The Diamondbacks and first baseman/outfielder Trey Mancini have agreed to a minor league deal, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN. The Frontline client will be in big league camp as a non-roster invitee.
Mancini, 33 in March, didn’t play last year. He signed a minor league deal with the Marlins in January of 2024 but he opted out of that deal at the end of camp, presumably after being told he wouldn’t make the team. He didn’t sign anywhere else. At the start of November, it was reported that Mancini was planning to make a comeback in 2025. It seems the Snakes will give him a shot, at least by giving him some looks in spring.
It wouldn’t be the first comeback for Mancini, who famously returned to baseball after missing the 2020 season battling Stage 3 colon cancer. Over the 2021 and 2022 seasons, he hit .247/.323/.412 for a 105 wRC+. Most of that came with the Orioles, though that club traded him to the Astros at the 2022 deadline, which allowed Mancini to win a World Series ring with Houston a few months later. That was a bit below his 2016 to 2019 form, when he slashed .276/.335/.485 for a 116 wRC+, but it was a strong performance and an inspiring comeback nonetheless.
He parlayed that performance into a two-year deal with the Cubs, though that deal didn’t go as hoped. Mancini put up a line of .234/.299/.336 in 263 plate appearances with Chicago and was off the roster by the start of August. He then landed a minors deal with the Reds but got released from that pact. As mentioned, a minor league deal with the Marlins last offseason didn’t get him back to the majors.
Though he missed all of last year and struggled badly in 2023, he’ll be looking to get back on track with the Diamondbacks. Mancini has played some outfield in his career but he never got great marks out there and his last significant stint on the grass was in 2019. Given that he has more experience at first base and is now pushing into his mid-30s, he’s probably more likely to wind up at first or slot in as the designated hitter.
Last year, the Diamondbacks had Christian Walker as their primary first baseman, though he hit free agency and signed with the Astros. The Snakes acquired Josh Naylor from the Guardians to take over as the regular there. Joc Pederson was the primary DH, at least against right-handed pitching. He also became a free agent and signed in the AL West, in his case with the Rangers.
As of now, Pavin Smith might project as the top option for the DH spot after a solid showing in 2024. Though he was often sent to Triple-A and back, he got into 60 big league games and slashed .270/.348/.547 for a 140 wRC+. Like Pederson, Smith is a lefty hitter who struggles against southpaws, so a platoon partner would make sense.
The Diamondbacks signed righty-swinging Randal Grichuk this week. He seems likely to serve a fourth-outfielder, short-side platoon role. The Snakes have lefties Corbin Carroll, Jake McCarthy and Alek Thomas in their outfield, as well as Naylor and Smith in the first base/designated hitter mix. Perhaps Mancini can work his way into that calculus as well, depending on how he looks in spring after a year away from official action.