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Brady's Spin: These Three Reasons Are Why Dylan Moore is Still on Seattle Mariners Roster
Seattle Mariners second baseman Dylan Moore (25) celebrates at second base after hitting a double during the sixth inning against the Washington Nationals at T-Mobile Park on May 27. Stephen Brashear-Imagn Images

The Seattle Mariners are coming off a difficult series in Baltimore, where they dropped two of three to the last-place Orioles. As a result, the M's are 67-55 with 40 games to play. They are still in a good spot, as they lead the chase for the first wild card by one game over the Boston Red Sox, but they are 1.5 games back of the Houston Astros in the American League West.

The M's loss on Wednesday (4-3), fueled outrage from fans who were upset to see Dylan Moore playing. Forget that Moore has just four at-bats in August, fans were upset to see him strikeout twice and make multiple costly miscues in right field.

Mired in a 2-for-62 slump since the end of May, Mariners fans are growing restless about his presence on the roster, so why is he still here?

He's right-handed

Simply put, the Mariners like to have options and flexibility. You don't have to like it, but they do. Moore is a right-handed hitter, the same as Donovan Solano. Neither has been particularly effective this year, but if the M's have to go to the bench, they want to have a counter against bullpen moves. Miles Mastrobuoni offers the same options as Moore, but from the left side.

Brad Penner-Imagn Images

He can steal a base

Dylan Moore hasn't played much at all in August, so little in fact that his place on the roster really shouldn't be this much of a discussion point, but it is. Moore stole 32 bases last season and can grab a bag in a pinch as a pinch-runner, and he can serve as a pinch-running option for multiple guys on the team, including Eugenio Suarez, Josh Naylor and Dominic Canzone. Furthermore, as a utility Gold Glover last season, he can fill in at any of their positions should it be needed.

Loyalty and trust

Moore is the longest-tenured Mariners player, having joined the roster in 2019 alongside J.P. Crawford. This is just my own speculation, but I believe that counts for something within the organization. It's also become very apparent that Dan Wilson trusts veteran players, and while he may not trust Moore to get four at-bats a game very often anymore, he does trust him to make the right read on the bases, which could matter as this team pushes for the playoffs.

We discussed more of this on the latest Refuse to Lose podcast, and you can listen in the podcast player below:

This article first appeared on Seattle Mariners on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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