Erik Donald Swanson (born September 4, 1993) is an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professiona ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, who attempts to e ...

for the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL) ...

(MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2019 with the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The team joined the American League as an expansion team ...

Amateur career

Swanson attended

Mariemont High School Mariemont High School is a public high school located in Mariemont, a suburb of Cincinnati, Ohio. It is the only high school in the Mariemont City School District. Mariemont High School is known for its high academic standards, and it has been na ...

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state lin ...

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

, where he played in the same league as

Andrew Benintendi Andrew Sebastian Benintendi (born July 6, 1994) is an American professional baseball outfielder who is currently a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Red Sox, Kansas City Royals and New York Yanke ...

Madeira High School Madeira High School is a public high school in Madeira, Ohio, a bedroom community near Cincinnati, Ohio. Madeira High School is the only high school in the Madeira City Schools District. Academics MHS is known for academic excellence, which has b ...

. He later played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

Wabash Valley College Wabash Valley College (WVC) is a public community college in Mount Carmel, Illinois. It is part of the Illinois Eastern Community College (IECC) district. History Wabash Valley College was founded independently in 1960 by the local community s ...

and

Iowa Western Community College Iowa Western Community College is a public community college in Council Bluffs, Iowa. It was founded in 1967 and offers 84 programs in both vocational and technical areas as well as in liberal arts. It is also home to a flight school. Campus A ...

Professional career

Texas Rangers

The Texas Rangers selected Swanson in the eighth round of the

2014 Major League Baseball draft The 2014 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft was held from June 5 through June 7, 2014, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The first two rounds were conducted on June 5, followed by rounds three through ten on June ...

. Swanson made his professional debut in 2014 with the

Spokane Indians The Spokane Indians are a Minor League Baseball team located in Spokane Valley, the city immediately east of Spokane, Washington, in the Pacific Northwest. The Indians are members of the High-A Northwest League (NWL) as an affiliate of the Col ...

and he spent the whole season there, pitching to a 1–2 win-loss record with a 4.63

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the numb ...

(ERA) in

innings pitched In baseball, innings pitched (IP) are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher is on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one inning ...

out of the bullpen. He pitched 2015 with the

Arizona League Rangers The Arizona Complex League Rangers are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Texas Rangers, competing in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays its home games at Surprise Stadium in Surprise, Arizona. The team is compose ...

Hickory Crawdads The Hickory Crawdads are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League (SAL) and the High-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. They are located in Hickory, North Carolina, and play their home games at L. P. Frans Stadium, which opened i ...

Frisco RoughRiders The Frisco RoughRiders (often shortened to 'Riders) are a Minor League Baseball team of the Texas League and the Double-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. They are located in Frisco, Texas, and are named for the 1st U.S. Volunteer Cavalry Regim ...

and

Round Rock Express The Round Rock Express are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. They are located in Round Rock, Texas, and play their home games at the Dell Diamond. The team is named ...

, compiling a combined 1–0 record and 2.35 ERA in innings, and started 2016 with Hickory.

New York Yankees

On August 1, 2016, Swanson was traded with

Dillon Tate Dillon Michael Tate (born May 1, 1994) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played college baseball at the University of California, Santa Barbara. The Texas Rangers selected T ...

and Nick Green to the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one o ...

for

Carlos Beltrán Carlos Iván Beltrán (; born April 24, 1977) is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as an outfielder from 1998 to 2017 for the Kansas City Royals, Houston Astros, New York Mets, San Fran ...

. He finished that season with the

Charleston RiverDogs The Charleston RiverDogs are a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League. They are located in Charleston, South Carolina, and are the Single-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. The RiverDogs' home stadium is Joseph P. Riley Jr. Park. ...

. In 24 games (17 starts) between the two clubs, he was 6–5 with a 3.46 ERA. He spent 2017 with the

Tampa Yankees Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough Coun ...

where he was 7–3 with a 3.95 ERA in 20 starts and started 2018 with the

Trenton Thunder The Trenton Thunder are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in Trenton, New Jersey, and play their home games at Trenton Thunder Ballpark. From 1994 to 2020, it was a Minor League Baseball team of the Double ...

. He rehabbed with the

Staten Island Yankees The Staten Island Yankees were a minor league baseball team located in the New York City borough of Staten Island from 1999 to 2020. Nicknamed the "Baby Bombers", the Yankees were the Class A Short Season affiliate of the New York Yankees and pl ...

during the year and was also promoted to the

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (often abbreviated to SWB RailRiders) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. They are located in Moosic, Pennsylvania, in the ...

in May. In 24 games (22 starts) with the three clubs, he went 8–2 with a 2.66 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP.

Seattle Mariners

On November 19, 2018, the Yankees traded Swanson, Justus Sheffield, and

Dom Thompson-Williams Dominique Danton Thompson-Williams (born April 21, 1995) is an American professional baseball outfielder who is currently a free agent. Career Thompson-Williams attended East High School (Sioux City, Iowa), East High School in Sioux City, Iowa. ...

to the

for James Paxton. The Mariners added him to their 40-man roster the next day. Swanson opened the 2019 season with the

Tacoma Rainiers The Tacoma Rainiers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. They are located in Tacoma, Washington, and play their home games at Cheney Stadium, which opened in 1960 ...

, with whom he was 0–1 with a 5.55 ERA. He was recalled to the major leagues for the first time on April 9, 2019. He made his major league debut on April 11, 2019. In 2019 he was 1–5 with a 5.74 ERA. In 2020 he was 0–2 with a 12.91 ERA. In 2021 he came back with a 3.31 ERA and 35 strikeouts in innings. During the 2022 season, Swanson took another step forward, as he recorded a 1.68 ERA with 70 strikeouts across innings.

Toronto Blue Jays

On November 16, 2022, the Mariners traded Swanson and pitching prospect Adam Macko to the

for outfielder Teoscar Hernández.

Personal life

Swanson and his wife, Madison, married in 2018 and reside in Fargo. They have one son and one daughter together.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Swanson, Erik Living people 1993 births People from Fargo, North Dakota Baseball players from North Dakota Major League Baseball pitchers Seattle Mariners players Wabash Valley Warriors baseball players Iowa Western Reivers baseball players Arizona League Rangers players Spokane Indians players Hickory Crawdads players Frisco RoughRiders players Round Rock Express players Staten Island Yankees players Charleston RiverDogs players Tampa Yankees players Trenton Thunder players Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders players Tacoma Rainiers players Everett AquaSox players