logo
Blue Jays: Where does Erik Swanson fit in the bullpen picture?
alt
Photo credit: © Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports
Graeme Wallace
Jun 7, 2025, 08:00 EDTUpdated: Jun 7, 2025, 00:36 EDT
Comments
The Toronto Blue Jays got some good news earlier this week with the return of relief pitcher Erik Swanson, who had been dealing with a median nerve entrapment since the start of the season. 
The veteran will be added to a bullpen that has, surprisingly, been one of the team’s strengths through the first 60-plus games of the season. Swanson hopes to regain the form that helped him become one of the most reliable relievers in the American League from 2021-23. Judging from his first couple of appearances since being activated, the 31-year-old might need more time to shake off some rust.
The right-hander made his season debut on June 1st and may have been saddled with the loss if not for being bailed out by his teammates. He entered the game at the top of the eighth inning with the Jays trailing 3-2, and gave up a leadoff single to A’s catcher Willie McIver. A wild pitch and a hit batter followed, and some early command struggles surfaced. With two runners on and nobody out, Swanson then faced three of the Athletics’ best hitters and was able to limit the damage.
First, he got Lawrence Butler to fly out before a perfect double steal was executed to put both runners in scoring position. Jacob Wilson flew out to right field, scoring the runner from third base. Swanson then struck out Brent Rooker to end the inning and was credited with the win thanks to a six-run response by the Blue Jays’ bats and a clean inning from Jeff Hoffman to close out a four-game sweep.
Two days later, the comeback continued, albeit in a lower-leverage situation in the series opener against the Philadelphia Phillies. The veteran came into the game in the eighth inning with the Jays facing a 7-1 deficit and got Brandon Marsh and Bryson Stott out on fly balls to left field and third base, respectively. Trea Turner then came to bat and increased the lead with a solo home run to deep right field before Bryce Harper was retired on an infield pop-up.
The right-hander bounced back to finish up the Phillies series, pitching a clean inning to finish the ninth inning with the Jays up 9-1, getting Johan Rojas and Edmundo Sosa to ground out and then Max Kepler to fly out, using 11 pitches to get out of the inning.
Expecting vintage Swanson in his first few outings after a long layoff isn’t realistic, but there were some bright spots, with the clutch strikeout of Rooker topping the list, followed by his clean outing against the bottom of the Phillies order in his most recent outing. This is a vitally important time in Swanson’s career as he is coming off a disappointing 2024 campaign marred by a family matter (his son, Toby, was involved in a car accident and recovered), injuries, and ineffectiveness.
After ERAs of 3.31, 1.68, and 2.97 from ’21-23, Swanson’s earned run average swelled to 5.03 last season with a minor league stint mixed in when he was struggling to get outs. It is encouraging to note that he had a 2.61 ERA over the last two months of the season, over 20 2/3 innings of work. 
Perhaps the best thing for Swanson and the Blue Jays is for him to ease into a setup role. The positive thing is, with Chad Green and Yimi Garcia, emerging lefties Brendon Little and Mason Fluharty, and a cavalry of injured relievers returning soon, there is no shortage of quality arms in the team’s relief corps. Swanson may be better suited right now for more of a middle relief/mop-up capacity for the time being.
Celebrate Vladdy’s big news in style with the exclusive new BlueJaysNation Vladdy merch — available only at NationGear.ca! Rep a future Hall of Famer and wear your team’s pride loud. Limited drop. Don’t miss out.

Featured

Editorials

Breaking News