Donovan Walton eyeing Mets role that would be long time coming with Jeff McNeil injured

Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Mike Puma about the inside buzz on the Mets from spring training JUPITER, Fla.— Jeff McNeil’s oblique injury opened up another spot for Opening Day and most of the attention has been focused on popular names like Brett Baty and Luisangel Acuña. But they aren’t the only players who have made an impression, with Carlos Mendoza noting the attributes of two other potential bench players, Donovan Walton and Luis De Los Santos. “Walton is a baseball player,” Mendoza said.

“He’s a smart player.He knows where to be [and] where to go.” As for De Los Santos, who was reassigned to minor league camp, Mendoza praised his “versatility.” “He can go play anywhere and impact the baseball, as well,’’ the manager said.

“They both have big league experience.… We’ll see how it goes.” For Walton, who started at second base and went 0-for-3 with a run scored in a 6-5 split-squad win over the Marlins at Roger Dean Stadium, it’s a potential opportunity long in the making. The 30-year-old has appeared in 70 games over five seasons in his MLB career, dating back to 2019 with the Mariners. Walton signed a minor league deal with the Mets this past offseason after spending last year with the Giants, but he was drafted by the Mets in the 36th round out of high school in 2012. At the time, Walton opted to follow his father, Rob, to Oklahoma State, where he was the pitching coach. A one-time Orioles pitching prospect, Rob Walton was previously the head coach at Oral Roberts, where he coached Mets pitching coach Jeremy Hefner. Donovan Walton didn’t consider signing with the Mets out of high school and went on to play at Oklahoma State.

Now, he’s hoping to get back to Queens. Walton said he still recalls a trip in 2003 that he took to Shea Stadium with his father, a native of East Rutherford. “It was a doubleheader against the Diamondbacks and I fel...