Veteran first baseman Trey Mancini has opted out of his minor league contract with the Diamondbacks, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. Arizona evidently opted not to select him onto the MLB roster and he has returned to free agency. Utility infielder Nicky Lopez did the same this morning.
Mancini, 33, played three months with Triple-A Reno after signing an offseason non-roster deal. He’s had a nice season, batting .308/.373/.522 with 16 homers through 74 games. While that’s in a very hitter-friendly setting, Mancini has above-average numbers overall and had a particularly big showing in June.
The D-Backs have a first base/designated hitter tandem of Josh Naylor and Pavin Smith, leaving them without much room to accommodate Mancini. Smith has slumped since a scorching April, but he’s still carrying a .260/.369/.447 slash for the season. Arizona’s bench already skews right-handed, so Mancini would have been an imperfect fit as a bench bat.
Mancini will now look elsewhere for his first big league opportunity since 2023. He hasn’t been especially productive at the MLB level since being traded by the Orioles at the ’22 deadline. His numbers in Reno will at least allow him to find minor league interest elsewhere, presumably with a club that has a better path to first base playing time.
Trey- Have your agent call the White Sox.
Red Sox. Reference the article from 4 days ago here on mlbtr. craig breslow assessing the 1st base market.
Mancini knows the division and the park.
At least a fallback stashed at AAA.
He also is the type that can come in with zero ego and blend in with a veteran presence. He’d be a great fit to take a shot on, even if he just gets you a couple hot months
Good luck, Trey! Hope you find an opportunity somewhere.
Feel like the Phillies should look into him. He hits LHP
The Nats should DFA Bell and try Mancini. He can’t do any worse.
They’re not that far away from really DFAing Bell! The only thing against Mancini nis his age…
Mancini stinks. His career was over yrs ago.
You’re aware that Mancini did undergo cancer treatment, right, robw5555?
Well, I’m glad he’s good at beating cancer cause he stinks at baseball
Ah, when a never been makes comments on those who have. Priceless
At least he had a career.
Bell has been an unmitigated disaster!
Bell has been mostly bad for years now with a few monthly eruptions.
Lost his power and strikes out at a high rate.
It’s over.
At least Trey Mancini’s service time is 6.141 years according to baseball-reference.com. That’s longer than Darren Dreifort’s contract.
He didn’t “lose his power”. He no longer had that Little League park in Baltimore to hit in.
Sat out 2020 during the scamdemic at the top of his career. Watched his career swirl the toilet since.
what an idiotic comment
The Idiotic things MAGAT zombies say…
I’d bet anything you still wear a mask in public lol.
Sometimes I’ll wear a mask on the plane. It almost certainly won’t kill me, but I’d rather not have a cold. I bet you don’t wash your hands.
Chris….why do you and others bring politics into a baseball sight….if you would like to talk about MAGAT your zombies in fact based a conversation,I would bet my left nut and $6 bucks that everything you would just be quoting msm garbage….and as far as the topic of Trey Mancini on his comeback….I think many teams would and should be very interested…I think Cubs Yanks could find a spot and if you catch lightning in a bottle great if he fails it’s just amazing that he has come so far. He’s a champ in my book…NEVER GIVE UP. NO matter the odds and what the say. And all the grammar police I know my grammar sucks lol
He probably took 5 boosters to prevent the harmless cold.
There’s so much wrong with your comment but mostly he sat out 2020 because he was undergoing chemo!
Amazing how a baseball oriented website can attract such a varied assortment of cruel imbeciles.
Chemo = high risk of infection. Even had he the strength to do chemo and play MLB at the same time….he shouldn’t be exposing himself to an infectious disease that killed a lot of people….while on chemo.
Giants
A lot of teams are looking for upgrades at 1B, right? Why not take a chance at catching lightening in a bottle before the deadline? If it doesn’t work out, DFA Mancini and acquire a 1B via trade.
Pads could use an extra bat.
I’d normally agree diphthong but I think signing him would hurt team morale. Another Gurriel, Hayward, Joe, plus the two washed guys from last year Broomstick and one other I forget rn Gary Sanchez and separately, sorry, B Reynolds with PIT eating half salary. I know there are skeptics on him.
Feel like Bryan Reynolds would rake if he were batting amongst Manny, Tati (someone please wake him up), CroneZone, Arraez, XBo (recently awakened) and Merrill. Having a down year but PIT is a clown show.
I don’t know how signing him would hurt team morale. They’re clearly missing a RH bat for LF/DH and the bench depth is lacking.
He might not be the guy, but I don’t think Bryce Johnson and Brandon Lockridge are the answer either so what’s the harm in trying? The problem with Gurriel/Heyward etc… was they let those situations go on way too long.
This will turn out to be about as much as the Ms can to afford from ownership’s reported allowance to upgrade 1B…
Who cares about the salary if it solves the problem? As few teams have thrown in the towel, what better options do you see from those available right now?
Red Sox wouldn’t be hurting anything to take a look at him. Who knows? It may work out.
A return to the Orioles would be the best option. He always hit well for them and now three organizations haven’t been able to get him close to that form. He’s also a fan favorite who could help to rebuild some goodwill with the fans during a disappointing season. There’s no place to play him now but they’ll likely trade one or more regulars at the deadline.