Son of Blue Jays' Erik Swanson Expected to Leave Hospital After Being Hit by Car

The four-year-old son of Erik Swanson is expected to leave the hospital "in the next day or two" after being struck by a car on February 25, the Toronto Blue Jays pitcher told reporters Thursday.

"I stand here very happily telling you that in the next day or two, he should probably be going home," Swanson said, per Sportsnet's Ben Nicholson-Smith. "Based off of the situation, we're very, very lucky with everything that happened and the outcome of where we're at now."

Toby Swanson was airlifted to a hospital in critical condition after being struck by an SUV piloted by a valet driver from the nearby Opal Sands Resort in Clearwater, Florida, according to ESPN and the Tampa Bay Times' Dan Sullivan.

Swanson's son left the pediatric intensive care unit at Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida, on February 28, according to an Instagram post from Madison Swanson.

When speaking to reporters Thursday, Swanson praised his son's courage and his wife's strength.

He also thanked Clearwater first responders and the children's hospital staff for their work, as well as fans, teammates and the Blue Jays organization for their well wishes, according to Nicholson-Smith.

"We feel the support," Swanson said, per Nicholson-Smith. "We felt everybody's prayers, everybody's thoughts. We feel it all and it's made this process a little bit easier with as difficult a situation as it has been. Blue Jays fans, and not just Blue Jays fans, but baseball fans around the entire league. Other teams in the league have reached out. It's been pretty amazing."

Several Jays players visited Toby in the St. Petersburg hospital, including fellow bullpen member Jordan Romano, according to Rob Longley of the Toronto Sun.

Swanson rejoined the Blue Jays on March 1, according to theToronto Star's Mike Wilner. He is heading into his second season as a closer in Toronto after spending the first four years of his MLB career with the Seattle Mariners.