Trey Mancini launched his attempt at another comeback on Friday by signing a minor league deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks, per multiple reports.
The deal includes an invitation to spring training for the veteran first baseman/outfielder, who did not play last season after he opted out of a minor league contract with Miami in March.
Mancini’s first big-league comeback came in 2021 while still with the Baltimore Orioles, when he returned after missing all of 2020 while battling stage 3 colon cancer.
The 32-year-old has not appeared in the majors since he was designated for assignment by the Chicago Cubs in August 2023.
Over seven major league seasons (831 games), Mancini has 129 home runs and 400 RBIs to go along with a .263 batting average and a .775 on base-plus-slugging percentage. He tallied a career-high 35 home runs and 97 RBIs with the Orioles in 2019.
Mancini broke in with Baltimore in 2016 and stayed with the team until he was dealt at the 2022 trade deadline to Houston, which won the World Series that November.
He joined the Cubs on a two-year deal in 2023 but posted a subpar .635 OPS over 79 games during his four-month stint in Chicago.
Mancini will battle for a spot on a Diamondbacks squad that scored a major league-best 886 runs last season.
First base is presumably secure after Arizona traded for Josh Naylor last December, and the Diamondbacks already have six outfielders currently slated to make the Opening Day roster, including All-Star Corbin Carroll.
Arizona’s pitchers and catchers will report to spring training on Feb. 12, and the team’s first full workout will occur five days later. The Diamondbacks’ Cactus League opener is Feb. 21.
