Johnny Giavotella

Johnny Arthur Giavotella (born July 10, 1987) is an American former professional baseball second baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Angels, and Baltimore Orioles.

Johnny Giavotella
Giavotella with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in 2015
Second baseman
Born: (1987-07-10) July 10, 1987
Harahan, Louisiana
Batted: Right Threw: Right
MLB debut
August 6, 2011, for the Kansas City Royals
Last MLB appearance
July 25, 2017, for the Baltimore Orioles
MLB statistics
Batting average.255
Home runs14
Runs batted in125
Teams

Early life

Giavotella was born in Harahan, Louisiana,[1] to Johnny Sr. and Cindy Giavotella.[2] His family is Italian-American.[3]

Giavotella attended St. Matthew the Apostle School in River Ridge, Jesuit High School in New Orleans, and the University of New Orleans, where he played college baseball for the New Orleans Privateers.[4] In 2006 and 2007, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Harwich Mariners of the Cape Cod Baseball League.[5]

Career

Kansas City Royals
Giavotella during his tenure with the Kansas City Royals in 2012

The Kansas City Royals drafted Giavotella in the second round of the 2008 Major League Baseball Draft.[1] He played in Class-A in the Midwest League in 2008 and 2009, advanced to Double-A in 2010, and played in the Pacific Coast League and Triple-A Omaha in 2011.[6][7]

Giavotella was called up to the majors for the first time on August 5, 2011.[8] On August 7, 2011, Giavotella hit his first major league career home run off the Detroit Tigers' Max Scherzer.[9] Giavotella would finish the 2011 season with 2 home runs and 21 RBI's in 46 games. In 2012, Giavotella split time between the majors and in AAA with the Royals. The Royals recalled Giavotella on June 29, 2013 after Jeff Francoeur was designated for assignment.[10] Giavotella was designated for assignment on December 18, 2014.[11] Giavotella's 2014 season was marred with inconsistency as he was called up to the Royals roster for just 12 games, hitting .216 while not displaying improvement since his rookie year.

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim / Los Angeles Angels

On December 19, 2014, Giavotella was traded to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in exchange for Brian Broderick.[12] The Angels faced a stiff competition in spring training for the 2nd base position, as he battled against fellow infielders Josh Rutledge and Grant Green. After besting the competition, Giavotella cracked the opening day roster for the first time in his career. The 2015 season saw Giavotella manning second base for the majority of the season, setting career highs in every offensive category. In 2016, while he improved his defense dramatically from the prior season, Giavotella was designated for assignment towards the end of the month of August and was not called up when rosters expanded in September. Giavotella would finish his 2016 season with a career high 6 home runs and a .260 AVG in 99 games.

Baltimore Orioles

On February 1, 2017, Giavotella signed a minor league contract with the Baltimore Orioles.[13] In July, the Orioles selected his contract and added him to the active roster.[14] With an injury to starting shortstop J. J. Hardy, and a 5-game losing streak heading into the All-Star break, the team's looking for help in the field and at the plate. The 29-year-old infielder has been hitting .306/.368/.441 with 22 doubles, four triples, five homers and 45 RBIs in 83 games for Norfolk. His .306 average ranks him fourth in the International League. Orioles manager Buck Showalter says of him: “There’s no one who plays the game harder than Johnny . . [Norfolk manager Ron Johnson] said he was their best hitter, so we’ll bring him up here, see if there’s a need for what he brings.”[14] On August 1, Giavotella was designated for assignment.[15]

Miami Marlins

On December 1, 2017, Giavotella signed a minor league deal with the Miami Marlins. He was released from the organization on May 2, 2018.[16]

Chicago White Sox

On May 12, 2018, Giavotella signed a minor league contract with the Chicago White Sox.[17] He was released on June 21, 2018. Giavotella announced his retirement on August 11.[18]

References
  1. "Meet the New Angels: Johnny Giavotella". Halos Daily. December 26, 2014. Archived from the original on January 6, 2015. Retrieved January 5, 2015.
  2. Dabe, Christopher (April 25, 2014). "Jesuit grad Johnny Giavotella talks about future in pro baseball and with Kansas City Royals organization". The Times-Picayune. Retrieved January 5, 2015.
  3. Holt, Adam (September 12, 2011). "For Giavotella, hard work runs in his family". MLB.com. Retrieved January 5, 2015.
  4. "Johnny Giavotella again leads Omaha Storm Chasers past New Orleans Zephyrs". The Times-Picayune. Retrieved December 19, 2014.
  5. "Major League Baseball Players From the Cape Cod League" (PDF). capecodbaseball.org. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  6. Sickels, John (July 22, 2011). "Prospect of the Day: Johnny Giavotella, 2B, Kansas City Royals". Minor League Ball. Retrieved January 5, 2015.
  7. Spain, Kevin (May 9, 2012). "Former University of New Orleans baseball player Johnny Giavotella is called up to Kansas City". The Times-Picayune. Retrieved January 5, 2014.
  8. "Royals Make The Call: Johnny Giavotella Called Up To Kansas City". SB Nation Kansas City. Vox Media. Retrieved December 19, 2014.
  9. "Giavotella's first homer lifts Royals in finale". MLB.com. August 7, 2011.
  10. "Royals recall Giavotella, designate Francoeur for assignment". MLB.com. Retrieved December 19, 2014.
  11. "Royals designate Johnny Giavotella for assignment Thursday". CBS Sports. Retrieved December 19, 2014.
  12. "Angels Acquire Johnny Giavotella From Royals". MLB Trade Rumors. Retrieved December 19, 2014.
  13. Meoli, Jon (February 1, 2017). "Orioles sign former Angels second baseman Johnny Giavotella to minor league deal". baltimoresun.com. Retrieved February 3, 2017.
  14. Encina, Eduardo A. (July 6, 2017). "Orioles select contract of Johnny Giavotella, send down Jayson Aquino". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved July 6, 2017.
  15. Todd, Jeff (August 1, 2017). "Orioles Designate Johnny Giavotella". mlbtraderumors.com. Retrieved August 1, 2017.
  16. Dabe, Christopher (May 2, 2018). "Johnny Giavotella, former Jesuit and UNO baseball player, leaves Baby Cakes after release". NOLA.com. Retrieved May 2, 2018.
  17. Byrne, Connor (May 12, 2018). "White Sox Sign Johnny Giavotella". mlbtraderumors.com. Retrieved May 12, 2018.
  18. "Johnny Giavotella on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved August 11, 2018.
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