Blue Jays officially release lost piece of Teoscar Hernández trade

The daring yet puzzling trade that the Toronto Blue Jays made involving Teoscar Hernández over three years ago may have been devastating already to many Blue Jays fans after what Hernández has accomplished the past few seasons. But now with the official departure of the key return piece that the Jays received at the time, it has become outright disastrous.

Late Monday, the Blue Jays released the once-promising reliever Erik Swanson after passing through waivers unclaimed following his designation for assignment last week. In doing so, it ended his three-year tenure with the club and becomes a free agent for prospective teams to pursue.

Blue Jays officially release lost piece of Teoscar Hernández trade

Swanson came over to Toronto in the Hernández trade with the Seattle Mariners after a stellar 2022 campaign in which he posted career bests in ERA (1.68), WHIP (0.91), and opponents batting average (.202). With the Blue Jays desperately looking for bullpen help at the time, they appeared willing to sacrifice some big-time offense for pitching stability.

The gamble appeared to pay off nicely during Swanson’s first season with Toronto as he became a key piece in their relief corps in 2023. Pitching in almost all situations, he compiled a 2.97 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, along with 29 holds and four saves, with 75 strikeouts in 66 2/3 innings pitched over a career-high 69 appearances. As a result, he developed into one of the most versatile and reliable relievers in the league.

However, Swanson has been unable to reproduce those results in his subsequent years with the Jays, as he dealt with injuries and inconsistency in the process. After a grizzly 2024 campaign in which he posted a 5.03 ERA and yielded 11 home runs in just 39 1/3 innings last year, he was actually worse this season.

Swanson has amassed an abysmal 15.19 ERA, 2.44 WHIP, giving up nine runs on eight hits with five walks and just three strikeouts over six relief appearances in 2025. His final outing was the last straw for the Jays as he gave up four runs in just 2/3 of an inning against the Philadelphia Phillies on June 15.

With Swanson now gone, it leaves prospect Adam Macko as the remaining piece that the Jays have to show for in the Hernández trade. But no matter how Macko turns out, as of this moment, it sure looks like Toronto has lost the trade big time. As for Swanson, hopefully he will be able to land with another MLB organization that will give him the opportunity to work his way back to the majors in due time.