Dylan Moore's Mariners DFA is a badly overdue end of a fun era

So long, D Mo.
Seattle Mariners v Philadelphia Phillies
Seattle Mariners v Philadelphia Phillies | Mitchell Leff/GettyImages

As announced by the Seattle Mariners on Saturday, Dylan Moore has been designated for assignment (DFA) to make way for the reinstatement of Víctor Robles. It effectively all but brings to an end Moore's time in the Pacific Northwest after seven seasons.

For many the decision to DFA Moore is long overdue, with the fanbase recently having become extremely frustrated with manager Dan Wilson continuing to play him. He had been on a truly horrific run of form at the plate since May 28 with just three hits, resulting in a .045 batting average, .240 OPS, -26 wRC+ and -0.9 fWAR.

The 33-year-old has utterly and completely lost his confidence as this season has progressed. However, objectively speaking we can understand the Mariners' reluctance to discard someone who has been one of the team's most loyal, popular and hard-working players, dating back to when he made his Major League debut in Japan at the beginning of the 2019 season.

From the highest of highs to the lowest of lows with the Mariners

In some ways, Moore serves as a good example of how things can change so quickly in the world of baseball, and by extension professional sports in general. Just last year he was the first ever Mariner to win the American League Gold Glove Award at the utility position, while also becoming just the 16th player in franchise history to record 30-plus stolen bases in a season.

Even more recently, the 2015 seventh-round draft pick got off to an excellent start this season, as he was named American League Player of the Week for the first time ever, hitting .385 for a 1.177 OPS between April 14-20. Through the end of that month he appeared set for a career year, with a .286 batting average, .903 OPS and 154 wRC+.

In the end, though, 2025 instead ended up being one of the worst year's of Moore's time in the majors, with a .193 batting average, .622 OPS, 78 wRC+.and career-low 0.2 fWAR. He was especially poor against left-handed pitching, but by the end it didn't matter who he was facing on the mound.

As frustrated as the fanbase became with Moore during his stunning collapse, this was only equalled by that same fanbase feeling sorry for someone who was the ultimate teammate. What comes next for the Yorba Linda, California native remains to be seen, but anyone connected with the Mariners will more than likely wish him well for the future.