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Trey Mancini

AL East Notes: Mancini, Kirk, Anderson, McKay, Kluber

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In a bit of good news for Orioles’ fans, Trey Mancini will participate in this year’s Home Run Derby, per The Athletic’s Dan Connolly (via Twitter). Mancini should provide some feel-good coverage for the 2021 All-Star festivities. Having missed last season while being treated for stage 3 colon cancer, Mancini has returned to lead the Orioles with a .260/.337/.466 triple-slash line with 14 home runs and 52 runs batted in, good for a 121 wRC+. Let’s check in with the other clubs in the AL East…

  • Alejandro Kirk has joined the Blue Jays’ Triple-A club in Trenton with the possibility of returning from the injured list as early as July 1, per Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca (via Twitter). Kirk must first prove himself ready in Triple-A. After making the team out of spring training, Kirk has been out since May 2nd with a flexor strain. The Jays have also been without starter Danny Jansen for almost three weeks now. Riley Adams, who has three options remaining, will head back to Trenton whenever Kirk is ready.
  • Nick Anderson threw his second bullpen session for the Rays, and he appears on track for an August return. per Adam Berry of MLB.com (via Twitter). Anderson’s value as a bullpen ace is well-known after last year’s breakout campaign — 0.55 ERA in 16 1/3 regular-season innings. The Rays leaned hard on Anderson to get them to the World Series: he appeared in both games of the Wild Card sweep of the Blue Jays, two of the five games in their ALDS win over the Yankees, and three more apiece in the ALCS and World Series.
  • Brendan McKay is in line for a 30-pitch bullpen soon, Berry also notes, and if that goes well, he’ll start to build his strength up to a starter’s workload. McKay last appeared in competitive action in 2019, when he threw 49 innings at the big-league level with a 5.14 ERA/4.03 FIP.
  • The Yankees don’t expect to get Corey Kluber back until August at the earliest, but it could be as late as September, per MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch (via Twitter). Kluber gave the Yankees exactly what they’d hoped in his ten starts: 3.04 ERA/3.77 FIP in 53 1/3 innings. Unfortunately, he also realized their fears when he suffered a shoulder strain that will ultimately knock him out for more than half the year.

 

Orioles News & Rumors: Mancini, Martin, Infield, Pitching

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As the Braves look at potential options in left field, they’ve inquired with the Orioles about Trey Mancini’s availability, tweets MLB Network’s Jon Heyman, who adds that there’s been “nothing serious” discussed between the two parties to this point. Interest in Mancini is rather logical for a Braves club that is still seeking a middle-of-the-order bat but may not want to pay the prices necessary to re-sign Marcell Ozuna to a multi-year deal.

Mancini, 28, broke out with a career-best .291/.364/.535 showing with the Orioles in 2019 but missed the 2020 season after a frightening colon cancer diagnosis. The slugger underwent surgery and ultimately emerged victorious in his battle with cancer, announcing back in November that he was cancer-free after months of chemotherapy. No one can blame the Braves for coveting Mancini’s final two years of team control, but given that context and Mancini’s status as a clubhouse leader in Baltimore, it’d likely be tough for the O’s to part with him in a trade prior to the season. Even if the two sides were to engage in serious talks, one can imagine the asking price would be quite high.

There’s also the fact that while Mancini has played extensively in the outfield corners, he’s still a first baseman playing out of position there. That’s not a great fit with the Braves, given Freddie Freeman’s presence at first base. Notably, Baltimore general manager Mike Elias told reporters today that he expects Mancini to spend a lot more time at first base in 2021 (Twitter link via MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko).

While a Mancini trade appears unlikely for several reasons, that probably won’t stop teams from calling. Elias acknowledged today every win-now club throughout the league is aware that the Orioles are willing to listen to offers for most of their roster as their rebuild trudges onward (Twitter link via MLB.com’s Joe Trezza). That, however, “doesn’t mean we’re going to do anything,” Elias added.

The O’s, in fact, could make a few more small-scale additions after signing shortstop Freddy Galvis to a one-year, $1.5MM deal yesterday. Galvis, to no one’s surprise, was tabbed as the primary shortstop by Elias, but the club could still be on the lookout for some versatile infield depth to back him up (via Kubatko). That’s likely due in no small part to the fact that infielder Richie Martin sustained a broken hamate bone in his left hand while working out this past weekend and will require surgery to repair the injury.

Based on prior timelines for that same injury, Martin could return midway through Spring Training — assuming it starts on time — but he’ll very likely be behind schedule. Baltimore’s agreement with Galvis was already wrapped up by the time Martin suffered the injury, Dan Connolly of The Athletic points out; the timing is merely coincidental.

On the pitching front, the Orioles are still looking to add to a thin mix. Kubatko notes that Elias mentioned Major League offers to starting pitchers are on the table for the Orioles, although the GM (as one would expect) provided no further specifics. Based on the team’s extremely limited spending and Connolly’s recent report that the O’s actually tried to defer the arbitration salaries of Mancini and outfielder Anthony Santander, it seems unlikely that they’ll spend any significant cash to upgrade the starting staff or bullpen. That said, even a split contract that comes with a 40-man roster spot and a big league salary around the $1MM mark would technically fit the criteria listed by Elias.

Last year, the Orioles added lefties Tommy Milone and Wade LeBlanc on low-cost minor league deals to round out the rotation early in the year. It’s not likely that they’ll shop in a much more expensive bin this time around, but there are still some affordable names left standing on the free-agent market.

Orioles Notes: Marlins, Santander, Mancini, Deferrals, MASN

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The Marlins have had some trade discussions with the Orioles about outfielder Anthony Santander, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com reports (Twitter link).  The depth of these talks isn’t known, Kubatko notes, as it could have been due diligence on the Marlins’ part rather than a sign that Santander could be heading to Miami or anywhere.

Santander enjoyed something of a breakout performance during the abbreviated 2020 season, hitting .261/.315/.575 with 11 home runs over 165 plate appearances before an oblique injury ended his season on September 4.  A look at the advanced metrics reveals some interesting details, as Santander didn’t make much hard contact or take many walks, but he also didn’t get much batted-ball luck in the form of a .248 BABIP.

Still, between some strong right field defense and 31 homers in 570 PA since the start of the 2019 season, Santander has made himself a key part of Baltimore’s rebuilding effort.  He turned 26 last October and is controlled through the 2024 season, as Santander is a Super Two player and only became arbitration-eligible for the first time this winter.  (The two sides are scheduled for a hearing to determine Santander’s 2021 salary, with the outfielder looking for $2.475MM and the Orioles offering $2.1MM.)

This combination of talent and cost-effective team control would make Santander an attractive trade possibility for many teams, but particularly a Marlins club that is looking to both continue contending for the postseason without too much of a budget stretch.  The switch-hitting Santander would also help balance out a Miami lineup heavy on right-handed batters.  Garrett Cooper is currently slated to handle right field for the Marlins, but the team would have plenty of room to find at-bats for everyone if the DH returned to the National League in 2021.  Since Starling Marte and Corey Dickerson are both free agents after the season, Santander would also be a longer-term outfield addition that could fill the void if either player departed.

Whether the Orioles see Santander as a long-term piece is another intriguing element, as a case could be made that the O’s should try to sell high on Santander now (or perhaps before the 2021 trade deadline) if they don’t think he’ll still be a prime contributor by the time Baltimore is ready to contend.  Given that the Orioles still have a long ways to go in their rebuild, they might not be ready to compete by 2024, Santander’s age-29 season and his last under team control.

The Orioles’ financial situation adds another wrinkle, as The Athletic’s Dan Connelly reports that the team offered salary deferrals to Santander and Trey Mancini when talking to both players about their 2021 contracts.  Both turned down the offers, which would have seen around 25% of their salary pushed ahead to 2022 or 2023.  Mancini ended up avoiding arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $4.75MM deal.

Deferrals are a common element of contract negotiations, yet the idea of deferring money on a one-year arbitration contract was unheard of among “multiple agents and baseball arbitration experts…contacted for this story,” Connolly writes.  While the deferral offers could have just been some creativity on the part of GM Mike Elias, Connolly also wonders if the offers were indicative of how little the Orioles might have to spend in the wake of 2020’s revenue losses.  If this is the case, the O’s might look to try and deal Santander, perhaps attaching him to a larger contract (i.e. Alex Cobb and his $15MM salary) to clear as much money as possible off the books.

In other revenue news, The Athletic’s Brittany Ghiroli reports that the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (owned by both the Orioles and the Nationals) has made significant cuts, including several prominent on-air personalities.  “This is a cash-flow problem, and there’s apparently not a lot of it,” a source said.  Changes include the reduction of the pre-game and post-game shows from 30 to 15 minutes, with the broadcasters at the ballpark handling these shows rather than studio hosts and analysts.  If the Orioles or Nationals want to continue the usual pre-game and post-game shows, MASN has informed the teams that they will have to fund them, rather than the network.

Players Avoiding Arbitration: 1/15/21

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The deadline to exchange arbitration figures is today at 1pm ET. As of this morning, there were 125 arbitration-eligible players who’d yet to agree to terms on their contract for the upcoming 2021 season. Arbitration is muddier than ever before thanks to the shortened 2020 schedule, which most believe will lead to record number of arb hearings this winter. Be that as it may, it’s still reasonable to expect dozens of contractual agreements to filter in over the next couple of hours.

We’ll highlight some of the more high-profile cases in separate posts with more in-depth breakdowns, but the majority of today’s dealings will be smaller-scale increases that don’t radically alter a team’s payroll or a player’s trade candidacy. As such, we’ll just run through most of today’s agreements in this post.

I’ve embedded MLBTR’s 2021 Arbitration Tracker in the post (those in the mobile app or viewing on mobile web will want to turn their phones sideways). Our tracker can be sorted by team, by service time and/or by Super Two status, allowing users to check the status on whichever groups of players they like. You can also check out Matt Swartz’s projected arbitration salaries for this year’s class, and we’ll do a quick sentence on each player’s agreement at the bottom of this post as well, with the most recent agreements sitting atop the list.

Today’s Agreements (chronologically, newest to oldest)

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Latest On Trey Mancini

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NOVEMBER 12: In yet further good news, Mancini says that he remains cancer-free two months after wrapping up his chemotherapy regimen. As MLB.com’s Joe Trezza was among those to report, Mancini made clear that he intends to be ready to play on Opening Day in 2021.

We’ll all be rooting for continued progress for the outfielder, who says he’s well enough that all of his “attention is turned back toward baseball.” When last he played competitively, in the 2019 season, Mancini ripped 35 home runs and turned in a .291/.364/.535 batting line over 679 plate appearances.

NOVEMBER 6: Orioles slugger Trey Mancini posted a video on Instagram of himself taking swings in a batting cage Wednesday, as noted by Joe Trezza of MLB.com. He’s been hitting been since mid-October, Mancini told Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com.

The 28-year-old missed the entire 2020 season after being diagnosed with a malignant tumor in his colon in March. Eight months later, it seems he’s thankfully on track for a more-or-less normal offseason. “I’ve been doing full workouts and everything. I’m not really taking it easier, I’m just making sure I’m taking long enough breaks and things like that. But I’m full tilt, doing normal workouts,” Mancini said (via Kubatko). He went on to note that getting his mechanics back as a hitter clicked pretty quickly, comparing it to riding a bike.

The Orioles have long expected Mancini to return to the team in 2021, but it’s doubtless still welcome news his recovery is progressing smoothly. In addition to being one of Baltimore’s best players, the well-respected Mancini should be a boon to the O’s young clubhouse. “I’m not even lying when I say this: If spring training started today, I’d be good to go,” Mancini stated.

AL Notes: Jays, DJ, Twins, Rosario, O’s, Mancini

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The Yankees signed second baseman DJ LeMahieu to a two-year, $24MM contract going into 2019, but the division-rival Blue Jays were also after him then, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet reports. Speculatively, with LeMahieu set to hit the open market again, it seems possible the Jays will circle back to him. He greatly upped his value in his two seasons in New York, leading MLBTR to predict he’ll receive a four-year, $68MM payday this offseason. MLBTR even chose Toronto as LeMahieu’s destination this offseason.

Here’s the latest on a couple more AL clubs…

  • The Twins could try to move outfielder Eddie Rosario this offseason, but the 29-year-old “has very little trade value” and is a clear non-tender candidate, Dan Hayes of The Athletic writes. Rosario was an above-average hitter with good power from 2017-20, a 2,002-plate appearance span in which he batted .281/.317/.493 (111 wRC+) with 96 home runs. Still, though, his projected arbitration salary (anywhere from $8.6MM to $12.9MM) could prove too rich for the Twins and all other teams. Minnesota also has two rising outfield prospects in Alex Kirilloff and Trevor Larnach, so the team could save Rosario’s money with a non-tender and turn to one or both of those younger players in his stead.
  • With the offseason underway, general manager Mike Elias discussed several Orioles topics with Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com and other reporters Monday. Elias delivered great news on slugger Trey Mancini, who missed all of 2020 after undergoing Stage 3 colon cancer surgery in March. In regards to Mancini’s recovery, Elias said: “It’s going well. We’ve all got our fingers crossed. I think it’s going as well as it possible could have gone since we got that horrible news in March. I think any of us would have traded anything to get to Nov. 2 and be where we’re at with him right now. He’s doing well, he’s getting his strength back, he’s slowly getting into baseball-ish type activities and it’s been incredible.”
  • Elias seems to have high hopes for infielder Yolmer Sanchez, whom the Orioles claimed from the White Sox last week. “He can move around all three infield spots, he’s a plus defender, certainly at second and third, and probably a pretty good shortstop,” observed Elias, who added, “I can also see him battling for a primary job.” Sanchez hasn’t hit much during his career, which started in 2014, but he is indeed a well-regarded defender. He even won an AL Gold Glove at second base in 2019.

GM Mike Elias On Orioles’ Season, Looking Ahead To 2021

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Orioles executive VP and general manager Mike Elias met with reporters yesterday for the traditional end-of-season media session, discussing both the 2020 season and what might be in store for next year.  Some notable items, as per MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko and The Baltimore Sun’s Jon Meoli…

  • In general terms, Elias felt the season had “enough positive things where we can feel good that this year was far from wasted and that there was progress made in our ultimate goals.”  With a 24-35 record entering today’s finale, the Orioles’ .407 winning percentage at least represents an improvement over the .312 mark posted by the team over the 2018-19 seasons (101-223).  A few more wins and some development progress still left Elias less than satisfied, as “it’s very difficult for me to label any season a success where we have a losing record and don’t make the playoffs.”
  • This doesn’t mean the Orioles’ rebuild process is getting a fast-forward, however, as Elias indicated that the O’s will continue to limit spending since their financial picture is clouded by the pandemic.  “We can’t estimate our revenue, our attendance,” Elias said.  “We can’t estimate various things that we look at when we look at a player or roster budget, so it’s so day-to-day.”
  • Baltimore doesn’t have much in the way of long-term salary commitments anyway, with the very notable exception of Chris Davis.  The struggling first baseman had another rough season, and is still owed $46MM before the end of the 2022 season.  There has been speculation that the Orioles could simply release Davis and eat that remaining salary in order to free up a roster spot and playing time for a younger player, yet Elias said the club isn’t planning to move on from Davis: “We’re taking it as it comes, but he is under contract with this team, there’s a lot that goes into that and we do not have plans to alter that fact.”
  • In terms of offseason targets, Elias noted that the O’s will continue to look for infield help, as it was an area of concern when Elias joined the organization following the 2018 season.  “I think that deficit of infielders was mainly owing to the lack of international pipeline, because that’s where a lot of major league infielders are coming from these days….We’ve tried to attack it through the last couple of drafts and also a couple of trades, and we’ve gotten the international free agent spigot flowing now, so hopefully all of that will long-term fortify our infield depth,” Elias said.  “But, it’s like pitching, one of those areas where everyone is always looking for more.”
  • Retaining Jose Iglesias would be an obvious way to shore up the 2021 infield, though Elias didn’t address Iglesias’ contract option besides saying the veteran infielder “really helped us and we love having him.”  Despite a quad injury that led to a brief injured list trip and more DH time than was expected for the longtime shortstop, Iglesias unexpectedly delivered a monster year at the plate, hitting .373/.400/.556 over 150 plate appearances.  The O’s signed Iglesias to a one-year contract last winter that contained a $3.5MM club option for 2021 with a $500K buyout, and one would think Iglesias has done enough to get that option exercised.
  • And, in the best news of all, Elias believes Trey Mancini will be healthy and ready to return for Spring Training.  Mancini had a malignant tumor removed from his colon last spring and is now through with chemotherapy treatment.  “He just went through a lot and he’s going to have to get his strength and his baseball activities back and all that, and there’s still going to be some work and a process going into that this winter,” Elias said.  “But he’s such a strong, dedicated, mentally strong kid and person that we have nothing but confidence that he can do it this offseason and have a great year next year.“

Trey Mancini Discusses Cancer Diagnosis, Outlook

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Trey Mancini has penned a must-read post for The Players’ Tribune in which he discusses his shocking colon cancer diagnosis and ongoing outlook. His uplifting attitude is most welcome in these difficult times.

As baseball tries to get back to the field in 2020, Mancini is sorting out the complicated logistics of treatment in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. He discloses that he has been diagnosed with Stage III cancer, which will require six months of bi-weekly chemotherapy.

As Mancini acknowledges, that timeline makes it rather unlikely he’ll suit up for the Orioles in 2020, if indeed there is a season. As he puts it, “I just want to make sure that I am physically fine before I go out there and start trying to perform again at a major league level.”

It goes without saying that Mancini’s recovery is of primary importance. He says he hopes to remain active, but he’ll first need to beat the disease before he’s able to build back toward professional athletics. Additionally, added care is warranted to ensure that Mancini does not become exposed to COVID-19, as his diagnosis and treatment put him at greater risk of serious complications.

 

It’s hard to see such a vibrant young man dealing with this kind of adversity, but Mancini’s outlook is at once hopeful and inspiring. MLBTR extends its very best wishes to Mancini and his loved ones.

Latest On Trey Mancini’s Recovery

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Orioles GM Mike Elias provided an update on outfielder Trey Mancini, who is recovering from surgery to remove a malignant tumor. Among those to cover the discussion was Rich Dubroff of BaltimoreBaseball.com.

Mancini is said to be “doing well” now, one month after the tumor was removed. But the timeline for his return to regular baseball activities will be measured in “months rather than weeks,” per the O’s GM.

Mancini’s personal well-being would be the top priority regardless, but there’s certainly no reason now to accelerate his  return with the season on pause. That Mancini’s baseball career is even a reasonable topic of discussion is itself a good sign. Elias emphasizes that it was not only a “major procedure” but also a “major life event” for the 28-year-old.

Fortunately, the broader outlook seems to be about as good as could be hoped given the underlying condition. Elias explains: “His health status personally, the way that the operation went and the demographics age-wise and health-wise that he resides in going into this puts him in a really good spot to make a 100 percent recovery both from a general health standpoint, but also a baseball sense.”

Mancini is coming off of his best of three full MLB seasons. In 2019, he swatted 35 home runs and turned in an excellent .291/.364/.535 batting line in 679 plate appearances. Hopefully he’ll have a chance to build off of that strong performance sooner than later.

Orioles Notes: Mancini, Mountcastle, Hays

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Here’s the latest from Baltimore…

  • Orioles slugger Trey Mancini underwent surgery to remove a malignant tumor from his colon earlier this month. Fortunately, Mancini is recovering nicely. General manager Mike Elias spoke on the matter Thursday (via Jon Meoli of the Baltimore Sun), saying Mancini’s “doing really well” and “his physical condition is great.” That’s certainly welcome news for the Orioles and all of those who follow baseball, though it’s unclear when Mancini will be ready to take the field again.
  • The Orioles have optioned first baseman Ryan Mountcastle, right-hander David Hess, outfielder Cedric Mullins and utility player Ramon Urias to Triple-A Norfolk, Joe Trezza of MLB.com writes. The most notable player there is Mountcastle, a 2015 first-round pick and current top-100 prospect who ranks as one of the Orioles’ best farmhands. Still just 23 years old, Mountcastle climbed to the Triple-A level for the first time last season and batted .312/.344/.527 with 25 home runs in 553 plate appearances, though that solid production came with below-average strikeout and walk percentages of 23.5 and 4.3, respectively.
  • Outfielder Austin Hays figures to enter the season as the Orioles’ leadoff hitter, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com writes in a piece focusing on their roster. The 24-year-old Hays has dealt with injuries over the past couple seasons, but he racked up 75 plate appearances in the majors in 2019 and posted tremendous numbers. Hays slashed .309/.373/.574 with four home runs, a .265 ISO and seven walks against 13 strikeouts.
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