Arizona Diamondbacks organization (2015) The
Arizona Diamondbacks selected Swanson first overall in the
2015 MLB draft. It was the first time that a college shortstop had been drafted first overall since the
San Diego Padres took
Bill Almon in
1974. He signed with the team on July 17, ten minutes before the 2p.m. (
PT) deadline for that year's draft picks, and accepted a $6.5 million
signing bonus. His professional baseball debut was delayed when, during a simulated game before assignment to one of the Diamondbacks' minor league affiliates, Swanson was hit in the face by a
fastball from pitching
prospect Yoan López. He was diagnosed with a
concussion and required 14 stitches on the side of his mouth. After recovering from the hit, Swanson was assigned to the
Low–A Hillsboro Hops, making his professional debut on August 13, 2015. He went 0-for-2 at the plate, striking out twice, drawing a walk, and scoring a run. Having missed six weeks with the concussion, Swanson was told that he would finish out the season with Hillsboro rather than receiving a late-season promotion that would push his development. He played in 22 games for the Hops, batting .289 with one home run and 11 RBI in 83 at bats while leading Hillsboro to a
Northwest League championship.
Atlanta Braves (2016–2022) On December 9, 2015, the Diamondbacks traded Swanson,
Ender Inciarte, and
Aaron Blair to the
Atlanta Braves in exchange for
Shelby Miller and
Gabe Speier. The Braves were in the middle of a rebuild, and president of baseball operations
John Hart said that the team "wanted to make it painful for [Arizona] with players that we got back" by refusing a Miller trade until they received significant prospects like Swanson. After spending
spring training with the Braves, Swanson was sent to the
High–A Carolina Mudcats. He played in 22 games there, batting .333 with a
Carolina League-leading 12 doubles, before receiving a promotion to the
Double-A Mississippi Braves at the end of April. Swanson spent the first part of the season in competition with
Ozzie Albies for a future starting shortstop role in Atlanta, but in July, Albies, who had been playing in
Triple-A, was sent down to Mississippi so that he and Swanson could practice as a second base-shortstop pair. That season, Swanson was selected to appear in both the
Southern League All-Star Game and the
All-Star Futures Game. He appeared in 84 games for Mississippi, batting .261 with eight home runs and 45 RBI. In 105 games between Carolina and Mississippi, he batted .275 for the minor league season, with nine home runs and 55 RBI in 411 at bats. His first major league home run, coming in the second inning of a 9–7 loss to the
Washington Nationals on September 6, was
inside-the-park: the hit off of
Gio Gonzalez went over
Trea Turner and ricocheted off the center field fence, and Swanson beat
Bryce Harper's throw home to record the run. It was the first inside-the-park home run for the Braves since
Wes Helms in 2001, and Swanson was the first Brave since
Paul Runge in 1985 to have his first career home run fall inside the park. He remained with the Braves through the remainder of their 2016 season, finishing the year with a .302 batting average, three home runs, 17 RBI, and 11
extra-base hits. Swanson had at least one hit in 25 of the 38 games in which he played. Swanson was the only rookie to make the Braves' 2017
Opening Day roster, joining
Chase d'Arnaud,
Freddie Freeman,
Adonis Garcia,
Jace Peterson, and
Brandon Phillips in the infield. He began the season in a
sophomore slump both offensively and defensively: by the end of May, Swanson was batting .185 with a .559
on-base plus slugging (OPS), while he had also committed 11
errors at shortstop. His struggles coincided with the arrival of
Johan Camargo and
Matt Adams, both of whom provided offensive power to the infield. Camargo, in particular, had taken over the majority of playing time at shortstop, while Ozzie Albies had just received a major league promotion. On July 27, Swanson was demoted to the Triple-A
Gwinnett Stripers, where he could receive more regular playing time. Additionally, he only had three hits in 25 at bats following the
All-Star break. In 11 games for Gwinnett, Swanson hit .237 with one home run and five RBI. He was suddenly called back up to the Braves on August 9 after Camargo suffered a knee injury during his pre-game ritual. After returning to Atlanta, Swanson settled back into the shortstop position, batting .337 with a .434 OBP in the month after he replaced Camargo. Defensively, he and Albies, now playing second base, formed a strong middle-infield tandem. Swanson finished his first full season in Atlanta batting .232 with six home runs and 51 RBI in 144 games and 488 at bats. Swanson began the 2018 season on a hot streak, recording multiple hits in four of the Braves' first six games. He began feeling discomfort in his left wrist at the end of April, and after aggravating the injury during a game against the
New York Mets, he was placed on the 10-day disabled list on May 4. The injury seemed to coincide with a sudden drop in offensive power from Swanson: after batting .358 with a .976 OPS in his first 16 games, he dropped to batting .191 with a .468 OPS in the next 12. After a rehabilitation game in Double-A, Swanson returned to the Braves' lineup on May 19. He again struggled through most of the season, batting .234 with a .704 OPS between June 1 and August 21, a stretch that ended with Swanson's first career multi-home run game. After hitting off of
Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher
Ivan Nova in the fifth inning, he hit another home run in the seventh against reliever
Michael Feliz, helping the Braves to a 6–1 win. He widened his batting stance in August and showed some improvement, batting .297 with six home runs between August 11 and September 2, but he hit only .161 in September. On September 25, 2018, Swanson left a game against the New York Mets in the second inning with wrist pain, He continued to feel discomfort afterwards and was prevented from playing in the
2018 National League Division Series (NLDS). Instead,
Charlie Culberson filled in at shortstop during the Braves' postseason run. The Braves lost to the Dodgers in the four game NLDS, while Swanson's hand and wrist continued to bother him until November 5, when he underwent surgery to remove a loose piece of cartilage. The cartilage had been moving around his wrist, and Swanson described the experience as "like if you would slam a wedge doorstop into a door". In 136 games, Swanson batted .238 with 14 home runs and 59 RBI, while defensively he improved from −7
Defensive Runs Saved in 2017 to 10 in 2018.
2019–2020: Increasing offensive success With his wrist no longer bothering him, Swanson showed a new offensive power during 2019 spring training, giving manager
Brian Snitker hope that his production would increase. He seemed poised for a breakout through the first half of the season: by June 18, Swanson's 13 home runs were one shy of his previous career high, and his
exit velocity, launch angle, and hard-hit rate at the plate all showed significant increases from the previous season. By the
All-Star break, Swanson was batting .270 with 17 home runs and 57 RBI. On July 23, however, Swanson landed awkwardly on first base while attempting to run out a ground ball in a game against the
Kansas City Royals, injuring his left heel in the process. The injury initially seemed minor, but he suffered a setback at the beginning of August, and after three weeks on the injured list, Swanson referred to the heel as "a frustrating injury". He was activated from the injured list on August 26, just over a month after suffering the injury. He struggled to hit after returning from the injury, batting only .141 in his first 23 games back from the injured list, but finished the season with eight hits in four games. In 545
plate appearances during the 2019 regular season, Swanson batted .251 with 17 home runs and 65 RBI. After missing the previous year's postseason, Swanson was named to the Braves' roster as they faced the
St. Louis Cardinals in the
2019 NLDS. In the ninth inning of Game 3, Swanson hit an RBI
double off of Cardinals
closer Carlos Martínez to tie the game 1–1.
Adam Duvall followed this with a two-RBI single, and
Mark Melancon held the Cardinals scoreless in the bottom of the ninth to win the game 3–1 for Atlanta. He went 5-for-18 at the plate during his first postseason run, with two RBI and three
runs scored. He had an immediately strong start to the 2020 season, which began in July and was shortened to only 60 games due to the
COVID-19 pandemic. The Braves began their abbreviated season with a three-game series against the
New York Mets, during which Swanson went 5-for-12 at the plate with a double, a home run, and six RBI. He hit his first
walk-off home run on August 17, lifting the Braves to a 7–6 victory over the
Washington Nationals. On September 9, Swanson was one of three Braves who scored five runs in the Braves' 29–9 rout of the Miami Marlins, a franchise record for the most runs in one game.
Austin Riley and
Adam Duvall also scored five runs apiece. Swanson played in all 60 games of the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, setting career highs with a .274 batting average, .345
on-base percentage, and .464
slugging percentage while recording 10 home runs and 35 RBI. His 49 runs scored were the third in MLB, behind teammate
Freddie Freeman's 51 and
Fernando Tatis Jr.'s 50. After the season, which was played without spectators in attendance due to COVID-19 safety protocols, Swanson said that playing in empty ballparks "felt like backyard baseball a little bit", and the lack of audience distractions led players "to feel comfortable in their own skin". The Braves faced division rivals the
Miami Marlins in the
2020 NLDS. Swanson's five RBI in the three-game series were the most of any Braves shortstop during a Division Series, while Atlanta advanced to the
National League Championship Series (NLCS) for the first time since 2001. The Braves lost the
2020 NLCS to the
Los Angeles Dodgers in seven games, and Swanson cost the team a potential scoring opportunity on a fourth-inning baserunning error. He broke for home plate on a
ground ball from
Nick Markakis and was caught in a
rundown by third baseman
Justin Turner and catcher
Will Smith. Smith tagged Swanson out and then threw the ball back to third base, where Dodgers shortstop
Corey Seager tagged out
Austin Riley, who had tried to advance from second base during Swanson's rundown. The Braves had been leading 3–2 at the time of the
double play, but ultimately lost the game 4–3.
2021–2022: World Series championship, Gold Glove Award Swanson filed for
salary arbitration during the 2020–21 offseason, but arbitrators denied his request to make $6.7 million the following year, instead ruling that his salary would be $6 million. He began the 2021 season in a slump, batting only .209 with a .631 OPS and 31.4 percent strikeout rate by May 20, but began to pick up in May, with four home runs in a 13-game stretch. On June 3, both Swanson and his middle infield partner Ozzie Albies recorded the 500th hits of their MLB career. Swanson's came on a home run that traveled , the longest recorded during his time with the Braves. On July 22, Swanson hit his first major league
grand slam, hitting against
Matt Moore of the
Philadelphia Phillies in a 7–2 Atlanta victory. It was his 17th home run of the season, tying Swanson's career high. He recorded another grand slam the following week, against
John Curtiss of the
Milwaukee Brewers. Swanson had hit a two-run home run earlier in the game, giving him 20 for the season, tying
Denis Menke for the most of any Braves shortstop in one season. His next home run, which came against the Washington Nationals on August 13, gave Swanson the single-season home run record for any Braves shortstop. He played in 160 games during the 2021 regular season, the most of anyone in the
National League, and batted .248 with 27 home runs and 88 RBI in 588 at bats. Swanson was instrumental in that process, with two doubles, a home run, and five RBI in the last six games before the Braves clinched the title. Swanson's defensive abilities were on display against the Brewers in the
2021 NLDS: in Game 3, he held Milwaukee scoreless on separate occasions, first by preventing runners from advancing on a groundout from
Lorenzo Cain and then by turning an eighth-inning double play to retire
Jace Peterson and
Willy Adames. He was less adept at the plate, going only 3-for-15 in the four-game series. His offensive troubles continued, however, with only two hits in 23 at bats during the six-game series. With the Astros down 7–0 in Game 6, Swanson secured the final out of the game to give the Braves the World Series championship title. Swanson's salary for the 2022 season was decided via the arbitration process. He asked for and received $10 million. Swanson was named to the
2022 Major League Baseball All-Star Game roster. On September 30, 2022, Swanson hit his 100th career home run, off
New York Mets pitcher
Jacob deGrom. Swanson was the only player in Major League Baseball to start all 162 games of the season. He struggled in the playoffs, batting .176 in the four-game loss to the Phillies in the
NLDS. Swanson won his first
Gold Glove Award at the end of the season. He became a free agent at the conclusion of the season.
Chicago Cubs (2023–present) On December 21, 2022, Swanson signed a seven-year, $177 million contract with the
Chicago Cubs. On July 2, 2023, Swanson was named to his second
All-Star team. On July 7, he was placed on the 10-day injured list with a heel contusion, and he was replaced by
Geraldo Perdomo on the All-Star team. In his first season with the Cubs, Swanson batted .244 with 22 home runs. He won his second consecutive Gold Glove. In the 2024 season, Swanson hit .242 with 16 home runs. In the 2025 season, Swanson hit .244 with 24 home runs and 77 RBI. ==International career==