SAN DIEGO -- As his name was bandied about a day before Wednesday's 4 p.m. ET Trade Deadline, outfielder Trey Mancini reiterated his desire to remain with the Orioles.
“I hope I’m still here on Thursday,” he said before the O's closed their road trip Tuesday afternoon with an 8-5 victory over the Padres at Petco Park. “I think I will be. … It’s an honor when other organizations see you as a good player and think you can help their team. So that’s something to be proud of, too.”
Mancini, 27, has hit 24 home runs in each of his three full Major League seasons. He has a .282/.344/.534 slash line and has been an everyday stalwart for an Orioles team that generally lacks roster stability. Mancini is not eligible for free agency until after the 2022 season, which makes him an attractive building block for the O's but also an attractive acquisition for a team looking for a bat that’s not just a rental for '19.
Mancini’s stated desire to stay put isn’t just lip service; he’s open to discussing a contract that would cover his three arbitration years.
“With the organization, it’s kind of complicated. We’re just in the start of a rebuild,” Mancini said. “I know it might not be totally likely that they’ll offer an extension, but if they do, it’s surely something we’ll talk about and discuss. But I haven’t been approached about anything. I’m going to keep playing and doing my job.”
Mancini has done that job exceptionally well.
“Trey’s the best,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “He’s first class in every way. I love the way he plays. I love how hard he plays. I love how intense he is. I think he cares. He’s a team-first guy. He plays multiple positions. He plays banged-up. He’s got all the intangibles. I’m a huge fan.”
Hyde removed Mancini in the eighth inning Tuesday and did not use reliever Mychal Givens in a save situation, which raised a few eyebrows given the timing before the Deadline.
However, Hyde said Mancini was lifted in a simple National League-style double switch to move the pitcher in the batting order. And Givens was warming up and would have been used had the Padres extended the ninth inning, Hyde said. But Shawn Armstrong retired Manny Machado on a grounder with a runner aboard to earn his third save.
Roster shuffle
• Outfielder Dwight Smith Jr. was placed on the 10-day injured list because of a left calf strain, which he aggravated during a pinch-hit appearance Monday. Smith has 12 homers and a .708 OPS in 84 games.
• The Orioles claimed infielder Jose Rondon off waivers. He played all four infield spots, left field and had one pitching appearance with the White Sox this season. Rondon batted .197 in 55 games but fared better against left-handers, with a .253/.300/.373 slash line. He will join the O's on Thursday when they open a home series vs. the Blue Jays.
• Right-hander Chandler Shepherd was recalled from Triple-A Norfolk to take Smith’s roster spot. It’s the first callup to the Majors for Shepherd, who was already in San Diego on stand-by in case a fresh arm was needed. Shepherd was a 13th-round Draft pick by the Red Sox in 2014 and spent four seasons at Triple-A before he was designated for assignment in May. The Orioles grabbed him off waivers, and he had a 7.15 ERA in 39 innings with Norfolk, mostly as a starter.
“Developing some offspeed stuff will allow me to get a little deeper into games,” Shepherd said. “That’s been my issue in the past, so that’s something we’ve been focusing on down there. I think I’ve made improvements, and I’ll continue to do that.”