The Giants signed infielder Donovan Walton to a minor league contract two weeks ago, as per Walton’s MLB.com profile page. Walton became a minor league free agent at the conclusion of the 2023 season, but he’ll now return for what will be a third season in San Francisco’s organization.
Acquired in a trade with the Mariners in May 2022, Walton hit .158/.179/.303 over 78 plate appearance and 24 games with the Giants over the remainder of the 2022 campaign. Walton was frequently shuttled back and forth between Triple-A and the big league roster, yet his season was cut short entirely by a shoulder injury that eventually required surgery that September. San Francisco non-tendered Walton that winter but quickly re-signed him to a minors deal, and he ended up playing 71 games across four different levels of the Giants’ minor league ladder as he rehabbed his shoulder.
2023 therefore marked the first big league season since Walton’s 2019 MLB debut that he didn’t receive at least some action in the Show. Walton played in 37 games with the Mariners across parts of the 2019-22 seasons, with only a .179/.225/.310 slash line over 180 career PA. While he hasn’t hit much with the Giants’ Triple-A affiliate, his overall career numbers (.274/.364/.463 in 588 PA) are still strong overall.
Walton has spent most of his time as a second baseman and shortstop, with a handful of other appearances as a left fielder and corner infielder. This defensive utility will add to his usage as a depth option at Spring Training or in the minor leagues, since while the Giants are known to be looking for some veteran shortstop help, Walton’s lack of a track record doesn’t make him an ideal complement to top prospect Marco Luciano.
I got nothing.
I got a rock
WORLD SERIES BOUND!!
Don’t know what Zaidi sees in Walton. Didn’t do anything last year after acquiring from Mariners.
Don’t see Walton being a contributor to Giants. Definitely AAA bound.
Could be pride. I don’t know Walton, but when Cashman makes a trade, the guy could post a triple-zero slash line and Cashman would still run him out there everyday….
Seems just a minors signing though.
Signed him as minor league depth last off season but he lost the year due to injury. Taking a mulligan.
Basically a right handed Wiseley guy.
Wish the Giants could get a breakfast ball on hiring Farhan.
But not as good.
They like him so no harm with keeping him at Sacramento just in case anything goes wrong.
Every team needs org depth, and he can keep trying to make it back to the show. Win-Win move.
I’m getting tired of hearing the “org depth” argument to defend garbage moves like this. We have prospects who we don’t know if they will ever make it and this guy is taking a spot away from one of them. Farhan is useless and needs to go after proving yet again he can’t do anything other than dumpster dive
@frugalfarhan No need to read comments from posters with handles like yours. It will be the same tired tripe every time. Not contributing anything except flashing your ticket to get on the bandwagon and fill message boards up with negativity. I certainly hope you have something else in your life that brings you joy.
It’s actually worse than that. It’s the same guy as the True Giants Fan account. You are right though. It’s got to be a sad existence.
I’m not sure why these types of signings get announced but what confuses me more is why posters like to complain about them. It does very little to the organization but it does add depth. But ff doesn’t like to add to the organization depth because he’s clearly knowledgeable about EVERY SINGLE PROSPECT and apparently which prospect is specifically blocked by Walton. So enlighten us WB which prospect is he blocking? BTW, how much of last season did you watch? Apparently very little because there were 13 debuts by Giants prospects last year. Ff, sosdd for you. And I definitely laughed out loud reading your post. “tired of hearing organizational depth”? Are you that clueless? And WB? W stands for whiny. Use your keen insight to figure what B is?
Couldn’t have said it better xtrafamy, thanks. These guys spew the same tired uninformed unimaginative mean spirited pablum ad naseum all over the internet 24/7. I really don’t get it. Zaidi isn’t perfect but he’s a thoughtful, kind, compassionate, forward thinking president who admits his mistakes and is willing to do anything to help the Giants get better. He’s improved the Giants farm from nothing to respectable and we are just seeing his kids arrive. As a Giants fan, I’m excited for our future with Zaidi at the helm. He also has to work with the ownership group which can’t always be easy as it is a big group with their hands in real estate and some heavy investors. Most presidents only have to discuss moves with one owner. More power to Farhan!
Holy smokes Jim Jones would have had a field day with you guys! Keep drinking that orange koolaid fools. Blind faith isn’t a positive trait unless you are blindly faithful and then you are incapable of seeing the flaws
Yeah, I get the point about his username, but let’s not pretend that Farhan is competent. He’s a scout who was elevated way beyond his abilities. He is great at finding project guys, but is the worst negotiator in the MLB. He’s arrogant and condescending. Keep feeling like you have to pretend otherwise because he’s a pseudo minority. He has one of the largest checkbooks in the league yet fails to sign every single one of his targets. I get the city is a disaster and the local politics/taxes are beyond outrageous, but the same is true of LA, and they have no problem signing guys. At what point do you homers stop defending Farhan and accept the reality of the situation?
Ha ha. But please pretend that I’m qualified to judge front office competency.
Don’t bother. The giants have paid a crew of friendless hacks to haunt these sights all day. You got 3 of the crew on you right away. It’s hilarious but also extremely sad
‘Thoughtful, kind, compassionate forward thinking”… Good gosh with the emotional gushing. He wasn’t being kind and compassionate when he canned Kapler to save his own job. It’s true he’s started admitting his mistakes, such as not being able to sign or get impact talent.
Chipsss you’re right. Starting with ‘agnes gooch’, who is the most obvious one ever lmao
I only have one account. Asinine assumptions aren’t very becoming. Stop trying to be a bully, you’re failing
A paid crew to haunt sites.
Wow dog.
With lasers from outer space!
Hi, Chips!
You probably include me in that group, and I find it rich that “friendless” is the term you throw out there when you are talking about a group that is opposite those that all they do is complain, complain, complain about the Giants and add nothing of value to the fandom.
Whether or not you agree with the fans with even a sliver of optimism, they are sure a heck of a lot more fun to grab a beer with than those who spend all of their waking time crying and basing their whole personality around getting a guy they’ve never met fired.
I haven’t been on here much. The vitriol towards anyone who said anything they didn’t like about Farhan from the hive was ridiculous. Anyway I’m glad Farhan got off his @$$ and improved the team. That’s all I wanted. I might change my screen name from #FireFarhan, to ‘#SnellYeah’, or something classy like that. Snell ya later kids.
Donny Barrels about to make the Ohtani signing look like child’s play.
Its actually Donnie Walnuts.
Wrong Donovan, you’re thinking of Solano
Thanks – I was also about to make a “Donny Barrels” crack.
Why am I still a fan of this team? It’s clear we are the laughing stock of the league and all the moves FZ is making will add up to yet another mediocre season of no playoffs and no high draft pick. Years ago, all the FZ supporters who defended him to the death would say just wait until the bad contracts clear and watch FZ spend then! Lol he has no clue how to spend, trade, or draft. He is only good for moves like this one
It must be a case of negative attention being better than none at all!
Laughing stock of league: see A’s, Mets. Btw I can’t stand FZ. But there are bigger jokes than the Giants out there
Frugal, I’m afraid it appears that you’re correct
That’s It we win the Off-season !
So clever ! Did you copy it paste it from the thousands of times that piece of wit has been posted previously, or did your IQ tell you it was new ?
How many years of mediocrity will it take for you to swallow your pride and admit Farhan was a bad hire? Because at 5 years into his tenure I was hoping for more than being 100 plus games behind the Dodgers. He is a good second lieutenant, but he isn’t a general who should be tasked with overseeing the organizational philosophy.
As long as it takes for the owners to come to the same conclusion as you. They are paying him and they are intimate with the business of baseball situation. I’m not. Nor are you. It’s essentially a difference in baseball ego between you and me. Until that time, I’ll do what I like to do, and what I think my limited access to the inner workings has me qualified to do. Research decisions, and attempt to understand the “why” as best I can.
It was the same with Kapler. Research, understand the “why” and support the team. Then he was gone. So…research, understand the “why” and give Melvin the same respect as I gave Kapler.
It’s not difficult to understand that method of supporting a team. It’s pretty common for those that know what they don’t know.
During Zaidis tenure, one Dodger that was drafted and succeeded in MLB has been Bobby Miller. All other Dodgers that were drafted and succeeded in MLB were drafted during the Evans/Sabean era. Here’s the point for you whiners, Bailey and Miller were drafted since FZ took over. Both had the same WAR last season. And many Zaidi draftees are on mlbs doorstep.
And this from Klopfer of SBNation:
Second, while Zaidi’s clock is, at some level ticking, it’s important to remember just how slow of a burn it is to develop players. Right now the Giants lack of homegrown excellence is more an indictment of the past regime than the current one. Like all Giants fans, I’m forever indebted to the old front office, but here are the first-round picks the Giants had in the eight drafts pre-Zaidi: Joey Bart, Heliot Ramos, Chris Shaw, Phil Bickford, Tyler Beede, Christian Arroyo, Chris Stratton, and Kyle Crick. The Dodgers, in that same time period, used first-round picks on Corey Seager, Will Smith, Walker Buehler, and Gavin Lux.
Hey Ted, it took Sabean 14 years before he won the World Series, why does Zaidi only get 5 from you?
After the Giants moved to San Francisco, there were years and years and years of frustration, but very happy fans. People were just happy to have baseball. Yes, there were heartbreaks, and there were exciting moments, but it took forever to win. Then we had our championship years and now suddenly the fanbase has become completely spoiled. It’s actually embarrassing. Every single thing has to go perfectly in order to win at all. Some franchises have never won at all. Be patient and enjoy the process. Our farm is looking better. It will happen. In the meantime just enjoy life and enjoy baseball and quit complaining or get off the Internet and go for a walk or be nice to your neighbor. Life is too short to complain so much. I love baseball and I love the Giants! Go Giants!!!
So you are a sheep basically? Go wherever your shepherd Farhan and these wonderful owners take you? You don’t have to be in the organization to know that they are just as bad as the A’s ownership and only care about your money.
The reason they can do this is because they know there are enough fans out there like you who are fools and can’t figure out they are being scammed. As long as you keep defending them they will keep Farhan employed because one thing he does well is make this team money!
Oh and I actually know people who work within the organization and they have nothing but negative things to say about this ownership and management group. According to them, Farhan had a Welcome Shohei sign made for when he first came over and they tried to sign him. Only problem was the sign was in Chinese. That’s how smart your owners and management team are! They also gave Bryce Harper a tour of the stadium while they were breaking down a concert with crap everywhere so not exactly rolling out the red carpet!
Oh and BTW do you remember when the owners got this stadium built and promised it would be a “baseball only”. Stadium? Sounded great and then the XFL was playing there a year later. Debt is paid on the stadium. Bad contracts are gone. Over 3 million fans are dying to come to the park if the product on the field were worth watching.
If “sheep” how you want to phrase it. Sure. No problem here. I know that as a fan, I only have access to a limited amount of knowledge that I can absorb. I suppose that’s sheep like in a broad sense.
Which one of your accounts knows these people ?
She’s a loyal smart minded logical/rational thinking person who knows 14 is way more than 5. We use facts and do research, you simply don’t “get it” and it’s you that follows the flock, not us. What I don’t understand is where your head is at. in other words, in your miserable existence, why don’t you spend more time trying to better things for yourself. Life is too short to not try harder. I’m serious, it can’t all be so baaaa-d.
My life is perfect I’m trying to better the Giants since I have nothing left to improve upon personally
Ted – Well said
Bart and Ramos are still part of the current team. And, at 5 years in, yes the lack of player development is on Farhan. Since Pete Putila became GM, players are moving up faster than before. And I think that’s good. I’d love to see Pete Putila as POBO in SF.
agnes gooch don’t be telling people to ‘get off the Internet’, if they say something you don’t like personally. That’s bullying. Don’t do that.
claude you’re right about one thing… You don’t understand
I wish it was Donovan Solano
The missing piece! Donnie Walton!
Roster filler, able body, nothing else to see here
Big news… Two weeks ago lol
Where’s the guy who told me I was wrong about the Zaidi love fest with the Mariners?
If he was any good the Dodgers would have signed him! lol!