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 The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

, Los Angeles Angels, and Baltimore Orioles.

Early life

Giavotella was born in Harahan, Louisiana, to Johnny Sr. and Cindy Giavotella. His family is Italian-American. 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. In 2006 and 2007, he played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

with the Harwich Mariners of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thousan ...

Career

Kansas City Royals

The

drafted Giavotella in the second round of the

2008 Major League Baseball Draft The 2008 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft continued Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft of high school and college baseball players, and was held on June 5 and 6, 2008. First round selections ;Key Supplemental first rou ...

. 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 The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

and Triple-A Omaha in 2011. Giavotella was called up to the majors for the first time on August 5, 2011. On August 7, 2011, Giavotella hit his first major league career home run off the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

' Max Scherzer. 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. Giavotella was designated for assignment on December 18, 2014. 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. 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. In July, the Orioles selected his contract and added him to the active roster. With an injury to starting shortstop

J. J. Hardy James Jerry Hardy (born August 19, 1982) is an American former professional baseball shortstop. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins, and Baltimore Orioles. Hardy attended Sabino High School in T ...

, 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 had been hitting .306/.368/.441 with 22 doubles, four triples, five homers and 45 RBIs in 83 games for Norfolk. His .306 average ranked him fourth in the

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ...

. Orioles manager Buck Showalter said of him: “There’s no one who plays the game harder than Johnny . . orfolk manager Ron Johnsonsaid he was their best hitter, so we’ll bring him up here, see if there’s a need for what he brings.” On August 1, Giavotella was designated for assignment.

Miami Marlins

On December 1, 2017, Giavotella signed a minor league deal with the

Miami Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The franc ...

. He was released from the organization on May 2, 2018.

Chicago White Sox

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

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Giavotella, Johnny 1987 births Living people American people of Italian descent Baltimore Orioles players Baseball players from New Orleans Birmingham Barons players Burlington Bees players Harwich Mariners players Kansas City Royals players Los Angeles Angels players Major League Baseball second basemen New Orleans Baby Cakes players New Orleans Privateers baseball players Norfolk Tides players Northwest Arkansas Naturals players Omaha Storm Chasers players People from Harahan, Louisiana Salt Lake Bees players Surprise Rafters players Tiburones de La Guaira players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Wilmington Blue Rocks players Jesuit High School (New Orleans) alumni