The Toronto Blue Jays appear to have caught a break regarding right-hander Erik Swanson&#8217;s injury diagnosis. 
Swanson, sidelined with a right forearm/elbow injury this spring, was sent for an MRI &#8212; his second since arriving for spring training &#8212; earlier this week after issues continued with his throwing arm, with his results revealing no structural damage.
But the 31-year-old reliever was diagnosed with what the team has described as median nerve entrapment (also known as Carpal tunnel syndrome), as MLB.com&#8217;s Keegan Matheson relayed Friday. He received a cortisone shot and isn&#8217;t expected to resume throwing for a few days.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
News: Erik Swanson has a “median nerve entrapment”
The MRI showed no structural damage, so he had a cortisone shot and will back off throwing for a couple days. 
Everything considered, good news for Swanson and the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BlueJays?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BlueJays</a>
&mdash; Keegan Matheson (@KeeganMatheson) <a href="https://twitter.com/KeeganMatheson/status/1900558075502686512?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 14, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Given the circumstances, this update has to be a major relief for Swanson and the Blue Jays, as it likely rules out the possibility of a significant injury. However, with less than two weeks until Opening Day, the veteran righty will begin this season on the injured list.
It&#8217;ll be the second straight season-opening IL stint for Swanson, who missed the start of last season before returning in mid-April. But he was met with command issues upon rejoining Toronto&#8217;s bullpen, with those woes ultimately landing him in triple-A Buffalo, where he spent a month refining his mechanics before being recalled in late June.
In 45 relief appearances with the Blue Jays, the former Seattle Mariner hurler &#8212; acquired in the 2022 Teoscar Hernández trade along with prospect Adam Macko &#8212; pitched to a whopping 5.03 ERA and 6.06 FIP with a career-worst 13.7-per-cent strikeout-to-walk rate difference (K-BB%) across 39.1 innings.
Swanson thrived down the stretch, though, allowing just two earned runs on five hits and three walks while striking out 18 over his final 15 relief appearances, spanning 13.2 innings.
The back end of Toronto&#8217;s bullpen will feature a massive void until Swanson returns, placing increased pressure on Yimi García and Chad Green to bridge the gap to closer Jeff Hoffman in the ninth inning. His absence has also created a second opening in the &#8216;pen that must be filled.
Zach Pop and Tommy Nance, both out of options, are likely among the leading candidates to address those vacancies. Left-hander Ryan Yarbrough, who&#8217;s impressed in camp as a non-roster invitee, could also break camp with the big-league club out of spring training.

The Toronto Blue Jays appear to have caught a break regarding right-hander Erik Swanson's injury diagnosis. 

Swanson, sidelined with a right forearm/elbow injury this spring, was sent for an MRI -- his second since arriving for spring training -- earlier this week after issues continued with his throwing arm, with his results revealing no structural damage.

But the 31-year-old reliever was diagnosed with what the team has described as median nerve entrapment (also known as Carpal tunnel syndrome), as MLB.com's Keegan Matheson relayed Friday. He received a cortisone shot and isn't expected to resume throwing for a few days.

https://twitter.com/KeeganMatheson/status/1900558075502686512

Given the circumstances, this update has to be a major relief for Swanson and the Blue Jays, as it likely rules out the possibility of a significant injury. However, with less than two weeks until Opening Day, the veteran righty will begin this season on the injured list.

It'll be the second straight season-opening IL stint for Swanson, who missed the start of last season before returning in mid-April. But he was met with command issues upon rejoining Toronto's bullpen, with those woes ultimately landing him in triple-A Buffalo, where he spent a month refining his mechanics before being recalled in late June.

In 45 relief appearances with the Blue Jays, the former Seattle Mariner hurler -- acquired in the 2022 Teoscar Hernández trade along with prospect Adam Macko -- pitched to a whopping 5.03 ERA and 6.06 FIP with a career-worst 13.7-per-cent strikeout-to-walk rate difference (K-BB%) across 39.1 innings.

Swanson thrived down the stretch, though, allowing just two earned runs on five hits and three walks while striking out 18 over his final 15 relief appearances, spanning 13.2 innings.

The back end of Toronto's bullpen will feature a massive void until Swanson returns, placing increased pressure on Yimi García and Chad Green to bridge the gap to closer Jeff Hoffman in the ninth inning. His absence has also created a second opening in the 'pen that must be filled.

Zach Pop and Tommy Nance, both out of options, are likely among the leading candidates to address those vacancies. Left-hander Ryan Yarbrough, who's impressed in camp as a non-roster invitee, could also break camp with the big-league club out of spring training.

Blue Jays’ Erik Swanson diagnosed with median nerve entrapment, MRI results reveal no structual damage

Toronto Blue Jays right fielder Nathan Lukes (38) is congratulated by third baseman Addison Barger (47) after he hit a home run during the fourth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at George M. Steinbrenner Field.

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