Mariners reject is already mocking his former team amid Rangers' hot streak

Did you hear the one about the player who was so bad with the bat he couldn't hit water if he fell out of a boat while with the Mariners, but then went elsewhere and immediately started to do a lot better? It's not a joke in this case, as it's actually happening with Dylan Moore in Texas.

There were plenty of players, staff, media and fans alike unhappy to see Moore leave Seattle, with him one of the most loyal, popular and hard-working players on the Mariners roster. At the same time, most people accepted it was time to say goodbye, with him recording just three hits since May 28 and leading to a .240 OPS, -26 wRC+ and -0.9 fWAR.

Dylan Moore galvanized in his new home

Unfortunately for everyone connected with the M's, the 2024 Gold Glove Award winner has since signed with their divisional rivals, the Texas Rangers. And of course he's now decided to finally find his bat again and rekindle memories of earlier this season, when he was named American League Player of the Week for the first time in his Major League career.

Through three games with the Rangers, Moore is batting .500 with one hit in each game. That's right — he's already equalled his hit total with the Mariners between May 28 and when he was designated for assignment on August 23.

The 33-year-old has also been flashy with his hits in producing one home run and three RBI for the Rangers in those three games. We know he's not going to maintain his current 1.500 OPS in Texas, but it would be almost funny if it wasn't so exasperating for the average Mariners fan.

This isn't even the first time the Rangers have seemingly trolled the Mariners this season by picking up one of their castoffs. Remember Rowdy Tellez, who was released on June 26 after producing a -0.8 WAR, .208 batting average .682 OPS and 902 OPS+ in 62 games for the M's?

Well, Tellez has himself experienced a renaissance of sorts since landing with the Rangers, with a .728 OPS and 109 OPS+ in 32 games. While we appreciate those figures don't exactly jump off the page, they still allude to a player whose enjoying hitting a lot more in Texas compared to Seattle.

Red-hot Rangers closing in on the Mariners

Perhaps — no, definitely — this wouldn't matter so much if the Rangers weren't also currently on a hot-streak with six wins in a row and nine in their last 10. With the Mariners going 5-5 in the same stretch, they've allowed their divisional rivals to pull to within 1.5 games of them in the third and final AL wild card spot.

Making this all even more concerning for the Mariners is that the Rangers are managing to win without the likes of Marcus Semien, Corey Seager, Nathan Eovaldi, Tyler Mahle, Jon Gray and more who are on the injured list. It's no wonder M's fans are worried that their team is somehow going to ultimately just miss out on the playoffs for a third straight year.

Even the solace of the Mariners holding the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Rangers with a 10-3 record only helps if the two teams actually finish the season with the same record. It can only be hoped in Seattle that Moore and Tellez don't end up having the last laugh and turn this all into a joke after all, at the expense of the Mariners.