Trey Mancini didn’t spend much time with the Chicago Cubs. After failing to make it back into the Majors in 2024, he isn’t ready to call it quits just yet.
The 34-year-old slugger told The Baltimore Banner of his intention to return to the game. He didn’t play last season after he failed to make the Miami Marlins’ Opening-Day Roster and he opted out of his minor-league deal.
He spent the season at home with his family.
Mancini admitted in the article that he’s trying to put the last two years behind him, a stretch that started with the Cubs after he signed a free-agent deal with Chicago before the 2023 season.
“I don’t exactly love how things ended in my career, and I really do think if I’m in the right situation I can still be an impact bat,” Mancini said. “And I know saying that means nothing and I’d have to go out there and prove it, but I’m fully ready to go do that. I just kind of got that hunger back, out of nowhere, honestly.”
He wasn’t able to make much of an impact with the Cubs. Signed after he helped the Houston Astros win the 2022 World Series, Chicago envisioned him being of help at first base, in the outfield and even at designated hitter.
He never really caught on. He struggled offensively with a slash line of .234/.299/.336/.635, including four home runs and 28 RBI in 79 games.
Chicago released him, after which he signed a minor-league deal with the Cincinnati Reds but failed to catch on there as well. With Triple-A Louisville, he hit two home runs in 19 plate appearances and slashed .316/.316/.737 in five games.
Mancini spent most of his career with the Baltimore Orioles. He broke in with the O’s in 2016 for five games and then played his first full season in 2017, where he finished third in American League Rookie of the Year voting. With the Orioles he had a .270 batting average with 117 home runs and 350 RBI. He hit a career-high 35 home runs in 2019.
Mancini missed the COVID-shortened 2020 season while battling stage three colon cancer and returned in 2021 to win the AL Comeback Player of the Year award with a .255 batting average, 25 home runs and 71 RBI.
Mancini joined Houston at the 2022 trade deadline as a versatile bat that could come off the bench or start at first base, outfield or designated hitter.
His first hit with the Astros was a home run and he also hit his first career grand slam with Houston. He only slashed .176/.258/.364/.622 with the Astros but contributed to them winning the AL West even though he only participated in 51 games.
He didn’t play much in the postseason, but he made a key grab as a defensive substitute in Game 5 of the World Series that helped preserve a win and led to the Astros winning the crown.
