In baseball, people tend to follow the big name players like Bryce Harper, Manny Machado, or Mookie Betts.
However, in the 2019 season, there’s a new name bursting onto the scene: Trey Mancini.
Sep. 20, 2016, Trey Mancini made his Major League debut, hitting a home run in his first at bat. Two days later, he smacked another long ball, this time a three-run shot. In just the five games he played that year, he hit a home run in three of those, making him the third player in MLB history to do so in each of his first three starts.
The next two seasons, he leveled out by hitting 24 in both 2017 and 2018.
In Mancini’s 47 games played in for 2019 so far, he’s racked up 10 already. Also, he leads his team in about half of the offensive stat categories: Runs, hits, doubles, slugging percentage, OPS, OBP, batting average, and tied for the lead in homers. He’s practically carrying the entire team on his back.
TREY-ple threat! pic.twitter.com/O8eTVsMfc9
— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) May 26, 2019
The 27-year-old is just now eligible for salary arbitration, though he won’t be a free agent until after 2023.
Switching between first, outfield, and designated hitter, Trey is quite flexible.
Unfortunately for him, those spots are filling up. There’s not much room based on contracts coming to an end within the upcoming seasons. It appears that DH is the only position secure.
Although that’s good for the Orioles, is that what’s best for Mancini?
Based on performance, it is clear that he’d be the best option moving forward for an Orioles team looking to retool after a brief run of success in the early 2010s. However, if Mancini wants to win in the near future, it would make the most sense for him to try and move on from Baltimore.
