Dylan Moore is in a pinch

The off-the-bench doom loop

Dylan Moore lost his job.

When Dan Wilson could have called on Moore on Tuesday to face a lefty late, he chose Donovan Solano instead. Solano has a 31 wRC+ against lefties this year and grounded into an inning-ending double play. Moore got his chance the next inning and drew a walk — his first time on base since June 18. But he wasn’t Wilson’s first choice, in a spot where a manager surely has a first choice. Wilson had Miles Mastrobuoni pinch-hit for Moore in the ninth.

We expect some ups and downs from Moore at the plate. He’s been one of the truest “three true outcome” players in MLB since his debut. He hunts middle-middle fastballs and swings hard at them, with high whiff rates offset by solid contact in the air. When he’s on, he’s great; when he’s off, he’s not. The shape of his season didn’t seem abnormal when he posted a 157 wRC+ in April and a 96 wRC+ in May. Now we’re here:

Moore posted a -62 wRC+ in 32 plate appearances in June. It was the worst mark for any player in any month in 2025 and one of the 10 worst months of the Statcast era. He’s been visibly frustrated, which feels rare for Moore, and he’s occasionally ditched the wisdom of high socks, which feels rarer still.

Moore’s bat speed is down 1.1 mph since 2024, among the largest dips in MLB this year. I don’t know how much that matters. He didn’t make much contact in June, but he’s covered heart pitches in 2025 as well as ever. Moore’s underlying talent ceiling didn’t suddenly vanish on June 1.

Moore’s struggles seem more related to pitch recognition, timing or comfort. He chased and whiffed a lot in June, striking out 55% of the time (another semi-historic monthly mark). My guess is that stems from his new role off the bench and sporadic appearances like Tuesday night’s. Moore has always been labeled a utility man, but that’s generally meant “starter at many positions.” For his career, 87% of his plate appearances have come as a starter, which is about what he averaged in 2025 through May. In June, Moore took just 16 of his 32 plate appearances as a starter, the lowest rate of his career. It’s not a role he’s ever had much success with:

• Starter: .313 wOBA, .304 xwOBA, and 28.9% strikeout rate (1601 plate appearances)
• Bench: .262 wOBA, .278 xwOBA, and 40.3% strikeout rate (238 plate appearances)

Moore’s starts dropped significantly when the Mariners called up Cole Young on May 31. The team said Young would get an extended look as the de facto starter at second base, even against lefties. Normally this wouldn’t be a roadblock for Moore, who's played every position in his career but catcher — and well enough to earn the 2024 Gold Glove for utility fielders. But now he’s whiffed his way to the bottom of the depth chart, all but consumed by the black hole of opportunity he orbited for years. He needs more playing time, and he can’t earn it once every 2 1/2 games.

I don’t know how this resolves in the near future. Moore joined the Mariners in 2019 and is the roster’s longest-tenured player. He’s appeared in 647 games since his debut, which ranks 25th all-time among Mariners batters (he recently passed Willie Bloomquist, with 10-times the fWAR). He’ll be a free agent at the end of this year. It’s hard to imagine the Mariners without him. He’s always found a way.