The Toronto Blue Jays are currently supporting pitcher Erik Swanson as he deals with a family emergency. The Blue Jays have announced that Swason’s four-year-old son, Toby, was airlifted to the hospital after getting hit by a car on Sunday.
In a statement released by the team on Monday, the Blue Jays said Toby received excellent care and has started his recovery process. Toronto also said Swanson would be away from the team for a while and expressed love and support for his entire family.
“Thanks to the incredible work from Clearwater first responders, Toby is on the road to recovery and is surrounded by his family,” the Blue Jays said in their statement. “Erik will be away from the team for a while, family comes first. Our love, support and prayers are with Erik, Madison, Toby and the entire Swanson family. Out of respect for Erik and his family, we’re not going to comment further on this.”
Blue Jays manager said the rest of the clubhouse, along with the players’ families, will do what they can to help Swanson in this difficult time. The rest of the team has already started to rally around Swanson, his wife and Toby.
“We’re going to continue to be there for them,” Schneider said. “Baseball is secondary when you’re talking about family and life. We’re going to support him. The guys have been absolutely phenomenal with him so far, and you can’t forget about players’ wives and significant others who have reached out as well. It’s been a rough couple of days, but it’s really, really nice to see the support for Erik.”
Swanson, an eighth-round pick by the Texas Rangers in the 2014 MLB Draft, was traded from the Seattle Mariners to the Blue Jays in November of 2022. Last season, Swanson appeared in 69 games and posted an ERA of 2.97 with 75 strikeouts.
