This story was excerpted from Rhett Bollinger’s Angels Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
ANAHEIM -- After seriously considering retirement at least three times over the past three years, first baseman Trey Mancini did what he’s done throughout his career and defied the odds by returning to the Majors with the Angels on Monday.
And Mancini excelled at the plate in his first game in the big leagues since July 31, 2023, going 3-for-4 with an RBI single against the Astros. Mancini had his contract selected from Triple-A Salt Lake after a strong showing in the Minors and found himself back in MLB action for the first time in 1,043 days.
“It was just fun to be back out there,” Mancini said. “Something where I tried to take it all in, but I definitely exhaled a little after the first hit. You want to get that out of the way. And it's the same emotions you go through when you debut, when it's been that long of a layoff. It was just great to be back out there and something I definitely don't and won't take for granted.”
Mancini, 34, first broke into the Majors 10 years ago with the Orioles and developed into a power-hitting first baseman who logged 35 homers and 97 RBIs in 154 games with Baltimore in 2019. But he was diagnosed with colon cancer in ‘20 and missed the season before an inspiring return in ’21 that saw him win the AL Comeback Player of the Year Award after slugging 21 homers in 147 games.
Mancini was traded to Houston in ’22 and won the World Series with the Astros that season before signing with the Cubs in ’23. But after he was released by Chicago that August, he never got back to the big leagues until Monday.
Mancini thought about hanging it up after he signed with the Reds but didn’t make it to the Majors that year. He signed with the Marlins in January 2024, only to get released before the start of the season. He again nearly retired before he received a message from Brady Anderson in ‘25 urging him to consider a comeback with the D-backs.
Mancini and Anderson grew close during Mancini’s time in Baltimore and while Mancini didn’t get called up by Arizona despite solid numbers at Triple-A, he found another chance this offseason when the Angels hired Anderson as their hitting coach and signed Mancini to a Minor League deal at his suggestion. And now the two are reunited once again.
“It's incredible,” Mancini said. “He's the one that got me back into baseball. He sent me a text a couple years ago and told me that he thought I should still play and give it another shot. I can't believe that we're working together now. It's just crazy how life works sometimes.”
Angels right-hander Grayson Rodriguez also has a Baltimore connection to Mancini, as he first met Mancini shortly after being selected with the 11th overall pick in the 2018 MLB Draft. However, the two never played together until Monday, as Rodriguez made his debut in ’23 after Mancini had left the organization, but Rodriguez said Mancini made a mark on him early in his career.
“He’s somebody that I got to meet in Baltimore when he was in the big leagues and I was coming up through the Minor League system,” Rodriguez said. “There are a lot of veteran big league guys out there that aren't necessarily really nice to Minor League guys but Trey is just one of the best. He treats everybody the same with respect.”
Angels manager Kurt Suzuki had a similar take on Mancini, as he met him during his playing days and was impressed by the way he carried himself this spring. Mancini is set to serve as a backup to Nolan Schanuel at first, but he has 129 homers in 832 career games across eight years in the Majors.
“The guy's been obviously very successful in the big leagues before,” Suzuki said. “It's a really cool thing. He's been through a lot, and so to have him come up here with us and work his way back here, it's testament to him. Just a great guy and he had a good season down there in Triple-A.”
Mancini said he’s doing more to relish his experience this time around but remains ever humble and noted he’s not the only one with a story of perseverance in the clubhouse.
“The cool thing about baseball is everybody in this locker room and on the field had some sort of odds or adversity to get to where they are,” Mancini said. “I think that's where there's such a respect among people in the game.”