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.