| Johnny Giavotella | |
|---|---|
 Giavotella with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in 2015 | |
| Second baseman | |
| Born: (1987-07-10)July 10, 1987 (age 37) Metairie, Louisiana, U.S. | |
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 runs | 14 |
| Runs batted in | 125 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
Johnny Arthur Giavotella (born July 10, 1987) is an American former professionalbaseballsecond baseman. He played inMajor League Baseball (MLB) for theKansas City Royals,Los Angeles Angels, andBaltimore Orioles.
Giavotella was born inMetairie, Louisiana,[1] to Johnny Sr. and Cindy Giavotella.[2] His family isItalian-American.[3]
Giavotella attended St. Matthew the Apostle School in River Ridge,Jesuit High School inNew Orleans, and theUniversity of New Orleans, where he playedcollege baseball for theNew Orleans Privateers.[4] In 2006 and 2007, he playedcollegiate summer baseball with theHarwich Mariners of theCape Cod Baseball League.[5][6][7]
TheKansas City Royals drafted Giavotella in the second round of the2008 Major League Baseball Draft.[1] He played in Class-A in theMidwest League in 2008 and 2009, advanced to Double-A in 2010, and played in thePacific Coast League and Triple-A Omaha in 2011.[8][9]
Giavotella was called up to the majors for the first time on August 5, 2011.[10] On August 7, 2011, Giavotella hit his first major league career home run off theDetroit Tigers'Max Scherzer.[11] 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, afterJeff Francoeur was designated for assignment.[12] Giavotella was designated for assignment on December 18, 2014.[13] 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.
On December 19, 2014, Giavotella was traded to theLos Angeles Angels of Anaheim in exchange forBrian Broderick.[14] The Angels faced a stiff competition in spring training for the 2nd base position, as he battled against fellow infieldersJosh Rutledge andGrant 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.
On February 1, 2017, Giavotella signed a minor league contract with theBaltimore Orioles.[15] In July, the Orioles selected his contract and added him to the active roster.[16] With an injury to starting shortstopJ. J. Hardy, and a 5-game losing streak heading into theAll-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 theInternational League. Orioles managerBuck Showalter said 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.”[16] On August 1, Giavotella was designated for assignment.[17]
On December 1, 2017, Giavotella signed a minor league deal with theMiami Marlins. He was released from the organization on May 2, 2018.[18]
On May 12, 2018, Giavotella signed a minor league contract with theChicago White Sox.[19] He was released on June 21, 2018. Giavotella announced his retirement on August 11.[20]
