On Aug. 5, Trey Mancini batted fifth for the Houston Astros as they faced the Cleveland Guardians.
Mancini's Astros' career was just four games old, acquired by Houston at the MLB Trade Deadline from the Baltimore Orioles.
He had already launched his first home run in an Astros uniform on Aug. 3 against the Boston Red Sox, a two-run shot off of veteran southpaw Rich Hill. Mancini started at first base that day over the struggling Yuli Gurriel.
Against the Guardians, though, Mancini proved just how valuable he can be to this Astros' club, currently tied with the New York Yankees for the best record in the American League.
Out of the designated hitter's spot, he hit a solo home run and a grand slam, collecting five RBI en route to a 9-3 victory.
Since joining the Astros, Mancini is 4-for-20 with three home runs, seven RBI, and six strikeouts when starting. When pinch-hitting, he is 1-for-3 with a single and strikeout. Small sample size, but simply put, Mancini is meant to be an everyday player.
The 30-year-old has appeared in 30 games at first base, 54 at designated hitter, and even 13 in the outfield this season, he was a starter in 95 of them. The Astros may have acquired him to act as a platoon with Gurriel, or as a pinch-hitter in close games, but Mancini deserves regular playing time.
Gurriel is 38 and has had a down year after batting .319 in 2021. He's hit just .235 with a .658 OPS with seven homers and 31 RBI across 399 plate appearances in 2022. At this point, Mancini should receive the bulk of starts at first base over Gurriel.
However, manager Dusty Baker has reasons for starting Gurriel over Mancini.
"If I got Framber pitching, I need Yuli. He’s the Golden Glove. There’s only one Gold Glove," he said. "If I got a fly ball pitcher, he only played 13 games in the outfield in Baltimore before he got here. I got to play my best fly ball guy out there."
When Mancini makes his way into the starting lineup, though, Baker should not have to sacrifice playing time for Yordan Álvarez in order get him in there. Mancini can stick at first base, while Álvarez slots in as the designated hitter, or vice versa, Álvarez can play left field while Mancini DH's. Álvarez currently leads the league in OBP at .401, he needs to be in the Astros' lineup as frequently as possible.
While Gurriel's defense is keeping him in the lineup, the Astros best chance at securing the best record in the AL is by playing their big deadline pickup in Mancini everyday.
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