Erik Swanson Son: Blue Jays reliever's 4-year-old showing signs of improvement following freak accident

Toronto Blue Jays reliever Erik Swanson delayed the start of his season to be with his 4-year-old son, Toby, who was in a car accident and has been in hospital since February 25th.

Swanson spoke publicly for the first time since the accident and hoped Toby to be discharged from the hospital within two days. He also complimented his wife, Madison, for staying strong and managing the whole situation.

“Based off of the situation, we’re very, very lucky with everything that happened and the outcome of where we’re at now. My wife (Madison) has been absolutely amazing throughout this entire process. Very strong. What a strong, courageous mother should be,” said Swanson, according to The Athletic.

According to reports, Toby was involved in a serious car accident at Clearwater Beach two weeks ago in February. A large SUV was involved, as reported by the Clearwater Police. Toby was taken to Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital in St. Petersburg in critical condition by the first responders from Clearwater.

At a pre-game conference for the Blue Jays vs. Detroit Tigers spring game on February 27th, Blue Jays manager John Schneider also expressed his support for the Swanson family.

“Baseball is secondary when you’re talking about family and life,” said Schneider via The Athletic. “We have an unbelievable group of guys who are in that clubhouse who are very, very close. … We’re going to support him. The guys have been absolutely phenomenal with him so far.”

Erik Swanson bears high hopes for 2024

Erik Swanson will begin his sixth season with the Blue Jays in 2024. He was traded to Toronto in 2022, along with Adam Macko, from the Seattle Mariners. In January, Swanson signed a contract worth $2.75 million with the team to avoid arbitration.

Throughout his career, Swanson has played in 195 games and pitched 221.1 innings, maintaining an ERA of 3.78. In 2023, he had a remarkable performance, pitching 66.2 innings in 69 games with an ERA of 2.97. He also finished 13 games for Toronto, including four saves.

This season, Erik Swanson is also expected to lead the Blue Jays bullpen alongside Jordan Romano, Yimi Garcia and Tim Mayza. There is no update yet on Swanson's return, but it is expected that he will join the team soon since his son's life is no longer in danger.

The Blue Jays' upcoming game is against the Tigers at Joker Marchant Field in Florida.