SCOTTSDALE — Trey Mancini started to ponder what he wanted his life after baseball to look like last year, but along with that reflection came a sense of incompletion.

Mancini, once a slugging first baseman and corner outfielder for the Baltimore Orioles, did not want to regret how his career ended when looking back one day.

A year removed from playing in MLB, Mancini wanted to give himself another shot to see if he could continue to compete at the highest level. So, he grabbed a bat and got back to it.

Mancini inked a minor league contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks with a spring training invitation before the first day of camp, and he has been an engaged teammate at Salt River Fields since players reported.

“For a lot of the year, I thought I was possibly going to be done and really thought about life after baseball, what I wanted to do,” Mancini told Arizona Sports on Monday. “But as the year went on, I realized I might as well hit if there’s still the itch in there. I was looking forward to my future self, and I said, ‘I think I’d look back and regret not giving it another shot to try and come back.’

“It’s definitely a year of reflection. You reflect on your career a lot, what you would have done differently, what you were proud of, and it’s cool to be back with that perspective.”

Mancini broke out with the Orioles during their rebuild in the late 2010s, hitting 83 home runs from 2017-19.

His career halted from there, as a colon cancer diagnosis entered him in a new fight. Stepping away from the game to undergo chemotherapy, he was cancer free by the end of 2020 and returned to the Orioles’ lineup in 2021. He hit another 21 home runs with a .758 OPS as Baltimore looked to be turning a corner.

A midseason trade to Houston resulted in Mancini winning his first World Series, but after struggling in 2023, he did not make a major league roster in 2024.

“Ball was something he missed … and he’s been fully engaged to go out there and show us what he could do,” manager Torey Lovullo said.

Mancini appears to be on the outside looking in with the Diamondbacks, considering the depth of the active roster at his positions. The D-backs have Josh Naylor and Pavin Smith taking reps at first base, while the corner outfield spots are occupied by Corbin Carroll, Jake McCarthy (when not in center), Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Randal Grichuk.

For the time being, Arizona has given him an opportunity to get back into the clubhouse atmosphere he dearly missed and to showcase his ability to help a club.

“They had interest in me throughout the offseason, and I’m just so grateful and happy to be here,” Mancini said. “This team, I’ve watched them especially the last couple years, and it’s a really good team. It’s been neat coming in and seeing everybody work. The way everybody goes about their business here is really impressive. They’ve got a great culture, and I’m happy to come in and be a part of it.”

Mancini started hitting everyday starting in late summer, and the time off gave him a reset to swing freely and make his adjustments without having to break nagging bad habits.

It was not his longest hiatus from the game, either, as he came back after going through cancer treatments in 2020.

“It doesn’t feel like I didn’t play any game last year,” he said. “Getting game reps, seeing velocity whether it’s in the cage, off the Trajekt, off of live BP, just getting as many as fast as possible. For the most part, it feels like I haven’t lost a step.”

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