The Angels have agreed to a minor league contract with first baseman/outfielder Trey Mancini, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. Presumably, the Frontline client will be in big league camp as a non-roster invitee next month.
A focal point in the Orioles’ offense from 2017-21, Mancini was once a consistent 20-homer threat who topped out with 35 round-trippers in 2019’s juiced-ball season. His career — and life — were thrown into chaos when he was diagnosed with Stage 3 colon cancer prior to the 2020 season. Mancini announced nine months later that he’d wrapped up a chemotherapy regimen and was cancer-free. He made an inspirational return to the diamond in 2021 and hit .255/.326/.432 with 21 home runs during the 2021 season.
Mancini’s 2022 season was split between Baltimore and Houston, who acquired him at the trade deadline. His rate stats slipped to .239/.319/.391, but his track record was still enough to net him a two-year deal in free agency. That deal with the Cubs didn’t pan out. Mancini was cut loose after hitting .234/.299/.336 in 79 games in 2023, and he hasn’t played in the majors since.
Out of baseball entirely in 2024, Mancini returned to the game on a minor league deal with Arizona last year. He slashed .308/.373/.522 (110 wRC+) in 335 plate appearances with the D-backs’ Triple-A affiliate in Reno before opting out of the contract in June. A big league offer didn’t materialize, and Mancini did not return to the field in 2025.
As Rosenthal explores at length in a full column, the Angels deal reunites Mancini with former Orioles slugger and VP of baseball operations Brady Anderson, who accepted his first major league coaching gig this offseason when he agreed to become the hitting coach in Anaheim. For part of a deep dive into Anderson’s history and next chapter, Rosenthal chatted with Mancini, who credits Anderson with keeping his career going. Mancini tells Rosenthal that he was “at peace being done” after being cut from a minor league deal with the Reds during spring training last year. Anderson, however, invited Mancini to come hit with him and got him back on track before that minor league deal with the Diamondbacks.
Mancini will be 34 in March and hasn’t taken a major league plate appearance in nearly 30 months. He’ll obviously be a long shot to break camp on the Angels’ roster or even to be called to the majors at any point this coming season. Last year’s run in Reno shows that he still has some life in his bat, however, and the Angels’ lineup is hardly lacking in opportunity.
First baseman Nolan Schanuel has been a hit-over-power first baseman with below-average defensive grades since being rushed to the majors just two months after his selection as a first-rounder in 2023. Oft-injured Mike Trout and rebound hopeful Jorge Soler will be splitting time between designated hitter and the outfield corners. Bench options for new manager Kurt Suzuki include out-of-options infielders Oswald Peraza and Vaughn Grissom, waiver addition Wade Meckler, and outfielders Kyren Paris, Matthew Lugo and Bryce Teodosio. Paris and Lugo both fanned in more than one-third of their major league plate appearances last year. Teodosio is a 26-year-old former undrafted free agent who hit .203/.248/.304 in 50 games as a rookie last year.
Approaching mid-30s, hasn’t played in MLB the past two seasons. Angels. Yep, checks out.
@nukeg. My guess is he won’t make the team, and will retire.
Another addition to what seems like their 80 man roster of mostly minor league signings. some of you in this comment section probably getting an ML offer from them shortly.
I have been waiting by the phone. I admit that gravity has more influence over my curveball than spin rate now adays but I just consider myself a crafty lefty veteran. I need to make sure they have my correct number.
Good luck to him!
Trey is a great guy to have around your organization. I doubt he makes big league contributions but he ought to have a career in baseball after he decides to call it quits.
Great story coming back from cancer and contributing to the Stros WS. You can’t dislike Mancini.
@Baltimore. Wouldn’t surprise me if he retires, and sticks around as a triple A coach. Everyone is under a one year deal. So they should have openings.
Good lort! The franchise is an embarrassment to baseball!
because they signed a great clubhouse guy to a minor league deal and let him come to spring training? Oh the horror!
Oh ffs!
Probably need talent before they need a good clubhouse guy. That’s like buying a really fancy set of chairs for a shack with holes in the roof ,not gonna matter much in the end and not gonna save the situation.
you’re acting like he is going to make the roster.
It’s a minor league deal. The Angels know he likely won’t make it. Mancini knows it’s a longshot. What’s the harm in having a good dude around the young guys for a month? Would probably be a pretty darn good coach too
There’s no embarrassment associated with this signing.
Get this man back to the big leagues he mashed in Reno last year and somehow still didn’t find a big league job. I really hope he gets another chance great guy and I believe still a good ballplayer.
It’s Reno. I could hit 25 playing half my games in Reno
It’s just a signing relax. I know everyone likes dump on the Halo’s
They’re making it really easy right now
That’s because the Angels are dump-worthy. Every offseason it’s the same exercise in the acquisition of bounce back hopefuls who were never really good at their peak to begin with. Then Moreno sends the GM du jour out with the same script that reads “we are comfortable with the team we’ve assembled this offseason but we’re always open to opportunities as they come up”. That’s why we dump.
@prov356. Probably the future DH, when soler and trout get hurt.
Like I said it’s just a signing.
Yes, but you also added that everyone likes to dump on the Angels. That’s the portion I responded to. Because you are right, it is just a signing.
Yeah, no chit
When they make it so easy too. We are not dumping. We are outraged disappointed upset We don’t want to lose we want a fighting chance to compete. We can dump when we know our season is pretty much over by Memorial Day. We dump when we know half these signings will be DFA’ed by the all star break. We dump when we see the A’s and Pirates spend more money than we do. We dump when our pathetic excuse for a GM tries to spin all this as competitive moves and thinks the fans are gonna fall for it. We dump when we see a once proud and winning organization just 15 years ago being ran into the ground
Thank you for catching that unassisted in-between rocket @ 1B by Schwarber in G5 of the 2022 WS <3
All the guys who didn’t get those big league deals are taking what work they can get now. Happens every year.
“and the Angels’ lineup is hardly lacking in opportunity”
The raw, unadulterated, truth…
Why haven’t they signed as many pitchers on minor league contracts as possible since it is obvious they have no money or desire to improve the big league(Haha!) team?
Zero risk. Angels have nothing but holes so if he has anything left at all he has a chance.
Most likely is he retires but so what?! Nothing lost by giving him a chance.
@Weasel3-Exactly.
Let’s add the latest moves to our review the Angels and Perry MORONassian ‘s absolutely pathetic off season. Can we all say it is a carbon copy of the last three
✅ Trade an established major league hitter with 37 home runs for a pitcher that was a top prospect at one time coming off major arm injuries the last two years and is a huge question mark
✅ Sign a pitcher that was fantastic two years ago. Then forgot how to pitch had major arm injuries and is on his third team in 6 months
✅ Sign a one time highly touted prospect with ties to the braves who cannot hit major league pitching
✅ Sing two pitchers for the bullpen that were both great 6 years ago that will both he DFA candidates by the all star break
✅ Sing a pitcher who is out of options who only has 56 innings of mlb experience and walks to many hitters
✅ Sing a pitcher who was very good before the pandemic then had arm issues and was so bad in the minor he was forced to pitch overseas and wait for it with ties to the Braves
✅ Trade for a middle infielder who at one time could hit but injuries set in and he has not hit above .190 in three years. And guess what. With ties to the braves
✅ Sing a 39 year old reliever who watched his era balloon over five and has hardly pitched due to arm and back problems.
✅ Rendon well SMH LOL 🤮 good riddance. Sums that one up
✅ Hire your fourth manager in five seasons who has not managed a game in little league let alone the minors or the show and give him a one year deal.
✅ Be alleged in on Okamoto a player that said naw I’m good I am gonna sing with a team that is worse than yours because they actually have a direction and are improving
✅ allegedly be in on Nolan Arenado a third baseman that was good four years ago and cannot hit now and his current team is so desperate to get rid of the money. He would be this years Jorge Soler
✅Miss out on another player from Japan who said no I think I will go play third for a team that just came off a World Series appearance
✅ Sing a left handed reliever who was good at one time and then in typical Angel player requirement got hurt and had his career completely implode
✅Claim an outfielder off waivers who has 69 plate in four plus seasons of pro ball and hit .232 at the mlb level but it’s a hand me down from Moronnassian’s brother
✅ Sign another former highly touted prospect who is on his third team in two seasons. The kid can actually make contact and not strike out but in typical Angels fashion coming of a major injury
✅ Sign a reliever who has never had an era under 4.00 and has bounced between triple A and the majors. His velocity is down and walked 12% of his hitters. Shock in true Angels fashion coming off major knee issues
✅ Trade one of the better young relief arms for a corner outfielder coming off a .220 season and struck out 106 times in 396 at bats. And get this. Has a long history of injuries He is Taylor Ward with less power and is always hurt.
✅ Re-sign a third baseman who missed more than half the season in Angels fashion due to injuries and has a long track record of being hurt He only hit .236 and strikes out 28% of his plate appearances. Oh and he needs to sit if there is a lefty on the mound
✅ Sing a once good power hitter six years ago who is now 34 and has not played in a MLB game in 2 1/2 years to a minor league deal. (I am rooting for him) who plays a position we are already set He put up numbers in the second most hitter friendly park in all of triple A
✅ lose your local tv contract (not your fault) so now MLB and ESPN can price gouge us to watch games Remember in the before time when all the games were on KTLA.
To quote a recent ESPN article a clueless GM making signings that would’ve been all great moves in 2022. Moronassian could run the Angels into the ground in franchise mode on MLB the Show on Xbox
Yet still have not filled the holes of CF,3B( sort of) back of the rotation, closer and anyone that can hit above .230
The quest for 100 losses in in full effect
Sing song sung
They didn’t lose the TV contract. They along with several other teams opted out.