Dylan Moore overheats, hits the IL w/hip inflammation, Samad Taylor recalled

A utility shuffle stretches Seattle’s depth even further.

The Seattle Mariners announced Tuesday afternoon that they’ve placed UTIL Dylan Moore on the 10-day injured list for position players with right hip inflammation. Correspondingly, Seattle has recalled UTIL Samad Taylor from Triple-A Tacoma.

Moore had not played over the weekend, partially a result of strong play by his teammates at his typical positions, as well as a trio of right handed pitching opponents. However, it seems, the hip issue was at play. The injury is a more understandable explanation for Moore’s absence from use, given he was coming off winning the American League Player of the Week from April 14th-20th. With Seattle down 2B Ryan Bliss for most or all of the year and Jorge Polanco limited to DH duties, hitting lefty exclusively, the infield has already had to dig into its Rainiers reserve.

Per manager Dan Wilson, the injury was apparently sustained when Moore tweaked something on a swing in the series at Boston, and the team has opted to give him a couple of weeks of pure rest for the inflammation to calm down.

“DMo is a hard worker and will be back as soon as he can,” said Wilson.

Moore’s absence is a sizable blow for Seattle, for whom the 32 year old has been an absolute terror against LHP. Often hitting leadoff against southpaws, Moore has a .286/.346/.557 line through 78 plate appearances this year, with a 164 wRC+ that’s second on the team among players with at least 40 PAs. Durability has always nagged Moore, but he’s become indispensable on all sides of the ball.

To replace him is Samad Taylor, whose season has begun well enough to merit consideration of a call-up in any case. The 26 year old has been torching the Pacific Coast League with a 141 wRC+ and a .321/.389/.560 line that features the lowest strikeout rate of his career (16.2%) and a BABIP that’s lofty (.344) but not out of alignment with the league’s hitter-happy homes nor Taylor’s excellent foot speed. He only played in three games a season ago with Seattle at the big league level after being acquired from Kansas City on the waiver wire, and was outrighted off the 40-man roster this winter. Taylor’s approach should look familiar to that of his frequent teammate Leo Rivas: plenty of walks and spoiled pitches with a short, contact oriented stroke. His speed is a huge plus, and he’s been an aggressive runner in the minors. He’ll likely be utilized in a platoon role where possible, as Taylor can cover every defensive position besides catcher as needed.

To create the room for Taylor, as a procedural move following his knee surgery announcement, Gregory Santos was moved to the 60 day IL. He could still return this year, and in fact is not out of alignment to do so, albeit likely in the season’s second half.