Baltimore Orioles: Pros and Cons to Trading Trey Mancini

Trey Mancini has emerged as the Baltimore Orioles leader on and off the field. However, in the midst of a rebuild keeping him doesn’t seem to make sense.

Should he stay or should he go? That’s a question Mike Elias and the Baltimore Orioles front office will have to ask about a handful of players come July’s trade deadline. One name, however, that will be harder than others to move on from is Trey Mancini.

Mancini easily is the front-runner to be the Baltimore Orioles representative in Cleveland for the 2019 all-star game. Entering May 22nd, he is leading the team in several offensive categories. He is the lone Oriole with an average above .300 (.309), has hit 10 home runs, holds a .917 OPS and also leads the team in OBP, slugging and total bases.

However at 27 years-old Mancini is already entering the prime of his carer thus, on an Orioles team that is likely looking at a few more years until they’re ready to compete, moving the slugger for minor league talent may make more sense than keeping him around.

So, should the Baltimore Orioles trade Mancini? Let’s weigh a few pros and cons.

Pro: Mancini’s stock is at all time high

As mentioned in the introduction, Trey Mancini’s trade stock is higher than it likely ever will be. At 27 years-old he is just now entering the prime of his carer.

By trading Mancini this summer, the Baltimore Orioles would be able to obtain a more significant prospect load than if they waited. Despite all the trades the team made last off-season Baltimore’s farm system ranks just 23rd in baseball according to MILB.com.

Though the team holds the first overall pick in the upcoming MLB Draft and should bring in plenty of talent there’s always need for more and a trade of Mancini could land them up to three of a contending team’s top 30 prospects.

No one knows the importance of stacking a farm system like Mike Elias who helped rebuild the Houston Astros from baseball’s worst team to 2017 World Series Champions after loading their minor league system. Trading Mancini while he’s hot and in his prime would help do the same in Baltimore.

Con: Runs would be hard to come by

With the Baltimore Orioles still rebuilding it comes as no surprise the team has struggled to push across runs this season. Entering Wednesday the O’s rank near the bottom of the bigs in runs scored. A key reason why the O’s don’t rank lower is Trey Mancini’s production.

As mentioned earlier, he leads the team in several offensive categories such as home runs, batting average, OPS, and total bases. Thus, by subtracting Mancini from the lineup runs would be even harder to come by than they already are.

While Baltimore is not in a position to contend this year, there’s still a sense of pride when taking the field each day. These players are trying to win every game despite the lack of talent on the roster, and by removing the best hitter in the lineup, it’ll be much harder to score runs and win ball-games.

Though it may be worth it, in the long run, the Orioles offense would be in major trouble without Mancini for the rest of 2019 and possibly 2020 while the team continues to build which makes him harder to trade.

Pro: Youngsters would have more opportunities

When rebuilding it’s always important to get young players in the lineup. By doing this, the organization can evaluate what young talent they have to work with going forward and what type of talent they need to add.

Brandon Hyde and the Baltimore Orioles have done a great job of mixing in youngsters all season long. Young players such as Stevie Wilkerson, Richie Martin, and Rio Ruiz have all gotten chances and shown potential this season.

By trading Mancini, some of Baltimore’s young corner outfielders and first basemen can get their chance. Anthony Santander, DJ Stewart, and Ryan Mountcastle are all at Triple-A and would benefit from getting their feet wet by getting opportunities to start at the pro level.

Con: There would be no fan favorite

With the Baltimore Orioles current state it’s hard for fans to find a player to get behind. However, there’s little doubt Trey Mancini has become a fan favorite.

In the clubhouse, Mancini provides quality leadership. He learned the ropes from players such as Adam Jones even taking notes on how to carry himself after observing Jones and other veterans in the clubhouse. On the field, he is Baltimore’s most reliable player who excites the crowd with his home run power he has the potential to display every time he steps up to the lineup.

Perhaps most importantly, Mancini is homegrown. He was the Orioles eighth round selection in 2013 and had to grind his way from mid-round selection to the big league squad.

Seeing him go would be just as hard as seeing some of the players traded away last season depart and that surely will be a factor when the Orioles discuss what exactly to do this summer.

If you were Mike Elias what would you do with Trey Mancini? Explain your reasoning in the comments section as to whether you’d trade Mancini or keep him around.