On Wednesday, Blake Swihart’s brother Romell Jordan passed away at the age of 23. The Red Sox released the following statement regarding that.
Jordan, who was a running back for the University of New Mexico football team from 2014 to 2017, was taken in by Swihart’s parents after being a family friend for some time.
Both Swihart and Jordan attended V. Sue Cleveland High School in Rio Ranco, New Mexico.
Swihart was scratched from the Red Sox’ lineup against the Orioles yesterday and took a brief leave of absence from the club.
Today, the 26-year-old has reported back to JetBlue Park and is surprisingly batting sixth and DHing against the Washington Nationals.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora told reporters on Wednesday that Swihart told him, “My brother would probably love for me to show up and play.” And that he is.
The last few days at Red Sox camp have certainly been emotionally draining. With the passing of The Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo last Thursday and now the passing of Swihart’s adopted-brother, saying things have been tough would be an understatement.
“There was no energy,” Cora said Wednesday following a 7-6 loss to Baltimore. “We just show up today. And I’m not complaining because I was the same way. I just told Dave (Dombrowski), we’ve gotta go home and get some rest. It was a tough one.”
The Red Sox take on the Washington Nationals on Thursday. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05 PM ET. Here is Alex Cora’s full starting lineup:
Condolences to the Swihart family.
