Former Orioles' fan favorite Trey Mancini attempting comeback with NL West contender

On Friday afternoon, Jeff Passan of ESPN reported that former Orioles' fan favorite slugger Trey Mancini had signed a minor league contract with the Diamondbacks for 2025. It's a similar deal to the one Mancini got last winter, when he signed a minor league pact with the Marlins.

Things didn't play out the way Mancini had hoped, however. He was a non-roster invitee to Marlins spring training but didn't make the team out of camp, opted out of his deal, and wasn't able to find a guaranteed deal anywhere else all year.

Entering 2025 having skipped an entire big league season, Mancini will have his work cut out for him. He last appeared in a major league game back in 2023. The then 31 year old had signed a free agent contract with the Cubs ahead of '23 and appeared in 79 games with Chicago.

Mancini hit a career-worst .234/.299/.336 with just 4 homers and a near 30% strikeout rate in Chicago before being designated for assignment shortly after the trade deadline. He wound up signing a minor league deal with the Reds and appeared in a handful of games with Cincinnati's Triple-A affiliate before reaching free agency once again.

Former Orioles slugger Trey Mancini lands minor league deal with the Diamondbacks

Early in his career, Mancini was a good hitter for the Orioles. He split time between first base and the outfield, and he posted a combined .270/.334/.463 line during his time in Baltimore. He finished third in the AL Rookie of the Year voting in 2017 and fell just shy of an All Star bid in 2019.

Things took a turn for the worst just before the 2020 season. Mancini was diagnosed with a form of colon cancer that forced him away from baseball for a full year. Despite a courageous comeback the following year, Mancini took a step back on the field. His performance led to him being shipped out to Houston at the trade deadline in 2022 in a deal that brought RHP Chayce McDermott and RHP Seth Johnson back to Baltimore.

With any luck, Mancini will be able to revive his career in some form. According to the report from Passan, Mancini has done his best to stay in playing shape and with a full year of rest under his belt, he could be fresh enough to provide some value.

It's a tough roster to make an impact on, though. The Diamondbacks lost Christian Walker in free agency but replaced him with former Guardians' star Josh Naylor. Mancini will have to fight against Pavin Smith and Alek Thomas for a bench spot in Arizona.