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2024 Blue Jays Player Review: Erik Swanson rebounded after a rough start
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Photo credit: © Raymond Carlin III - USA Today
Ryley Delaney
Oct 24, 2024, 14:00 EDTUpdated: Oct 27, 2024, 18:47 EDT
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The 2024 season was a tough one for Toronto Blue Jays relief pitcher Erik Swanson.
Acquired at the end of the 2022 season in mid-November, the Blue Jays sent fan-favourite Teoscar Hernández to the Seattle Mariners for Swanson and left-handed pitching prospect Adam Macko.
Swanson’s first season with the Blue Jays in 2023 was a good one, as he finished the season with a 2.97 ERA and a 3.51 FIP in 66.2 innings pitched, with a 28.6 K% and an 8 BB%. While he wasn’t as dominant as he was with the Mariners in 2022 (1.68 ERA, 1.85 FIP, 53.2 innings pitched, 34 K%, and a 4.9 BB%), Swanson had an increased role with the Jays, usually setting up for closer Jordan Romano, which was expected of him in 2024.
Erik Swanson in 2024…
ERA: 5.03
Innings Pitched: 39.1
fWAR: -0.7
FIP: 6.06
Strikeouts: 37
Walks: 14
K%: 22%
BB%: 8.3%
WHIP: 1.27
Salary: $2,750,000
It all went wrong early in Spring Training for Swanson. His four-year-old son, Toby, was struck by a motor vehicle and was in the intensive care unit for about four days. He was released from the hospital nearly two weeks after the incident occurred. Thankfully, Toby has seemingly made a full recovery.
Swanson took time off to be with his son and returned on March 10, pitching an inning of work. His second outing on the 13th didn’t go as well, giving up an earned run in two thirds of an inning. A few days later, Swanson had right forearm tightness, missing the beginning of the season.
The right-handed pitcher returned from the Injured List on April 16 and pitched in his first game the following day. It didn’t go well, as he gave up three earned runs in a third of an inning pitch, being tagged with a loss.
This was the norm for Swanson throughout the majority of the season, as he had a 9.22 ERA and a 7.34 FIP in 13.2 innings pitched after his game on May 27. The following day, the Blue Jays optioned him, something that seemed impossible just a season ago. Swanson pitched in a game on June 26, before being optioned once again.
It’s common for the Blue Jays to send struggling players down to Triple-A Buffalo to find their game, most notably, it worked for Teoscar Hernández in 2019. However, Swanson struggled mightly with the Bisons in 2024, posting an 11.34 ERA and a 9.51 FIP in 16.2 innings pitched, along with an 18.9 K% and a 14.4 BB%. In total, he gave up seven home runs for an incredibly high 3.78 HR/9.
So how come Swanson isn’t considered a possible non-tender option despite being projected to make $2.7 million in arbitration? Well, Swanson seemingly figured it out once he returned to the big leagues on July 20.
From that date until the end of the season, Swanson posted a much more respectable 2.55 ERA and a 4.95 FIP in 24.2 innings pitched, along with a 27.6 K% and a 10.2 BB%. He wasn’t perfect by any means, the long ball was something he still struggled with (1.82 HR/9 during this time), but with a normalized HR/FB ratio, his xFIP sat at a much better 3.54.
Overall, he finished the 2024 season with a 5.03 ERA and a 6.06 FIP in 39.1 innings pitched, along with a 22 K% and an 8.3 BB%. While compared to the past three seasons he wasn’t good at all, the right-handed reliever had a good end to his season. Moreover, he has a track record of keeping the ball down, posting a HR/9 of 1.27 in 2021, 0.50 in 2022, and 1.08 in 2023.
We as fans forget sometimes that players have a livelihood outside of baseball, myself included. It’s hard to imagine anyone performing well with the Spring Training Swanson had. Next season should be significantly better I’d imagine.
As always, you can follow me on Twitter @Ryley_L_D.

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