The former Toronto Blue Jays relief pitcher is retiring from Major League Baseball, he announced in an Instagram post on Thursday.
Swanson, the 32-year-old from Fargo, N.D., wraps his career with 246 games played over seven seasons with the Seattle Mariners and Blue Jays.
“This game took me to places I don’t think I could have ever guessed I’d be. It gave me cities to call home and people to call family. It’s incredible how many relationships this game has brought into my life,” he wrote.
“From lifelong friends up in Toronto and Winnipeg, to friends in big cities like Seattle and small towns like Hickory, N.C., and all the other little stops In between. It’s pretty amazing how a simple game can bring so many amazing people into your world.”
Swanson was originally selected in the eighth round of the 2014 draft by the Texas Rangers before being traded to the New York Yankees in 2016 and flipped to the Mariners three years later.
He made his MLB debut in 2019, going on to make 27 appearances, including eight starts for Seattle.
His career-best year came in 2022, when he pitched to a 1.68 ERA over 57 games for the Mariners, walking just 10 and striking out 70 over 53.2 innings.
Swanson was then traded to the Blue Jays in the off-season along with minor-leaguer Adam Macko in the deal that sent Teoscar Hernandez to the Mariners.
He spent three seasons with the Blue Jays, peaking in 2023 with a 2.97 ERA over 69 relief appearances before being released in June.
Swanson ends his career with a 4.20 ERA and 281 strikeouts over 266 innings.
