There is only one player in the history of MLB-affiliated baseball named Eriq.
He's now a member of the Washington Nationals' organization.
The Nats got Eriq Swan in a trade from the Los Angeles Dodgers about an hour before Thursday's deadline. They also got Sean Paul Linan in the deal that sent outfielder Alex Call to L.A. The return was reported by Andrew Golden of the Washington Post.
Swan is quite intriguing, on paper.
He's a 6-foot-6, 240-pound right-handed pitcher.
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Swan was a fourth-round pick in 2023 out of Middle Tennessee State.
He struggled in his first pro season, but this year at High-A Great Lakes, Swan has been better.
Swan has a 4.43 ERA in 69 innings with 77 strikeouts. The big worry with Swan is walks, as he's got a rate of six walks per nine innings.
Linan is a 6-foot righty pitcher from Colombia. He's 20 and has pitched across three levels this season, with a combined 2.78 ERA and 101 strikeouts in 74.1 innings. He's definitely got upside, too.
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Call is a good pickup for the Dodgers, a speedy and capable defensive outfielder.
But the Nationals were in a spot where it made sense to pursue pitching help. Call would've been a surplus outfielder in the future in Washington when Dylan Crews and Robert Hassell are ready to join James Wood out in the grass.
So Call is a Dodgers player now, and the Nats got two fun pitching prospects in return. Not a bad deal.
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