I am for questioning their strategy. All they’re trying to do is give their players the best chance to succeed.

I would counter by saying that Moore is hitting .229 against right-handlers this year and .161 against lefties with 40 strikeouts in 87 at-bats facing those supposedly susceptible southpaws.

And it’s not as if Moore has ever been smokin’ hot against anyone - he has career averages of .197 against right-handlers, .217 against left-handers.

You keep thinking that his slump can’t possibly continue, yet there he is again, striking out on three pitches, maybe four, and heading back to the dugout, not even coming close to making contact.

A week ago, Shane Lantz of the Seattle Times talked to Moore about his hitting issues.

“You go through these types of things throughout each season,” Moore said. “This one has been a little longer than I would have liked, but we’ll come out of it better for it.”

A little longer? We’re entering Month 3 of the “Will Dylan Moore Ever Hit Again” portion of the program.

I’m not sure what the equivalent of 2-for-54 with 33 strikeouts in the real world is, but do you think you’d still have your job if you were that unproductive for that long?

Moore apparently gets a long leash because of what he did earlier this season, belting six of his nine home runs in April, an absolute juggernaut who was smacking balls all over the place. On April 5th at Cincinnati, he hit two home runs. But after going 3 for 4 on May 27th against the Nationals and improving his average to .272, Moore is hitting .197 now.

As much as I can’t understand why he’s still here and still playing, I think we all feel for him on a personal level. Sure, we could be cynical and say how bad can it be, the guy’s making $3.9 million this year so at least he’s financially secure.

If I’m Moore and you asked me if I would take a million-dollar pay cut to be the player that I was in April, I’d consider doing it. Imagine being good enough to qualify as a major leaguer for seven years then to suddenly become someone who can’t hit anymore.

Think about those times he no doubt stares at the ceiling in his hotel room, tossing and turning on another restless night, hoping that breakthrough game will happen tomorrow.

As far as I can tell, Moore remains beloved by Mariner fans. I can’t think of too many times I’ve heard anyone say: “Man, I can’t stand Dylan Moore.”

More often we look at a player we appreciate and can relate to - he appears to be a try-hard guy who has maximized his athletic ability to get where he is. We like how versatile he is, playing several positions and excelling at them all.

Moms love him, grandmas love him, kids love him, guys at the bar love him, we all love him and when he comes to the plate, we cross our fingers for him only to see him fail to come through again.

In other walks of life, he’d be gone by now. Soon the same will hold true in baseball too. Time’s not running short, it’s sprinting short for Dylan Moore.

Jim Moore has covered Washington’s sports scene from every angle for multiple news outlets. He appears Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 10 a.m. on Jason Puckett’s podcast at PuckSports.com. He writes a Substack blog at jimmoorethego2guy.substack.com. You can find him on X (formerly Twitter) @cougsgo.

This story was originally published July 30, 2025 at 11:09 AM with the headline "Everyone seems to love Seattle Mariner Dylan Moore, but two hits in two months?."