Walton cleared waivers Friday and was sent outright to Triple-A Sacramento, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.
Walton appeared in nine games for the Giants in 2024, during which he went 3-for-22 with a home run and two RBI. Most of his time was spent in Sacramento, however, where he slashed .305/.377/.438 with 51 RBI across 387 plate appearances. The 30-year-old infielder now seems destined to remain in the minors to start the 2025 campaign and continue serving as organizational depth.
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Giants' Donovan Walton: Sitting again Tuesday
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Walton isn't in the Giants' lineup for Tuesday's game against Arizona, Maria I. Guardado of MLB.com reports.
Walton will sit down for the fourth time in San Francisco's last five games after a stretch of starting four straight contests at second base. The Giants have relied on a committee of infielders to cover the keystone recently, and Tuesday's start will be given to Brett Wisely.
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Giants' Donovan Walton: Sitting out Monday
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Walton is not in the lineup for Monday's contest versus the Diamondbacks.
After being given four straight starts at second base, Walton has now started just one of the last four contests at the position. The Giants have started four different players at the keystone over that time, with Casey Schmitt getting the call for Monday's series opener.
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Giants' Donovan Walton: Hitting bench Sunday
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Walton is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Royals.
Walton had started in five of the Giants' previous six games, but he'll give way to Brett Wisely at the keystone Sunday. Since being called up from Triple-A Sacramento on Sept. 13, Walton has gone 2-for-20 with two walks against seven strikeouts.
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Giants' Donovan Walton: Picks up fourth straight start
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Walton will start at second base and bat ninth in Thursday's game against the Orioles, Shayna Rubin of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Walton will pick up his fourth consecutive start at the keystone, including his third in a row against a right-handed starting pitcher. Since being called up from Triple-A Sacramento on Friday, Walton has gone 2-for-13 with a home run and two walks, but that modest level of production looks like it'll be enough for him to be the favored option at second base over Brett Wisely, who is batting .123 since the beginning of August.
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Giants' Donovan Walton: Pops homer in loss
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Walton went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in Sunday's 4-3 extra-inning loss to the Padres.
Walton's sixth-inning homer was his first hit in three games the major-league level this year. He's received an opportunity to play in the middle infield while Tyler Fitzgerald (back) has been sidelined. The 30-year-old Walton slashed an impressive .303/.377/.438 with seven home runs, 51 RBI, 53 runs scored and four stolen bases over 99 games as Triple-A Sacramento prior to his call-up.
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Giants' Donovan Walton: Receives call-up
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The Giants selected Walton's contract from Triple-A Sacramento on Friday.
Walton has spent the entire season in Sacramento, slashing .303/.377/.438 with seven home runs and 51 RBI across 387 plate appearances. He will start at second base and bat ninth in Friday's game against the Padres, per Jeff Sanders of The San Diego Union-Tribune, marking Walton's first major-league action since 2022. Outfielder Luis Matos was optioned to Sacramento in a corresponding move.
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Giants' Donovan Walton: Re-signs with Giants
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Walton signed a minor-league contract with the Giants on Dec. 23.
After electing free agency earlier in the offseason, Walton will return to the Giants' farm system and settle in as organizational infield depth. Walton played in nearly every level of the minor leagues last season, slashing .278/.374/.409 across 307 combined plate appearances.
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Giants' Donovan Walton: Settles at Double-A
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Walton (shoulder) was reinstated from Triple-A Sacramento's 7-day injured list Friday and assigned to Double-A Richmond. He's gone 2-for-9 with two strikeouts in his first two games with Richmond.
Walton saw the majority of his playing time at the Triple-A level and in the majors in 2022, but he'll play on an everyday basis in Richmond for now after he missed the first two-plus months of the season while recovering from shoulder surgery. He was cleared to begin an extended rehab assignment June 9 and joined Richmond following the All-Star break after he played 22 games between the rookie-level Arizona Complex League and High-A Eugene.
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Giants' Donovan Walton: Shifts rehab to High-A
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Walton (shoulder) is hitting .250/.340/.318 with four walks against 11 strikeouts in 12 games since moving his rehab assignment to High-A Eugene on June 25.
Walton has been on the Triple-A Sacramento's 7-day injured list all season while working his way back from offseason surgery on his right shoulder, but he's been playing in rehab games since June 9 and should be close to rejoining the Giants' top minor-league affiliate. Between 10 games in the rookie-level Arizona Complex League and 12 at Eugene, the 29-year-old is slashing .301/.407/.397 overall.
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Giants' Donovan Walton: Rehabbing in Arizona
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Walton (shoulder) began a rehab assignment Friday with the Giants' rookie-level Arizona Complex League affiliate and has gone 3-for-6 with a double, a walk and two runs in two games.
Walton picked up starts at designated hitter and second base in the ACL in what marked his first game action since last August. Because of his prolonged absence after undergoing right shoulder surgery, Walton may need to ramp up over the course of several more games in the Complex League before he's activated from Triple-A Sacramento's 7-day injured list.
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Giants' Donovan Walton: Out until May
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Walton underwent shoulder surgery during the offseason and isn't expected to return until May, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
The Giants opted not to tender Walton a contract for 2023 early in the offseason, though the club re-signed him on a minor-league deal a few weeks later. The 28-year-old missed most of the second half of last season due to shoulder inflammation that apparently required offseason surgery. Walton could fill a utility role for San Francisco later in the season, but he'll likely need to earn a promotion with strong play at Triple-A Sacramento once healthy.
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Donovan Walton: Non-tendered by Giants
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The Giants declined to tender Walton (shoulder) a contract for 2023.
Walton got a couple brief looks with the Giants last season. He did little with the opportunity, collecting 12 hits in 78 total plate appearances. Now a free agent, Walton's status is up in the air after he ended the season on the injured list with right shoulder inflammation.
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Giants' Donovan Walton: Recalled, goes on 60-day IL
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The Giants recalled Walton from Triple-A Sacramento on Sunday and placed him on the 60-day injured list with right shoulder inflammation, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Walton had previously been on Sacramento's 7-day IL with an unspecified injury, but he played in three rehab games with the Giants' rookie-level Arizona Complex League affiliate this week. The 28-year-old suffered an apparent setback during the rehab assignment, however, and he'll now be sidelined for the rest of the season as a result. By calling up the injured Walton and placing him on the 60-day IL, the Giants were able to open up a spot on the 40-man roster for catcher Patrick Mazeika, who was claimed off waivers from the Mets on Sunday.
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Giants' Donovan Walton: On IL at Sacramento
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Walton (undisclosed) was placed on Triple-A Sacramento's injured list earlier this week, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.
Walton's injury in the minors comes at a tough time for the major-league squad, which is now down Brandon Crawford (knee) and Thairo Estrada (head). The nature of Walton's injury is unknown, and he won't be able to return until the latter part of next week at the earliest, though it's unclear if the Giants will still have a need at shortstop once he's healthy.
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Giants' Donovan Walton: Sent to Triple-A
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Walton was optioned to Triple-A Sacramento on Tuesday.
The 28-year-old started the past four games at shortstop and went 2-for-14 with a double and five strikeouts, but he'll head back to Triple-A with Brandon Crawford (knee) returning from the injured list. Walton has struggled offensively in 24 big-league games this year with a .158/.179/.303 slash line.
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Giants' Donovan Walton: Gets look as everyday shortstop
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Walton will start at shortstop and bat eighth in Sunday's game against the White Sox, Evan Webeck of The San Jose Mercury News reports.
With Thairo Estrada (illness) landing on the COVID-19-related injured list Sunday and with Brandon Crawford (knee) still stuck on the 10-day IL, Walton looks like he could be primed for an everyday role at shortstop. Walton will make his fourth consecutive start in the middle infield Sunday after going 2-for-9 with a double over the previous three contests.
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Giants' Donovan Walton: Summoned from minors
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The Giants recalled Walton from Triple-A Sacramento prior to Thursday's game in Atlanta.
Walton will assume the 26-man active roster spot of outfielder Luis Gonzalez (back), who was placed on the 10-day injured list. Gonzalez had been filling a near-everyday role in the corner outfield for the Giants, but Walton is more likely to serve as a utility man while he's up with the big club than as a replacement for Gonzalez in the lineup. San Francisco could get another lefty-hitting corner outfielder in LaMonte Wade (knee) back from the IL as soon as this weekend, in which case Walton would be a candidate to head back to Triple-A.
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Giants' Donovan Walton: Out of Saturday's lineup
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Walton is not in Saturday's lineup against the Dodgers, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Walton is 0-for-13 over his last four games. Thairo Estrada will start at second base and bat fifth.
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Giants' Donovan Walton: Riding pine Friday
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Walton isn't in the lineup for Friday's game against the Dodgers, Maria I. Guardado of MLB.com reports.
Walton will get a breather after going 0-for-11 with three strikeouts over the last three games. Thairo Estrada is starting at the keystone and batting eighth.
