Darnell Thomas Sweeney (born February 1, 1991) is an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

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who is currently a free agent. He has played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) for the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

and

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

Early life and amateur career

Sweeney's father, a native of the

British Virgin Islands ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = Territorial song , song = "Oh, Beautiful Virgin Islands" , image_map = File:British Virgin Islands on the globe (Americas centered).svg , map_caption = , mapsize = 290px , image_map2 = Brit ...

, tutored Sweeney in baseball from the age of four and taught him to

switch hit A switch hit is a modern cricket shot. A switch hit involves the batter effectively changing from a right-hander to a left-hander (or vice versa) just before the ball is delivered by the bowler for the purpose of executing the shot. It is a varia ...

. 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 The University of Central Florida (UCF) is a public research university whose main campus is in unincorporated Orange County, Florida. UCF also has nine smaller regional campuses throughout central Florida. It is part of the State University ...

(UCF), where he played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

for the UCF Knights. Sweeney had committed to play for UCF before receiving a scholarship offer from

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

and chose to honor his commitment to UCF. He was selected to the

Conference USA Conference USA (C-USA or CUSA) is an intercollegiate athletic conference whose current member institutions are located within the Southern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. C-USA's offices are l ...

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 Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

with the Harwich Mariners of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thousan ...

Professional career

Los Angeles Dodgers

The

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

selected Sweeney in the 13th round of the

2012 MLB draft The 2012 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was held from June 4 through June 6, 2012, from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. The Houston Astros, with the first overall pick, selected Carlos Correa from the Puerto R ...

. 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 The Midwest League is a Minor League Baseball league established in 1947 and based in the Midwestern United States. A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganizat ...

. There he hit .291, 23 RBI, 5 HR and stole 17 bases in only 51 games. In 2013 with the

Rancho Cucamonga Quakes The Rancho Cucamonga Quakes are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. They are located in Rancho Cucamonga, California, and play their home games at LoanMart Field. The franc ...

of the

California League The California League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in California. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following Major Leag ...

, 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 The Glendale Desert Dogs are a baseball team that plays in the West Division of the Arizona Fall League. They play their home games at Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Arizona. The ballpark is also the spring training facility of the Chicago White ...

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

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

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Return to the Dodgers

On November 11, 2016, he was traded back to the Dodgers (along with Darin Ruf) in exchange for

Howie Kendrick Howard Joseph Kendrick III (born July 12, 1983) is an American former professional baseball infielder and current special assistant to the General Manager for the Philadelphia Phillies. The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim selected Kendrick in the t ...

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 The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

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

, and was assigned to the Triple-A

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen Fiel ...

. He was called up by the Blue Jays on June 29 to replace Steve Pearce who had been traded to the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

. 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

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Pittsburgh Pirates

On June 12, 2019, Sweeney's contract was purchased by the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

. 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

. However, the T-Bones were not selected to compete in the condensed 60-game season due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. He was later drafted by the

Winnipeg Goldeyes The Winnipeg Goldeyes are a minor-league baseball team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The Goldeyes play in the American Association of Professional Baseball, which they joined in 2011. Previously, the Goldeyes were members of the Northern ...

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 The Kansas City Monarchs were the longest-running franchise in the history of baseball's Negro leagues. Operating in Kansas City, Missouri, and owned by J. L. Wilkinson, they were charter members of the Negro National League from 1920 to 193 ...

in the offseason. Sweeney played in 97 games for Kansas City in 2021, slashing .262/.354/.484 with 19 home runs, 69 RBI, and 22 stolen bases. Sweeney played in 92 games for the Monarchs in 2022, being named an All-Star after posting a .321/.410/.490 slash line with 13 home runs, 49 RBI, and 31 stolen bases. He was released on October 27, 2022.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sweeney, Darnell 1991 births Living people African-American baseball players Altoona Curve players American expatriate baseball players in Canada Baseball players from Florida Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Chattanooga Lookouts players Glendale Desert Dogs players Great Lakes Loons players Harwich Mariners players Indianapolis Indians players Kansas City Monarchs (American Association) players Kansas City T-Bones players Lehigh Valley IronPigs players Louisville Bats players Major League Baseball second basemen Major League Baseball outfielders Ogden Raptors players Oklahoma City Dodgers players Sportspeople from Broward County, Florida Philadelphia Phillies players Rancho Cucamonga Quakes players Toronto Blue Jays players UCF Knights baseball players Winnipeg Goldeyes players 21st-century African-American sportspeople American expatriate baseball players in Mexico Venados de Mazatlán players American Senior High School (Miami-Dade County, Florida) alumni American people of United States Virgin Islands descent 2023 World Baseball Classic players