As Scott Boras was negotiating with the Orioles on what eventually became Chris Davis’ team-record contract after the 2015 season, a club official told the super agent that a player Boras had never heard of could step in at first base right away for a fraction of the price: Trey Mancini.
A 23-year-old Mancini had just hit 21 home runs with a .938 OPS over two minor league levels and was refining a swing that would eventually make him one of the game’s most productive corner bats. It mattered little when, that January, Davis got the $161 million contract that he last year referred to as the “one big lump that they’re kind of stuck with.