Trey Mancini's return to the big leagues and Denzer Guzman recalled
Jack Janes
Host · Writer
ANAHEIM, Calif. — There were moments over the last three years that Trey Mancini thought he was done with baseball. But he kept going.
After being designated for assignment by the Cubs in 2023, he's bounced from four different teams and hasn't reached the majors since. But on Monday, the Angels selected Mancini's contract, and he is in the lineup for their game against the Astros. It's his first game in the big leagues since July 31, 2023.
"It's pretty surreal," Mancini said. "It's been a long time, and I felt so far removed from being in this position for the big part of the last three years. So it's pretty emotional. It's kind of like getting called up for the first time all over again."
Mancini said that he didn't have much confidence in himself and wasn't sure if he wanted to keep playing baseball after the Cubs designated him for assignment. He played with the Marlins in spring training the following season, but didn't make the big league club out of camp and the playing time situation in Triple-A wasn't clear, so he opted out in hopes for another team to give him a chance.
That chance didn't come, though, and he didn't play at all in 2024.
It was another moment when Mancini thought he was done playing. But then he got a text from Brady Anderson, who is now the Angels' hitting coach.
"He's the one that got me back into baseball," Mancini said of Anderson. "He sent me a text a couple years ago and told me that he thinks I should still play and give it another shot. And I can't believe that we're working together now, and he's a hitting coach here. So it's just crazy how life works sometimes."
Mancini got another shot with the Diamondbacks in 2025. He played well, too, hitting .308 with a .895 OPS with Triple-A Reno. He opted out again in hopes that a team would give him a shot in the big leagues, but that call didn't come again.
The Angels brought him in for spring training this season, and he was back to playing well in Triple-A. In 52 games with Triple-A Salt Lake, Mancini hit .273 with a .841 OPS and mentioned that a change in his hand positioning got him going about a month ago.
"Just kind of preset my hands instead of them kind of like moving last second," Mancini said. "I think there was a double clutch in there pretty late. So just starting it there. It took a couple games to get used to. It feels like I can get them to the same spot that I want them to more consistently than when I had it resting on the shoulder."
Mancini has dealt with a lot in his career.
Coming off a year in which he hit 35 home runs and drove in 97 runs, Mancini was diagnosed with stage three colon cancer in March of 2020.
He missed the 2020 season with treatment and made an emotional return to the big leagues in 2021. Mancini was still a capable player in his return, but didn't return to the level of play in 2019.
Between his battle with cancer and how the last three years have transpired, Mancini has a new appreciation for baseball.
"Being away for so long, it gives you a lot of perspective," Mancini said. "And not that I took it for granted, but I think sometimes it's easy to just kind of get lost in the day-to-day and not truly appreciate where you are. I'm honored and thrilled to be here…
"So it's like probably three different times I thought I was retired, and the game just finds a way to kind of keep you coming back. If you're not fully done, it'll find a way to bring you back."
Denzer Guzman recalled
Also ahead of Monday night's game, the Angels recalled their No. 7 prospect, Denzer Guzman.
"Just being able to watch him every day at spring training, the talent, the skill set, obviously the bat with the power combination with the hit tool," Angels manager Kurt Suzuki said. "Just excited to have him here, and I thought he had a great camp, and I know he's down there and he's doing really well."
The 22-year-old infielder got his first taste of the big leagues in September last season, hitting .190 in 13 games. But he's been crushing it with Triple-A Salt Lake this season, hitting .336 with a .974 OPS and 12 home runs in 58 games.
"I think I focused most on hitting," Guzman said through an interpreter, of how he's gotten better this year. "I think it started in the offseason, I brought it in during spring training, and I keep sticking with it."
One of the biggest improvements for him this year has been the ability to cut down on strikeouts. His 17.9% strikeout rate is 12% lower than it was last year in Triple-A, and it's the lowest mark of his career since his first season in professional baseball in 2021 in the Dominican Summer League.
Guzman attributes the lower strikeout rate to staying in his back leg longer and having better rhythm and timing.
Suzuki said Guzman will get a run as the starting third baseman for the time being.
To make room for Guzman and Mancini, the Angels placed Vaughn Grissom on the 10-day injured list with a left oblique strain and Adam Frazier on the 10-day injured list with right elbow inflammation.
