As far as Dylan Moore is concerned, it’s time for the Phillies to put up or shut up. When Moore signed a split contract with the Phillies in late January, part of the deal was an opt-out clause for late March that if he chose to exercise, would give the Phillies 48 hours to either add him to the 40-man roster or allow him to become a free agent. Moore notified the Phillies on Thursday that he is triggering that clause, giving them until Saturday to come up with a decision.
The Phillies and Moore signed a split major/minor league contract which calls for him to be paid $1.85-million if he is on the 40-man roster. Since he has triggered the clause, if the Phillies add him to the roster they would not be able to send him to Triple-A since he is out of options, unless they allow him to go through waivers where he would likely be claimed by another team. The Phillies 40-man roster currently has 38 players on it, but does not include outfielder Justin Crawford who has won the starting center field job with the team. The Phillies may have other players, namely left-hander Tim Mayza and outfielder Bryan De La Cruz, who they would want to add to the 40-man roster.
The Phillies love Moore’s versatility to play literally every spot on the diamond except catcher. He is primarily an infielder and corner outfielder, but has played in center field in his professional career. In 2024, Moore was awarded a Gold Glove as a utility man while he was with the Seattle Mariners.
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There is some concern that Moore, 33, is slipping offensively. Moore is batting just .172 (5-for-29) this spring following a season where he hit a combined .201/.267/.374/.641 with Seattle and Texas. Moore has never been an offense-first player and he has just once in his career hit higher than .225, which was back in 2020 when he hit .255/.358/.496/.555 with the Mariners. Still, over the past three seasons, Moore has hit just .202/.302/.381/.683.
While the Phillies would ideally like to fill the final bench spot with someone who can play both infield and outfield, they have also liked seeing what De La Cruz — 1-4-.324/.390/.432/.822 — has done this spring. However, De La Cruz is primarily just a corner outfielder who can also play center field, if needed. Catcher Garrett Stubbs has been working in both left field and third base, positions he played in college, to gain more versatility, but it’s not clear if the Phillies would trust him defensively to add him to the active roster. Like Moore, if the Phillies want to send Stubbs to Lehigh Valley, where he played last season, he would need to pass through waivers. It’s also likely that Stubbs would be claimed by another team.
With Moore, there are teams looking for infield help because of injuries. The Mets, Baltimore, and Houston are all thought to be looking for help on the infield. Moore’s old team, the Seattle Mariners, could also be interested since former Phillie J.P. Crawford has been battling a shoulder issue that has limited him to just 18 plate appearances this spring.
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