The Cubs will sign free agent first baseman/DH Trey Mancini to a two-year contract, a source told MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand. The club have not confirmed the deal.
Mancini has overcome tremendous adversity in his life and career. In 2019, at age 27, he authored a breakout season for the Orioles, hitting 35 home runs with an .899 OPS. But the following spring he was diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer. While Mancini would miss the entire 2020 season curtailed by the pandemic, that was hardly his biggest concern. Rather, it was a fight for his life that spanned six months of chemotherapy, eventually ending in September 2020.
Amazingly, Mancini not only recovered but returned to action the following spring. He played an entire season for Baltimore, appearing in 147 games and hitting 21 home runs, earning him the AL Comeback Player of the Year award.
Mancini got off to a solid start with Baltimore in 2022, his season at the age of 30. Hitting .268/.347/.404 with 10 home runs and 41 RBIs in 92 games, he helped lead a fledgling Orioles team that surprised baseball by hanging in the postseason race. Still, he was traded to the Astros just before the close on Aug. 1 — but not before pulling out a wild homer in the park during an emotional last game at Camden Yards.
The trade would earn Mancini a championship ring, but things weren’t smooth sailing in Houston in terms of individual performance. Mancini batted just .176 with .622 OPS in 51 regular season games there, then went 1 for 21 with no extra base hits and an RBI in his first taste of the postseason while starting just six of the team’s 13 games. However, he made an important defensive play at first base in the Astros’ win in Game 5 of the World Series.
Throughout his career, Mancini initially spent a significant amount of time playing both corner court spots and DH. He was solid initially (up-5 outs above average) but has struggled in the outfield (down-24 OAA).