Donovan

Walton

It appears to be nothing more than a routine day of rest for the 34-year-old infielder. Donovan Walton will start in his place at second base and will bat seventh for the Athletics against Astros’ right-hander Cristian Javier.

Walton put the A’s on the board with a solo homer off Hunter Brown to lead off the third inning. The 32-year-old veteran infielder has been filling in at shortstop with Jacob Wilson likely done for the season with a shoulder injury. Saturday’s homer was his fourth of the season while slashing .283/.374/.454 across 176 plate appearances.

Wilson takes a seat for the third consecutive game as he continues to deal with left shoulder soreness. It’s challenging to rule out a potential trip to the injured list, especially with the Athletics no longer in the mix for a playoff spot, but Wilson remains day-to-day for the moment. It’ll be Donovan Walton getting a look at shortstop on Wednesday evening.

Wilson will get a day off as the team continues to give him some rest to manage his patellar tendonitis in his right knee. The 24-year-old will sit with Donovan Walton leading off and handling shortstop duties.

Kuroda-Grauer was replaced by Donovan Walton at third base after fouling a ball off an unfortunate location earlier in the contest. He was 2-for-3 with his first career home run prior to leaving the game in the sixth inning. It seems like a precautionary exit, but fantasy managers should check back in on his status leading into Tuesday’s showdown.

The A’s demoted Meneses and Brian Serven from the position player side. Donovan Walton, who was just claimed off waivers from the Angels, is taking one spot. The other spot has yet to be filled, but it’ll probably be a callup (Darrell Hernaiz?), since it doesn’t sound like any of the team’s injured position players are ready to be activated. Meneses is 3-for-20 with three walks in his nine games with the A’s this year.

Walton had been designated for assignment by the Angels on Wednesday. The versatile 32-year-old infielder hit .319 (29-for-91) with three long balls and 12 RBI in 97 plate appearances during his time with the Halos. He’ll help to bolster the A’s bench.

Walton loses his spot on the Angels active roster with franchise cornerstone Mike Trout back from the injured list. The 32-year-old journeyman did a nice job for Los Angeles, hitting .319 (29-for-91) with three homers and 12 RBI in 97 plate appearances over 32 games this season.

Walton’s solo shot off Ian Seymour came in his 57th plate appearance for the Angels. Playing about half of the time against right-handers, he’s hit .296/.333/.426 since being called up on May 22. He now has five homers in 272 career plate appearance since debuting with the Mariners in 2019.

With Yoán Moncada landing on the injured list, Walton will get his first opportunity with the Angels this season. The 31-year-old infielder was hitting .282/.429/.481 with seven homers, 33 RBI and three stolen bases in 168 plate appearances at Triple-A Salt Lake. He’ll start at third base and bat ninth for the Angels on Friday night.