Mariners sign Dylan Moore to 3 year extension
Mariners sign Dylan Moore to 3 year extension
Late Wednesday night the Mariners agreed to an extension with super utility player Dylan Moore. Moore is one of the longest tenured Mariners, and will be around for a few more years in Seattle.
On Wednesday night Jeff Passan reported that the Mariners had agreed on a three-year contract extension with utility man Dylan Moore. Moore was set to be a free agent in 2025, but Seattle bought out his last two years of arbitration and a free agent year to keep him in town.
This deal will keep the California native in town through his age 33 season. I like this move a lot for both the player and the organization, so let’s break it all down.
Moore has shown his value year after year in Seattle, especially after signing as a minor league free agent in 2018. Most casual fans may not truly realize the value of a player who typically produces such a low batting average and little power.
Being in the clubhouse for most of last season, the value of Moore became more apparent to me. When Julio Rodríguez was scratched late season with a wrist injury, the utility man easily can step in and filled this role. His positional versatility as an average outfielder and an above-average infielder is extremely valuable, especially when injuries pop up over the course of a long season.
The 30-year-old sparkplug is also a great leader and has a tremendous work ethic, and there is no doubt he has been a part of the culture change in Seattle. He takes his preparation and work as seriously as anybody and does the little things that are needed to help the team win.
In addition to the intangibles, Moore shows value in his advanced numbers as well. The University of Central Florida alum posted a career-high 2.1 fWAR season in 2022 and has posted 5.4 fWAR in parts of 4 seasons with the Mariners.
Moore’s specialties are getting on base and handling left-handed pitching, which the club will ask him to do a lot more of in 2023. He posted an on-base of .368 last season, which was a career-high. A lot of his damage came against left-handed pitchers, posting a 137 WRC+ against southpaws.
Seattle will ask him to do a lot more of this in 2023, splitting time with JP Crawford and Kolten Wong against left-handed pitchers.
Moore also provides tremendous value on the base paths and defensively. After swiping 21 bags in 2022, we should expect an uptick with larger bases and pick-off restrictions coming into effect. He also spent time at every position last season besides catcher and remarkably does them all at an average to an above-average level.
His value isn’t always easy to see, but his versatility is unmatched. Seattle will pay him a little less than 3 million dollars per season over the next three years, a bargain for a 2 WAR player.
It is easy to see how the Mariners have fallen in love with this player, and why they want him around for the foreseeable future. He has won over his manager Scott Servais and Jerry Dipoto with his work ethic and winning style. I love this move for Seattle and Moore, who has earned every bit of this contract and chance to remain with this organization.
