Former Seattle Mariners Farmhand Gets Another Shot with New York Mets
Former Seattle Mariners infielder Donovan Walton has gotten another chance in baseball, this time with the New York Mets.
MLBTradeRumors had the note:
The Mets signed Donovan Walton to a minor league contract, according to the infielder’sMLB.com profile page. Walton elected to become a free agent at the start of November when the Giants outrighted him off their 40-man roster — since Walton had previously been outrighted in his career, he has the right to opt for free agency rather than accept another outright assignment.
Now 30 years old, Walton is a five-year veteran of the Mariners and San Francisco Giants. He is a lifetime .174 hitter with four homers and 22 RBI. He appeared in 37 games for the Mariners over parts of four seasons before the team dealt him to the Giants in 2022.
The Mariners drafted him in the fifth round of the 2016 MLB Draft. He played his college ball at Oklahoma State.
It's unclear if he'll have a real chance to make the Mets roster in 2025, but the team could have some infield openings. Pete Alonso is a free agent as is veteran Jose Iglesias. New York is coming off a season in which they advanced to the National League Championship Series, losing to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Signing Walton will be far from the only move this offseason for the free-spending Mets. They are the early favorites in the Juan Soto sweepstakes, which could go as high as $700 million. Soto has already met with the Mets, Red Sox and Blue Jays.
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