THE CHEAP SEATS with STEVE CAMERON: With Dylan Moore gone, who will you email me about now?

This is the other side of the game.

If we were to sit down and go through my emails for the past two or three years, what Mariner do you suspect was mentioned the most?

The answer is Dylan Moore, and the gap is not particularly close.

Moore has a cluster of super-loyal fans, folks who love his game and respect the hard work and amazing versatility that have kept him in the big leagues for seven years.

That’s without having a starting spot at any time, really.

Moore is an excellent defender at almost every position, and he can run like a deer.

In 2024, he stole 32 bases — part of his 116 career total, most coming when the opposition knew he was going to run — and contributed on the other side of the ball with the Gold Glove awarded to a utility player.

Unfortunately, Dylan’s offense has been confined mostly to his legs.

Oh, he has sneaky power and has hit occasional little clusters of home runs (emphasis on “little”), but contact has always been a problem.

In 192 at-bats this year, Moore was hitting .193.

I THINK all those Dylan Moore fans who are persistent correspondents will be writing emails until their fingers bleed this week.

Yep, they’re upset.

Their hero has been tossed under the bus.

Ironically, Moore was released by the Mariners on Sunday, almost at the same time that longtime pal Cal Raleigh hit home runs Nos. 48 and 49 to set the record for bombs by a catcher.

Oddly, I doubt I’ll get many emails about Raleigh.

His feats speak for themselves.

A switch-hitting catcher? Positioned in the dirt all summer and still finding that power stroke?

The national media is finally discovering the Big Dumper.

Oh, I’ll probably get a few messages demanding that Cal be the American League MVP.

For what it’s worth, I think he deserves it — the soul of a contending team who runs the show behind the plate, and then hits home runs that change the standings.

I saw Salvy Perez (whose record for homers by a catcher tumbled on Sunday) basically lead the Royals to the World Series in 2014 and 2015.

Salvador was the heart of those teams, and finally got his Series championship in ‘15.

No doubt it would be cool for the Dumper to reach the World Series in the year he broke Salvy’s home run record.

Meanwhile, though, Dylan Moore is looking for work.

Now 33, his tools may have slipped slightly, but he’s still a terrific athlete who can help a contending team in plenty of ways.

All those emails trumpeting Dylan’s skills are coming, believe me.

COULD a player like Moore help win games during a pennant race?

It’s happened before.

Having a “speed guy” that can run and/or be plugged into five or six different positions is pretty doggone handy down the stretch — and in the playoffs.

If you’re a booster of running and defense (plus versatility) in close, low-scoring games, it’s easy to make the case for a player like Dylan Moore.

Hell, the Mariners kept him in town for seven seasons, and he only hit over .225 once.

An oddity about the Mariners deciding to cut ties now is that Moore was probably at his best in 2024.

He only hit .201, but his totals also included 10 homers, 32 steals and making lots of pitchers nervous.

Unfortunately, Dylan’s good vibes — and contact at the plate — deserted him even more dramatically this past offseason.

Moore got off to a great start this year, but sometime in 

June the wheels flew off.

Completely.

He managed just three hits in his next 74 plate appearances, despite plenty of at-bats against left-handers that should have given him an advantage.

Dylan struck out 38 times in that span, a horrible optic that seemed to be on constant repeat.

The Mendoza Line looked further away than the Panama Canal.

So, the Mariners pulled the trigger.

Still, don’t feel sorry for Dylan, who’s wrapping up a three-year contact for $8.8 million.

I’d love to run, bunt and play a little second base for that wage packet.

Who wouldn’t?

Email: [email protected]

Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns appear in The Press three times each week, normally Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday unless, you know, stuff happens.

Steve suggests you take his opinions in the spirit of a Jimmy Buffett song: “Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On.”