Trey Mancini is coming home to retire. The Orioles announced Thursday that Mancini will sign a one-day contract and officially close out his playing career as a member of the organization on Saturday, September 19, before Baltimore hosts the Milwaukee Brewers at 4:05 p.m.
Mancini spent the first six-plus seasons of his career in Baltimore after the Orioles drafted him in the eighth round out of Notre Dame in 2013, becoming a fan favorite before a 2022 trade sent him to Houston, where he won a World Series ring that same year. His career wound down from there — stops with the Cubs, Reds, and Diamondbacks organizations followed, along with a full year out of baseball in 2024 — before a brief run with the Angels this season gave him one more taste of the majors. He appeared in five games after a call-up in June, his first big-league action in nearly three years, and announced his retirement on August 18.
No chapter of Mancini's story matters more in Baltimore than 2020, when a routine spring training blood test led to a Stage 3 colon cancer diagnosis that cost him the entire season. He returned in 2021 cancer-free and was named the American League's Comeback Player of the Year, a moment the Orioles have kept visible ever since through the "F16HT" sign that's hung in the home dugout tunnel every season since his diagnosis. That sign will now move to the Club Level archives, replaced by a new permanent version unveiled during the September 19 ceremony.
The celebration will bring together former teammates, coaches, and members of the medical staff who were part of Mancini's journey, and he'll throw out the ceremonial first pitch. Fans can buy a special ticket package that includes a game ticket and a limited-edition hat bearing the "F16HT" logo, with proceeds benefiting the Trey Mancini Foundation's work supporting people facing food insecurity and illness — packages start at $33 and are available at Orioles.com/Mancini. Younger fans get their own moment too: Mancini will hold a kids-only autograph session before the game, limited to fans 12 and under, with a limited number of autographs given out on a first-come, first-served basis.