Erik Swanson Bio
Erik Donald Swanson is an American former professional baseball pitcher born on September 4, 1993, in Fargo, North Dakota. Over the course of his Major League Baseball (MLB) career, he pitched for the Seattle Mariners and the Toronto Blue Jays, working primarily as a reliever. Swanson announced his retirement from professional baseball on November 20, 2025, closing a career that spanned more than a decade across the minor and major leagues.
A graduate of Mariemont High School, Swanson developed his game at the collegiate level before entering professional baseball with the Texas Rangers organization. Across his time in MLB, he built a reputation as a strike-throwing reliever, finishing with a career earned run average of 3.97 and 281 strikeouts in the majors.
Early Life and Background
Erik Donald Swanson was born and raised in Fargo, North Dakota, where he lived until the age of five. His grandfather, Dwaine Hoberg, is a former mayor of Moorhead, Minnesota, giving the Swanson family deep roots in the Upper Midwest. Swanson’s father, Mark, played college football for the North Dakota State Bison, instilling a competitive sporting background in the household.
When Swanson was five, his family relocated to Cincinnati, Ohio, and he later also lived in Newburgh, Indiana, for several years. He attended Mariemont High School in Cincinnati, graduating in 2012. The moves across the Midwest and the South gave Swanson early exposure to a range of baseball environments before he committed to the sport at the collegiate level.
Path to Baseball
Following high school, Swanson took the junior college route to sharpen his skills. He spent one year at Wabash Valley College before transferring to Iowa Western Community College, playing college baseball at both programs. At Iowa Western, Swanson was part of the team that won the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) World Series, known as the JUCO World Series, in 2014, a defining achievement that helped him attract professional attention.
That summer, the Texas Rangers selected Swanson in the eighth round, with the 246th overall pick, of the 2014 Major League Baseball draft. The selection marked the transition from amateur standout to professional pitcher and set the course for his climb through the minor leagues.
Erik Swanson Career
Early Career (2014-2018)
Swanson made his professional debut in 2014 with the Low-A Spokane Indians, working out of the bullpen and posting a 1-2 record with a 4.63 earned run average (ERA) and 24 strikeouts in 23 1/3 innings. The following year, he bounced between the rookie-level Arizona League Rangers, Single-A Hickory Crawdads, Double-A Frisco RoughRiders, and Triple-A Round Rock Express, combining for a 1-0 record and 2.35 ERA across 15 1/3 innings.
On August 1, 2016, the Texas Rangers traded Swanson, along with Dillon Tate and Nick Green, to the New York Yankees in exchange for Carlos Beltrán. He finished that year with the Single-A Charleston RiverDogs and combined for a 6-5 record and 3.46 ERA with 93 strikeouts in 96 1/3 innings across his two minor league stops. Swanson spent 2017 with the High-A Tampa Yankees, going 7-3 with a 3.95 ERA and 84 strikeouts in 20 starts, before reaching Triple-A with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders in 2018, where he posted an 8-2 record and 2.66 ERA with 139 strikeouts across 121 2/3 innings.
Seattle Mariners Era (2019-2022)
On November 19, 2018, the Yankees traded Swanson, Justus Sheffield, and Dom Thompson-Williams to the Seattle Mariners in exchange for James Paxton, and the Mariners added him to their 40-man roster the next day. After opening 2019 with the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers, Swanson was promoted to the majors on April 9 and made his MLB debut on April 11, 2019. In his rookie season, he logged 27 appearances with eight starts, finishing 1-5 with a 5.74 ERA, 52 strikeouts, and two saves in 58 innings.
Swanson struggled in the shortened 2020 campaign, going 0-2 with a 12.91 ERA across nine appearances. He rebounded in 2021, pitching in 33 games for Seattle with a 3.31 ERA, 35 strikeouts, and one save in 53 2/3 innings. His strongest Mariners season came in 2022, when he made 57 appearances, primarily in relief, and posted a 3-2 record with a 1.68 ERA and 70 strikeouts in 53 2/3 innings, establishing himself as a reliable late-inning option.
Toronto Blue Jays Era (2023-2025)
On November 16, 2022, the Mariners traded Swanson and pitching prospect Adam Macko to the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for Teoscar Hernández. In his first season north of the border, Swanson made 69 relief appearances, going 4-2 with a 2.97 ERA, 75 strikeouts, and four saves in 66 2/3 innings. He followed that with 45 appearances in 2024, compiling a 2-2 record and 5.03 ERA with 37 strikeouts in 39 1/3 innings.
Swanson began the 2025 season on the injured list because of median nerve entrapment in his throwing arm, was transferred to the 60-day injured list on May 5, and was activated for his season debut on June 1. In six appearances for Toronto, he posted a 1-0 record and 15.19 ERA with three strikeouts across 5 1/3 innings. The Blue Jays designated him for assignment on June 17 and released him after he cleared waivers on June 23. On November 20, 2025, Swanson announced his retirement from professional baseball.
Driving Style and Strengths
Swanson’s profile as a pitcher was built on command and the ability to miss bats in short bursts. His standout 2022 season with Seattle, where he posted a 1.68 ERA across 53 2/3 innings, showcased his ability to thrive in high-leverage relief situations. He consistently generated swings and misses, finishing his MLB career with 281 strikeouts, while remaining a dependable option for managers in late-inning roles.
Notable Events and Milestones
One of Swanson’s most significant moments came in 2014, when he helped Iowa Western Community College win the JUCO World Series. His MLB debut on April 11, 2019, marked the realization of a years-long climb through the minors, and his dominant 2022 campaign with the Mariners stands as the high point of his big-league career. On November 20, 2025, Swanson announced his retirement from professional baseball, closing a career that included stops with the Texas Rangers, New York Yankees, Seattle Mariners, and Toronto Blue Jays organizations.
Erik Swanson Career Wins
Swanson’s professional journey included stops across multiple levels of affiliated baseball, with the most consistent run of winning seasons coming in the Yankees’ minor league system and the Mariners’ bullpen. Across the minors, he posted winning records at nearly every full-season affiliate, including an 8-2 mark at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in 2018. In the majors, his 3-2 record during the 2022 Mariners season and 4-2 mark with the 2023 Blue Jays stand out as his most productive win totals at the highest level.
Major League Highlights
Swanson’s first MLB victory came during his 2019 rookie season with the Seattle Mariners, a campaign that included eight starts among 27 appearances. His most recent full MLB season was 2024 with the Toronto Blue Jays, when he finished with a 2-2 record across 45 relief outings. Swanson’s signature year was 2022, when he went 3-2 with a 1.68 ERA in 57 appearances for Seattle, a stretch that established him as a trusted late-inning reliever.
Erik Swanson Family
Family Background and Racing Lineage
Swanson’s family has deep roots in the Upper Midwest and a strong athletic tradition. His grandfather, Dwaine Hoberg, served as a former mayor of Moorhead, Minnesota, while his father, Mark, played college football for the North Dakota State Bison. The family moved from Fargo to Cincinnati when Erik was five, and he also spent years in Newburgh, Indiana, before eventually returning to Fargo in 2015.
Personal Life
Swanson and his wife married in 2018, and the couple resides in Fargo, North Dakota. They have two children together. On February 25, 2024, their son, Toby, was struck by a car in Dunedin, Florida, and airlifted to a Florida children’s hospital in critical condition; less than a week later, Toby was released from the hospital. At the time of his retirement in November 2025, Swanson was one of only two active MLB players born in North Dakota, alongside Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Matt Strahm.
2025 Season Performance
Swanson’s 2025 campaign was a difficult final chapter of his playing career. He opened the year on the injured list because of median nerve entrapment in his throwing arm, was transferred to the 60-day injured list on May 5, and did not make his season debut until June 1, 2025. Across six appearances for Toronto, he struggled to a 1-0 record and 15.19 ERA with three strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings, far below the production he had shown in earlier seasons.
On June 17, the Blue Jays designated Swanson for assignment, and he was released after clearing waivers on June 23. The abbreviated season was a sharp contrast to his 2023 work, when he had been a reliable high-leverage reliever for Toronto. After taking time to consider his future, Swanson announced his retirement from professional baseball on November 20, 2025, bringing the curtain down on an 11-year professional career that began with the 2014 draft and reached its highest point with the Seattle Mariners in 2022.