Trey Mancini yanked from Cubs game after defensive issues at first

Chicago Cubs first baseman Trey Mancini wasn’t assessed any errors during Sunday’s game in London against the St. Louis Cardinals, but his struggles at first base may have led manager David Ross to remove him from the contest in the third inning.

Mancini, who came into the game as one of the worst defensive first basemen in baseball according to multiple metrics, was taken out of the game for Cody Bellinger in the top of the third inning.

In the bottom of the first inning, shortstop Dansby Swanson fielded a ground ball and threw the ball across the diamond, but Mancini was unable to field it cleanly, allowing Brandon Donovan to reach first base.

Swanson was assessed the error, but that was just the beginning of a rough day for Mancini.

In the second inning, Tommy Edman hit a ground ball to Nico Hoerner at second base, but when Mancini tried to barehand the ball at the bag he was unable to make the catch, allowing Willson Contreras to score and the inning to continue.

The play was ruled a hit for Edman, but it caused a cascade of issues for the Cubs, as Donovan drove in a pair of runs to tie the game at 4-4.

Mancini was removed from the game in the top of the third, with Bellinger pinch-hitting for him. Bellinger had left Saturday’s game early due to illness, but Ross decided to swap out his first baseman early in the contest.

Mancini has negative-4 defensive runs saved this season, according to FanGraphs, and has a negative-3.5 Defensive Runs Above Average rating, one of the worst in the league at first base.

Baseball Reference has Mancini at a -1.0 defensive WAR, illustrating the struggles he’s had at first base this season.

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