Trey Mancini’s surprise MLB return may have this young Angels bat looking over his shoulder

The story of Trey Mancini is an inspiring one, even if he didn't make it back to the major leagues with the Los Angeles Angels in 2026. The once-promising slugger with the Orioles hit a career-high 35 homers with an .899 OPS in 2019, as he was just entering his prime at 27 years old. Then his world turned upside down in 2020.

While most of us went through a strange time in our lives as the COVID-19 pandemic ravaged the world as we knew it, Mancini faced an even greater challenge. The strapping first basemen was diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer in March of 2020. After a scary but ultimately successful battle, he returned to action in time for spring training in 2021. He'd hit .255/.326/.432 with 21 homers en route to winning the AL Comeback Player of the Year Award that season.

Still, things weren't quite the same, and Mancini would decline in the following years, last playing in the bigs in 2023. He sat out the entire 2024 season and played 74 games for the Arizona Diamondbacks' Triple-A affiliate last season, slashing .308/.373/.522 with 16 homers, but did not get a big league call-up.

After signing a minor league deal with the Angels over the winter, Mancini was nearly completely forgotten by the end of the spring. Playing in Salt Lake, he had another solid showing with a .273/.377/.464 over 55 games before finally getting the call to come up to Anaheim. After 1,043 long days, finally, the Notre Dame product was back.

Mancini had nearly given up before getting this long-awaited opportunity. He considered retiring and giving up his comeback quest in order to spend more time with his wife and young daughter.

“Six years ago, I wasn’t sure how long I was going to live, what my life would look like, if I’d ever have kids,” Mancini said, via Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. “Having my daughter has changed my perspective so much. In my mind, I’d been waiting my whole life to have a baby, and I’m here playing baseball, away from them most of the time. It hurt.”

Mancini has only played four games so far, but a .333/.308/.500 line is impressive, no matter what the sample. And now that he's here, could it mean the beginning of the end for stagnating 24-year-old Nolan Schanuel?

Angels might have Trey Mancini cut into Nolan Schanuel's playing time, at least temporarily

In his third full season, Schanuel has put together his most disappointing performance to date. The 2023 first-round pick still has bottom-of-the-barrel bat speed and exit velocity, leading to muted power production. The patience at the expense of power approach only goes so far, but this year, with a 6.4% walk rate, that patience has evaporated.

In total, Schanuel is hitting just .255/.311/.375, good for a wRC+ of 90, which is far too light for an offense-forward position like first base. In Mancini, the Halos might have the opportunity to find the thump they've long desired at the cold corner.

Now, age is an important factor. Los Angeles is going nowhere fast, so a 34-year-old like Mancini has little value to the franchise in the grand scheme of things. However, if he can get hot and mash for the next six weeks or so, he could turn himself into a nice little trade chip that could entice contenders who are looking for a lefty masher.

Therefore, it would behoove the Angels to give him as many opportunities as possible, even if they come at Schanuel's expense. Some time off might have things click for Schanuel, though it's possible that the ship has sailed, but more importantly, it could help them turn a feel-good story in Mancini into something that can provide future value.

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