ST. LOUIS — An amusing group chat has emerged from the frenetic San Francisco-Seattle roster-go-round.
Donovan Walton, Kevin Padlo and Mike Ford have not directly or one other shuffled between the Mariners and the Giants over the previous two weeks. To communicate — and preserve observe — the trio of gamers began texting one another.
The present standing report: Walton, the newest commerce goal, joined the Giants in St. Louis on a taxi-squad foundation (not a part of the energetic roster). Padlo, who came to visit in change for money, is an everyday at Triple-A Sacramento. And Ford, who joked about being the designated “COVID substitute participant,” was shipped again to Seattle so as to add Walton to the 40-man roster.
“Loopy,” mentioned Walton, 28, who has a profession .196/.260/.315 batting line in 102 MLB plate appearances. “We had been cracking jokes about it. It was good to see Padlo yesterday. He mentioned nothing however nice issues, so I’m excited to be right here.”
Walton bought to say hello to Padlo, however that’s about all he had time for. He arrived in St. Louis on Friday after making a pitstop in El Paso, the place Padlo and Triple-A Sacramento are at the moment enjoying a collection.
Given current historical past, the Mariners bag sitting within the Giants clubhouse Friday afternoon hardly regarded misplaced. The extra urgent matter at hand was whose it was. Walton’s was the third navy blue tools bag emblazoned with the compass rose to seem within the Giants’ clubhouse, following Padlo and Ford’s.
However Walton shouldn’t essentially be grouped in with the opposite two.
The Giants parted with an asset of actual worth, 22-year-old pitching prospect Prelander Berroa, to accumulate Walton.
And, as a flexible defender who all through the minors has proven an inherent ability for pitch choice, Walton matches the profile of a participant the Giants covet.
Though his offensive numbers in restricted time within the majors over the previous 4 seasons go away little to be desired, he was batting .294/.368/.510 at Triple-A this season and has discovered constant success at each stage however the massive leagues. In 12 video games at Triple-A this season, he has appeared at second base, third base, shortstop and left discipline.
“He’s a man that we’ve had our eyes on for fairly a while,” Kapler mentioned. “Nice contact expertise. A man that works counts and attracts walks and embodies the spirit of what we care about in our offensive philosophy. He additionally has the positional versatility that we actually worth, together with based on all experiences, robust make-up.”
To open their six-game, two-city highway journey, Walton was a part of a four-man taxi squad the Giants introduced with them to complement their 26-man energetic roster. Walton, who is usually referred to as Donnie however prefers Donovan, was joined by infielder Luke Williams and relievers Mauricio Llovera and Yunior Marte.
Kapler mentioned the reinforcements had been precautionary with an evening recreation Friday adopted by a day recreation Saturday probably making it tough to get a substitute in time ought to the necessity come up.
“What we’ve seen this yr is we will’t see every thing that’s coming,” Kapler mentioned. “An important factor is that we’re not caught in a state of affairs the place it’s tough to get folks right here.”