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SF Giants: Donovan Walton out until May after offseason shoulder surgery

SF Giants infielder Donovan Walton has been absent from big-league spring training while he rehabs from offseason shoulder surgery.
Marc Delucchi|
SF Giants: Donovan Walton out until May after offseason shoulder surgery
SF Giants: Donovan Walton out until May after offseason shoulder surgery

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San Francisco Giants

Donovan Walton was expected to be in a preseason competition to be the SF Giants utility infielder this spring. However, the 28-year-old infielder has been absent from the early days of spring training. It turns out that Walton underwent shoulder surgery last September and is not expected to return to action until early May.

Walton was acquired by the Giants last season in a trade for pitching prospect Prelander Berroa that was recently called "the worst trade of 2022." While Berroa has quickly impressed scouts in the Mariners farm system, Walton has failed to find any traction in San Francisco.

Walton hit just .158/.179/.303 in 78 plate appearances with the Giants last season and was arguably just as bad defensively. Walton made two errors in 13 games at shortstop with the Giants last season and was graded as three outs below average by Outs Above Average.

Optioned to the minors, Walton had one of the least productive minor-league seasons of his career. With the Giants Triple-A affiliate, he hit .225/.345/.358 triple-slash in 20 games before undergoing surgery. The Giants obviously hope that the shoulder injury that eventually required surgery played a large role in his struggles.

Nevertheless, the Giants non-tendered Walton last offseason and re-signed him to a minor-league contract. Walton is almost certainly destined for Triple-A following his injury. Currently, infielders like Isan Díaz and Brett Wisely (Giants #22 prospect) are likely ahead of Walton on the organization's depth chart.

Given Walton's injury, other prospects like Casey Schmitt (#3 prospect), Tyler Fitzgerald (#20 prospect), and Will Wilson will have an opportunity to move ahead of Walton as well. Still, Walton is career .289/.383/.489 hitter with 30 doubles and 15 home runs in 479 plate appearances at Triple-A with nearly as many walks (53) as strikeouts (55). If Walton can find his form following shoulder surgery, he could emerge as a surprising contributor for the SF Giants this season.

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Marc Delucchi
MARC DELUCCHI

Marc Delucchi (he/they/she) serves as the Managing Editor at Giants Baseball Insider, leading their SF Giants coverage. As a freelance journalist, he has previously covered the San Francisco Giants at Around the Foghorn and McCovey Chronicles. He also currently contributes to Niners Nation, Golden State of Mind, and Baseball Prospectus. He has previously been featured in several other publications, including SFGate, ProFootballRumors, Niners Wire, GrandStand Central, Call to the Pen, and Just Baseball. Over his journalistic career, Marc has conducted investigations into how one prep baseball player lost a college opportunity during the pandemic (Baseball Prospectus) and the rampant mistreatment of players at the University of Hawaii football program under former head coach Todd Graham (SFGate). He has also broken dozens of news stories around professional baseball, primarily around the SF Giants organization, including the draft signing of Kyle Harrison, injuries and promotions to top prospects like Heliot Ramos, and trade details in the Kris Bryant deal. Marc received a Bachelor's degree from Kenyon College with a major in economics and a minor in Spanish. During his time in college, he conducted a summer research project attempting to predict the future minor-league performance of NCAA hitters, worked as a data analyst for the school's Women's basketball team, and worked as a play-by-play announcer/color commentator for the basketball, baseball, softball, and soccer teams. He also worked as an amateur baseball scout with the Collegiate Baseball Scouting Network (later renamed Evolution Metrix), scouting high school and college players for three draft cycles. For tips and inquiries, feel free to reach out to Marc directly on Twitter or via email (delucchimarc@gmail.com).

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