SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Trey Mancini is no stranger to making an improbable comeback.

In the prime of his career, the Orioles slugger was diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer, but somehow found his way back to the big leagues in less than a year. Now, he’s in Arizona Diamondbacks camp trying to crack a roster spot after spending 2024 entirely out of baseball.

“I’m not going to lie,” Mancini said as he reflected on his cancer diagnosis. “I thought I was going to die.”

Mancini missed the entirety of the 2020 season, but just months after the season concluded, he announced that he was cancer free. He returned to the Orioles’ lineup in 2021, playing 147 games and hitting 21 home runs with 71 RBIs.

Mancini made his big league debut in 2016. That season, the Orioles won 89 games and clinched a postseason berth, falling in the American League wild-card game to the Toronto Blue Jays. Soon after, Baltimore entered a rebuild, and Mancini was forced to sit through some of the team’s worst years in franchise history.

Baltimore won 47, 54 and 52 games in 2018, 2019 and 2021, respectively. Just as the Orioles were starting to turn a corner, Mancini was dealt to the Houston Astros in a three-team trade midway through 2022. The move allowed Mancini to win a World Series title, but it came at a price: Leaving a city that he loved.

“[It was] very bittersweet,” Mancini said. “We were playing really well and obviously I had been through some tough years there, so I wanted to see the rebuild through. … So, it was tough to leave at the time, but I was also going to the Astros. We ended up winning the World Series. And they were such an established team, and I loved it over there, but I also missed my guys in Baltimore too, so I was kind of torn.”

Mancini has nothing but love for the city of Baltimore and its fans.

“[Those years in Baltimore] meant everything,” Mancini said. “Even in those tough years, [the fans] just love the Orioles. They know everything about the team. It’s a really passionate city. They only have two [professional] sports teams — Orioles and Ravens — but I feel like they have such a special soft spot for the Orioles there, especially when the team is good.

“I saw it early on in my career there, they come out in droves. It’s a really fun atmosphere. The city’s very underappreciated and underrated. I really loved my time there.”

Shortly after winning the World Series in 2022, Mancini became a free agent for the first time in his career. He signed a two-year, $14 million contract with the Chicago Cubs that winter, but he struggled to find his footing in Chicago. By the start of August, he was designated for assignment.

Mancini made a quick pit stop in the Cincinnati Reds organization later that month, playing just five games for their Triple-A affiliate, but was released a week later. Last season, he gave it another go, this time with the Miami Marlins.

“I was in spring training with the Marlins and opted out at the end of spring,” Mancini said. “I thought that an opportunity to play in Triple-A every day was going to pop up. It didn’t. So, I hit for about a month or two, and then kind of decided to move on. I was honestly, for a while, pretty set on retiring, and was thinking a lot about what was next.”

Mancini kept himself busy by playing pickle ball and working out daily. He considered moving on and pursuing a career as a public speaker, but he couldn’t quite pull the trigger.

“I had a speech written, and then something inside of me was just feeling like I could give it one more shot,” Mancini said. “It just felt a little unfinished to me, if that makes sense, so I decided to pick up the bat again [and] hit.”

Mancini went out to California to work with Orioles great and former vice president of baseball operations Brady Anderson, who Mancini credits for changing the trajectory of his career back in 2015, when he was still toiling away in the minors.

“He changed my swing and it helped me drive the ball better to the middle of the field, so I went back and hit with him,” Mancini said. “It was kind of like a full-circle moment. And basically, the mindset when I did that was, if it feels like old times, then I’ll keep hitting and I’ll try to play again, and if not, then shut it down and retire. And it felt great.”

Now, Mancini is battling for a roster spot in Diamondbacks’ camp. The soon-to-be 33-year-old signed a minor league deal with Arizona just days before players reported to spring training. The competition is stiff, as the Diamondbacks have depth in the outfield and at first base. Mancini accepts that his path to a big league comeback might begin in Triple-A Reno.

“It’s a really good roster in there and obviously your mindset in spring training is always that you want to try to make the team,” Mancini said. “But I’m also a realist in some ways too and I’d say chances are, I would probably start in Triple-A if I had to guess. But I’m obviously prepared and trying to make the team, so I’m willing to do that.”

Through nearly three weeks of Cactus League play, Mancini has looked like the Mancini of old, batting .421 with a .926 OPS in 11 games. Grateful to be back on the diamond, he’s excited to see what’s next.

“I know I didn’t play last year and I’m thankful for this opportunity to be back. I hope to earn my way back, whenever that would be.”

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