Quick Facts
Biography
Erik Swanson (born September 4, 1993) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball (MLB).
Career
Swanson attended Mariemont High School in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he played in the same league as Andrew Benintendi of Madeira High School. He later played college baseball at Wabash Valley College and Iowa Western Community College. He was drafted by the Texas Rangers in the eighth round of the 2014 Major League Baseball draft.
Swanson made his professional debut in 2014 with the Spokane Indians and he spent the whole season there, going 1–2 with a 4.63 ERA in 23.1 innings pitched out of the bullpen. He pitched 2015 with the Arizona League Rangers, Hickory Crawdads, Frisco RoughRiders and Round Rock Express, compiling a combined 1–0 record and 2.35 ERA in 15.1 innings, and started 2016 with Hickory.
On August 1, 2016, Swanson was traded with Dillon Tate and Nick Green to the New York Yankees for Carlos Beltrán. He finished that season with the Charleston RiverDogs. 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 where he was 7–3 with a 3.95 ERA in 20 starts and started 2018 with the Trenton Thunder. He rehabbed with the Staten Island Yankees during the year and was also promoted to the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders 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.
On November 19, 2018, the Yankees traded Swanson, Justus Sheffield, and Dom Thompson-Williams to the Seattle Mariners for James Paxton. The Mariners added him to their 40-man roster the next day.
Swanson opened the 2019 season with the Tacoma Rainiers. 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.