Erik Swanson

From BR Bullpen

ErikSwanson.JPG

Erik Donald Swanson

BR page

Biographical Information[edit]

Pitcher Erik Swanson was an 8th-round selection by the Texas Rangers in the 2014 amateur draft. The scout was Dustin Smith. He turned down a scholarship offer to the University of Pittsburgh to sign.

He made his pro debut in 2014 with the Spokane Indians of the Northwest League, going 1-2, 4.63 in 16 games as a reliever. In 2015, he had the distinction of playing at the four main levels of the minor league ladder - Rookie Class, Class A AA and AAA - while playing only 10 games as he stopped with the AZL Rangers, Hickory Crawdads, Frisco Rough Riders and Round Rock Express. He had only one game each in the Arizona League, Texas League and Pacific Coast League and was 1-0, 2.35 in the 10 games, pitching 15 1/3 innings. His season was cut short by an injury. In 2016 sent him back to Hickory where he was now a starting pitcher. In 19 games, he went 6-4, 3.43 and struck out 78 batters in 81 1/3 innings. he was chosen to pitch in the South Atlantic League All-Star Game.

On August 1, 2016, he was one of three prospects traded to the New York Yankees in return for veteran OF Carlos Beltran; joining him were Dillon Tate and Nick Green. He finished that season with the Charleston RiverDogs, still in the Sally League, going 0-1, 4.20 in 5 games. In 2017, he moved up to the Tampa Yankees of the Florida State League where he was 7-3, 3.95 in 20 starts, pitching 100 1/3 innings. In 2018, he split his time between the AA Trenton Thunder (5-0, 0.42) and AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (3-2, 3.86) also making a couple of rehabilitation appearances for the Class A Staten Island Yankees. Overall, his record was 8-2, 2.66, with 139 strikeouts in 121 2/3 innings. On November 19th, he was traded to the Seattle Mariners along with P Justus Sheffield and OF Dom Thompson-Williams in return for P James Paxton.

After making his debut with the Mariners on April 11, 2019, he earned his first major league win on May 5h when he defeated the Cleveland Indians, 10-0. He allowed just 2 hits in 6 innings and benefited from a grand slam off the bat of Jay Bruce in the 1st. However, it was his only victory of the year as he finished at 1-5, 5.74 in 27 games, including 8 starts. he did record 2 saves. He then had a very poor 2020 season, as he was 0-2, 12.91 in 9 games, spending the bulk of the pandemic-shortened season at the Mariners' alternate training site. He did much better in 2021, even if he failed to earn a win, as his ERA was 3.31 in 33 games, including a pair of starts. His record was 0-3, putting him at 1-10 for his career, but he did add a save and his peripheral numbers were all good (35 strikeouts and 28 hits in 35 1/3 innings). He then broke out in 2022 with a minute ERA of 1.68 in 57 games, to go along with a record of 3-2, 3 saves and 70 strikeouts in 53 2/3 innings. He appeared in the postseason for the first time when he pitched one perfect inning in the marathon Game 3 of the Division Series against the Houston Astros on October 15th, preserving a scoreless tie that would last until the 18th inning.

On November 16, 2022, he was acquired by the Toronto Blue Jays alongside prospect Adam Macko in return for slugging outfielder Teoscar Hernandez - an indication that he was held in high regard by his new team. He had an excellent first season with the Jays in 2023, serving as the main set-up man for Jordan Romano and going 4-2, 2.97 with 4 saves in 69 games. He struck out 75 batters in 66 2/3 innings while giving up just 52 hits and 21 walks. He also pitched twice in the Wild Card Series against the Minnesota Twins, giving up no runs and no hits in 1 1/3 innings, although he did issue three walks. The Jays lost both games and made, once again, an early exit from the postseason.

The 2024 season started on a terrible note for him, as just as spring training was about to start on February 4th, his 4-year-old son Toby was hit by a car and had to be airlifted to a hospital. Soon after he returned to the team after his sone was released from hospital, he came down with an elbow injury and had to start the year on the injured list, alongside Romano. He made his first appearance on April 17th, but gave up three runs, including a homer by Giancarlo Stanton of the New York Yankees, in just a third of an inning. He only managed to get his ERA below a run per inning on May 26th, when after his fifth straight scoreless outing, he had lowered it to 8.78, but another poor performance on May 27th against the Chicago White Sox, in which he gave up already his fifth long ball of the season while retiring just one batter, resulted in his being sent down to AAA. His pitches had no life and there was some thought that maybe he had been rushed back to the majors after missing most of spring training. In any case, things did not go any better with the Buffalo Bisons, as after 18 games there, his ERA was 11.34. Still, he was pitching a bit better in July, and the Blue Jays decided to bring him back on July 19th, as their own bullpen was racked by injuries.

Further Reading[edit]

  • Keegan Matheson: "Swanson back where he belongs following on, off-field challenges", mlb.com, July 20, 2024. [1]

Related Sites[edit]

Retrieved from "https://www.baseball-reference.com/bpv/index.php?title=Erik_Swanson&oldid=1376980"