Darnell Sweeney
Darnell Thomas Sweeney (born February 1, 1991) is an American professional baseball utility player for the Kansas City Monarchs of the American Association of Professional Baseball. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Toronto Blue Jays and Philadelphia Phillies. Career. Amateur. Sweeney attended Fort Lauderdale High School for the 2005–2006 school year. Due to relocation Darnell finished off his prep career at American Senior High School. He was drafted in the 41st round of the 2009 MLB draft by the Florida Marlins but did not sign. Sweeney attended college at the University of Central Florida  (UCF), where he played college baseball for the UCF Knights. He was selected to the Conference USA All-Freshman Team with a .358 batting average, 83 hits and 17 stolen bases. As a Junior he was named to the Coral Gables All-Regional Team and was a Conference USA Preseason First Teamer. In 2011, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Harwich Mariners of the Cape Cod Baseball League. Los Angeles Dodgers. Sweeney was selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 13th round of the 2012 First-Year Player Draft. In 2012 with the Ogden Raptors of the Pioneer  League he hit .303, stole 10 bags in 16 games. On July 8, 2012, he was called up to the Great Lakes Loons of the Midwest League. There he hit .291, 23 RBI, 5 HR and stole 17 bases in only 51 games. In 2013 with the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes of the California League, he hit .275 in 134 games with 11 homers, 75 RBI and 48 steals. He was promoted to the Double-A Chattanooga Lookouts for 2014. He was selected to the mid-season Southern League All-Star Game. In 132 games, he hit .288 with 14 homers  and 57 RBI. After the season, he played with the Glendale Desert Dogs in the Arizona Fall League and was selected to the AFL Top Prospects List. The Dodgers invited him to attend major league spring training in 2015. He was assigned to the Triple-A Oklahoma City Dodgers and selected to the mid-season all-star team. Philadelphia Phillies. On August 19, 2015, Sweeney and fellow minor leaguer John Richy were traded to the Philadelphia Phillies for Chase Utley. The Phillies immediately added Sweeney to the major league roster. He made his MLB debut August 20 as a pinch  hitter. His first major league hit – a home run – came on August 22 in Miami against the Marlins. Return to the Dodgers. On November 11, 2016, he was traded back to the Dodgers (along with Darin Ruf) in exchange for Howie Kendrick and was assigned to Oklahoma City to begin the season. In 2017, in 38 games, he hit .227. Cincinnati Reds. Sweeney was traded to the Cincinnati Reds on May 27, 2017, for future considerations. He was released on March 31, 2018. Toronto Blue Jays. On April 3, 2018, Sweeney signed a minor league contract with the Toronto Blue  Jays, and was assigned to the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons. He was called up by the Blue Jays on June 29 to replace Steve Pearce who had been traded to the Boston Red Sox. He was outrighted to Triple-A on July 5, 2018. Sweeney was recalled by the Blue Jays on July 31, and designated for assignment on August 2. He elected free agency on October 2. Kansas City T-Bones. On February 12, 2019, Sweeney signed with the Kansas City T-Bones of the independent American Association. Pittsburgh Pirates. On June 12, 2019, Sweeney's contract was purchased  by the Pittsburgh Pirates. He became a free agent following the 2019 season. Winnipeg Goldeyes. On January 31, 2020, Sweeney re-signed with the Kansas City T-Bones of the American Association. However, the T-Bones were not selected to compete in the condensed 60-game season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He was later drafted by the Winnipeg Goldeyes in the 2020 dispersal draft. Kansas City Monarchs. Sweeney was returned to the Kansas City T-Bones after the 2020 season on September 11, 2020. The team changed their name to the Kansas City Monarchs in the offseason. Darnell Sweeney