Trey Mancini, a first baseman and outfielder with the Baltimore Orioles, has been traded to the Houston Astros, the two organizations confirmed on Monday.
Mancini will be acquired by Houston as part of a three-team agreement that also involves the Tampa Bay Rays.
Following the change, the Rays also designated outfielder Brett Phillips for assignment.
In 92 games this season, Trey Mancini, 30, is batting.268/.347/.404 (114 OPS+) with 16 doubles, 10 home runs, 41 RBI, and 39 runs scored.
After receiving a colon cancer diagnosis in 2020, Mancini missed the entire season but made a successful comeback in 2021. In addition to reaching the Home Run Derby finals last year, he smashed 21 home runs throughout the regular season.
Mancini’s career year up to this point was in 2019, when he hit 35 home runs and scored 97 runs. A 134 OPS+, or 291/.364/.535, was achieved.
Regarding the Astros, Yordan Alvarez has secured the DH position, so Mancini will move to the outfield. Since Michael Brantley, the left fielder, is injured, Kyle Tucker fills in as the regular right fielder.
This indicates that for the time being, Mancini should play a significant amount of time in left while Chas McCormick and Jake Meyers play center. The 38-year-old Yuli Gurriel may also be having a poor offensive season in at-bats at first base.
Mancini gives the Astros another bat with a thump even if he doesn’t receive consistent playing time before the end of the season.
They currently hold a 12-game advantage in the AL West, having captured three of the last five AL titles, and are vying for a fourth championship. Mancini, whose contract is up this year, has never participated in the postseason.
The Orioles are 51-51 and three games out of the playoffs, but under this head office, which has supervised a rebuild, going all out to snag a wild card slot this season seemed unlikely to happen. Therefore, Mancini’s trade is not particularly shocking.
