The Cubs have agreed to sign Trey Mancini on a two-year deal, according to ESPN’s Jesse Rogers (Twitter link). Mancini, a Frontline client, can drop out of the deal after the 2023 season if he racks up at least 350 record appearances in the first year of the contract, reports Bruce Levine of 670 The Score (via twitter). Also from Levine, Mancini will earn $14 million in guaranteed money over the two-year deal, with an additional $7 million available in bonus clauses related to record appearances.
Reports linking Mancini with the Cubs first surfaced in December, even as Chicago addressed its first grassroots need by signing Eric Hosmer A little over a week ago, the Wrigleyville club maintained their interest in Mancini’s services. Of course, Mancini can play both corner outfield spots in addition to first base, and Mancini’s right-handed stick is a nice addition to the left wingers Hosmer and Matt Mervis in the first base/DH mixture.
As Rogers indicated a follow-up tweet, Mervis could now start in Triple-A in 2023 rather than immediately taking a regular role in the Cubs lineup in his first taste of MLB action. Mervis is only entering his third season in affiliated baseball, and while Mervis more or less came out of nowhere to shred minor league pitching in 2022, it looks like the Cubs may prefer to take Mervis to the big leagues and relying more on established veterans like Mancini and Hosmer, at least early in the 2023 campaign.
After spending his entire career with the Orioles, Mancini is now playing for his third organization in less than six months after Mancini was transferred from Baltimore to Houston after the trade deadline. Mancini’s time with the Astros paid off in the greatest form when Houston won the World Series, although Mancini himself had little part in that championship push. Mancini hit just .176/.258/.364 over 186 plate appearances with the Astros during the regular season and then had just a single hit over 24 PA in the playoffs.
Given this stunning result, it’s not surprising that Mancini and his representatives sought a release clause as a more impressive platform year could well set Mancini up for a pricier contract next winter. Mancini turns 31 in March, but even if he returns ahead of his season next winter at the age of 32, the veteran should still be able to land a solid multi-year engagement if he does returns to its old form. Mancini hasn’t been in this top form since 2019, although obviously some very difficult circumstances have hampered his career path.
After missing the entire 2020 season due to a battle with stage 3 colon cancer, Mancini played 147 games for the Orioles in 2021 and was named AL Comeback Player of the Year for his inspirational return. Mancini got off to a strong start on the Platte this year before weakening the track as he needed to re-acclimate after missing a full season. Mancini’s traditionally strong production at Camden Yards suffered a dip as the right-hander was naturally affected by the Orioles’ decision to withdraw left field fences ahead of the 2022 season. The result was a modest .283/.338/.411 slash line over 198 PA at Camden Yards last year, well below his career norms.
Overall, since the start of the 2021 campaign, Mancini has racked up .247/.323/.412 over 1203 PA, which translates to a 104 wRC+ just slightly above the league average. Between the new dimensions at Baltimore and the midseason switch to playing in Houston, Mancini’s racquet could come alive again simply by playing his home games in the friendly confines of Wrigley Field. In addition, Mancini has now had a full and normal offseason, as last winter’s preparations were interrupted by the lockout.
It’s been a busy offseason for Cubs baseball operations president Jed Hoyer, who has aggressively added veteran talent to bring the Cubs back into contention after spending most of the last two seasons rebuilding. As with Mancini’s deal, most of the contracts are shorter-term agreements, such as a one-year deal Cody Bellingeror the Hosmer signing for minimum salary (since the Padres are still on the hook for the remainder of Hosmer’s contract).
Aside from those shorter deals, Chicago has also dabbled in ink Dansby Swanson on a seven-year, $177 million contract and Jameson Taillon to a four-year deal worth $68 million. Roster Resource projected the Cubs’ payroll to be about $176.6 million before adding in Mancini’s average annual worth of $7 million, so there may be more spending capacity for further moves considering the Cubs are only in 2019 well over the $200 million mark.
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