Once-hyped Cubs signing still searching for a way back to the majors

One of Jed Hoyer's biggest free-agent misses in recent years is still grinding away, looking for a path back to Major League Baseball - despite his last big-league at-bat having come nearly two years ago as a member of the Chicago Cubs.

The Cubs signed Trey Mancini to a two-year, $14 million contract ahead of the 2023 campaign, hoping he could team up with Eric Hosmer to shore up the first base position. That's not how things played out, with Chicago dumping Hosmer in May, followed by Mancini in early August - with neither guy making it through a full season with the club.

In 79 games with the Cubs, Mancini slashed just .234/.299/.336 and was a problem defensively, as well, which only turned up the heat on the veteran as the season wore on. Since being released by the Cubs, he's latched on with the Cincinnati Reds, Miami Marlins and, most recently, the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Trey Mancini opts out of his minor-league deal with the Diamondbacks

Mancini put up big numbers in a hitter-friendly environment over the last three months at Triple-A Reno, popping 16 home runs and slashing .308/.373/.522. That wasn't enough to get him back to the big leagues with Arizona, prompting him to opt out of his minor-league deal with the team this week.

A reunion with the Cubs probably isn't in the cards. After all, they've got one of the best first basemen in the league in Michael Busch and love what Justin Turner brings with his veteran presence, even though he hasn't found his stroke yet this year. But given his strong showing at Reno, he'll, at the very least, get another minor-league opportunity somewhere - hopefully with a clearer path to reps at first base with the big-league team.

He's never rediscovered the form that once made him a fan favorite early in his career in Baltimore. After a monster 2019, he missed the 2020 season, undergoing cancer treatment, and, since being traded to Houston by the Orioles at the 2022 deadline, he's been about 25 percent below-average offensively.

While Mancini isn't the answer, the Cubs are actively looking for ways to upgrade the bench - and rightfully so. They've gotten brutal production out of virtually every member of that group: Turner, Jon Berti and Vidal Brujan have been complete non-factors, at least in terms of on-field statistics and, although the team has been largely healthy to this point, you don't want to bet on that being the case throughout the second half.