Giants and Mariners Swing 3rd Trade In Two Weeks
It appears that Giants GM Farhan Zaidi and his Mariners counterpart Jerry DiPoto have each other on speed dial, as Walton is actually the third infielder the Giants have picked up from the Mariners in the past two weeks. They acquired Mike Ford and Kevin Padlo previously. Ford, incidentally, has been designated for assignment to make room for Walton on the 40-man roster.
The 27-year-old former 5th-round June Draft selection of the Mariners, Walton has made some spot appearances in Seattle in each of the last 3 seasons, garnering 92 at-bats, with a .196 average. But defense is where Walton excels, and he can, and has, played a little second, third and short for the M's, in addition to left field.
His bat has played better in the minors, including a .302 average with a .909 OPS over two seasons at Triple-A. He was off to another great start with Tacoma of the PCL, batting .296.
The Giants will undoubtedly find the best spots for his left-handed bat to perform while he's with the big club.
Berroa will likely head to High-A in the Mariners system, which is where he'd been pitching well in the Giants' system thus far this season, with an 0.68 ERA through 4 starts.
Photo Credit: Stephen Brashear-USA TODAY Sports
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