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Nick Swisher was once a hitter who personified the “Moneyball” era for the Oakland Athletics as a high-on base guy with good power. He sustained a solid level of production through the 2013 season with the Cleveland Indians (22 home runs and 63 RBIs), but knee issues have limited him to 173 games over the last two seasons as he totaled just 14 home runs and 67 RBIs over 579 combined at-bats.
The Atlanta Braves were rumored to be trying to trade Swisher, but they found no takers with him due to make $15 million this season. Even with that financial burden, which will partially be covered by the Indians, the Braves finally decided to release Swisher on Monday.
Nick Swisher released by #Braves.
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) March 28, 2016
National League teams, without the DH spot to fill on a regular basis, would have little use for an aging outfielder with gimpy knees, which definitely explains the decision by Atlanta to let Swisher go. He could also play some first base, but any market for Swisher would have to be limited to American League teams with room to take a flier on a bench bat/part-time designated hitter with durability concerns. No teams come to mind to obviously fit that bill, but some playoff contenders may be in a position to consider the no-lose, minimal gain proposition of adding Swisher.
Over 12 major league seasons to this point, assuming he doesn’t find a landing spot for 2016 now or down the road a bit, Swisher has earned one All-Star selection with 245 career home runs, 803 RBIs, a career on-base percentage of .351 and career slugging percentage of .447.
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