Orioles' Trey Mancini Plans to Play in 2021 After Blood Work Shows No Tumor DNA

Trey Mancini missed all of the 2020 season after being diagnosed with colon cancer, but the Baltimore Orioles star is planning to play next season.

Mancini told reporters Wednesday there was no tumor DNA in his most recent blood work, and he's been working out five days per week with some light hitting to be ready for spring training.

Mancini announced in the Players' Tribune that he began chemotherapy April 13 after being diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer:

"My treatment will take six months — every two weeks for six months. If baseball returns in 2020, it will probably be without me.

"But I want everybody to know that I'm O.K. I know reading everything and seeing that I had a malignant tumor removed from my colon, it's a lot to absorb — believe me, I know. I'm not really big on social media, but I posted a video on Instagram after my surgery because I wanted people to see that I looked like myself and I was in good spirits."

During an April 29 interview on MASN Sports, Mancini said there was "no doubt in my mind I'll be back playing baseball."

Sara Perlman, Mancini's girlfriend, posted a picture on Twitter of the 28-year-old leaving the hospital Sept. 21 after his final round of chemotherapy.

Mancini had the best season of his career in 2019. He posted a .291/.364/.535 slash line and finished 11th in the American League with 35 home runs.

The Orioles went 25-35 and finished fourth in the AL East without Mancini in 2020. MLB has announced that spring training games for next season will begin Feb. 27 with the regular season set to begin April 1.