Blake Swihart, Catcher

Date of Birth: 4/3/1992
Birthplace: Bedford, Texas

Blake Swihart, catcher, was a third baseman and an outfielder in high school. After being drafted by the Boston Red Sox in 2011, he became a catcher. He played in Boston's minor league system from 2011 through 2014. During that time, he had 324 hits, 72 doubles, 159 RBIs, and 213 strikeouts to 98 walks in 307 games. As a catcher in 264 games, he made 187 assists, 1,969 putouts, and 25 errors and he caught players trying to steal 39% of the time. He had his best season defensively in 2014 when he caught players trying to steal an impressive 46% of the time and he had a .990 fielding percentage.

Swihart hit his first major league home run on June 4, 2015. He hit an inside-the-park home run on August 28th. He finished the season with 79 hits, 17 doubles, 31 RBIs, and a .274 batting average in 84 games. As a catcher, he made 39 assists, 570 putouts, and 3 errors in 83 games. He caught players trying to steal 28.1% of the time and he had a .995 fielding percentage.

Swihart spent much of the 2016 season on the DL. He played in 29 games in the minors and 19 games with the Red Sox.

Swihart spent most of the 2017 season in the minors, playing in just 6 games with the Red Sox.

Swihart played in 82 games with the Red Sox in 2018. He had 44 hits and a .229 batting average. Defensively, he played at first base, second base, and third base, in left field and right field, and as a catcher. In the postseason, he had 3 at-bats in 3 games and he had no hits.

The Red Sox traded Swihart to the Arizona Diamondbacks on April 19, 2019. He spent time on the DL in 2019 with a right oblique strain. He also spent time in the minors. In 12 games with Boston and 31 games with Arizona, he batted .163.

Swihart became a free agent on September 30, 2019. He signed a minor league contract with the Texas Rangers on December 16th. The Rangers released him on August 25, 2020. He didn't play professional baseball in 2020.

Swihart signed a minor league contract with the Washington Nationals on January 28, 2021. He spent the 2021 season in the minors. The Nationals released him on September 13th.

Sources for Information
Wikipedia - Blake Swihart
ESPN - Blake Swihart
Baseball Reference - Blake Swihart