<\/noscript><\/p>\nAfter spending his entire career with the Orioles, Mancini is now playing for his third organization in less than six months, following the trade deadline move that sent Mancini from Baltimore to Houston. Mancini’s time with the Astros paid off in the biggest form possible once Houston captured the World Series, though Mancini himself wasn’t a big part of that push to the championship. Mancini hit only .176\/.258\/.364 over 186 plate appearances with the Astros during the regular season, and then had only a single hit over 24 PA in the playoffs.<\/p>\n
With this underwhelming finish in mind, it isn’t surprising that Mancini and his representatives sought out an opt-out clause, as a more impressive platform year could set Mancini up nicely for a pricier contract next winter. Mancini turns 31 in March, but even if he re-enters the market next winter in advance of his age-32 season, the veteran should still be in position to land a solid multi-year commitment if he returns to his old form. Mancini has n’t been in that top form since 2019, though obviously some very difficult circumstances have interfered in his career path.<\/p>\n
After missing the entire 2020 season due to a battle with Stage 3 colon cancer, Mancini played in 147 games with the Orioles in 2021, winning AL Comeback Player Of The Year honors for his inspirational return. Mancini got off to a strong start at the plate that year before fading down the stretch, as he had to get re-acclimated after missing a full season. Mancini’s traditionally strong production at Camden Yards took a dip, as the right-handed hitter was naturally impacted by the Orioles’ decision to move back the left-field fences prior to 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.<\/p>\n
All in all, Mancini has hit .247\/.323\/.412 over 1203 PA since the start of the 2021 campaign, translating to a 104 wRC+ that is only slightly above the league average. Between the new dimensions in Baltimore and the midseason adjustment to playing in Houston, Mancini’s bat could re-awaken 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 even the last winter’s preparations were interrupted by the lockout.<\/p>\n
It has been a busy offseason for Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer, who has aggressively added veteran talent in order to turn the Cubs back towards contention after most of the last two seasons were spent in a rebuild. Like Mancini’s deal, most of the contracts have been shorter-term arrangements, such as a one-year deal with Cody Bellinger<\/strong>or the Hosmer signing for a minimum salary (since the Padres are still on the hook for the remainder of Hosmer’s contract).<\/p>\nBeyond these shorter deals, Chicago also splurged in inking Dansby Swanson<\/strong> to a seven-year, $177MM contract and Jameson Taillon<\/strong> to a four-year deal worth $68MM. Roster Resource projected the Cubs for roughly a $176.6MM payroll before Mancini’s $7MM average annual value was added to the mix, so there could be more spending capacity for further moves considering the Cubs spent well over the $200MM mark as recently as 2019.<\/p>\nphoto courtesy of <\/i>USA Today Sports Images<\/i><\/i><\/p>\n
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