Romell Jordan, brother of Boston Red Sox receiver Blake Swihart, dies at 23

FORT MYERS, Fla. – Romell Jordan, the adopted brother of Boston Red Sox receiver Blake Swihart, died Wednesday at age 23. The Red Sox said the Swihart family was asking for their privacy to be respected.

Swihart left the team to join his family.

Swihart's parents, Carla and Arlan, exercised the tutelage of Jordan, who played at the University of New Mexico. Jordan was initially a friend of the family who went to live with the Swihart family in high school.

Vice President of Media Relations Kevin Gregg was unable to provide details on the cause of death.

Blake Swihart also has a half-brother, Jace Swihart, a veteran of the US Army and a sister, Kacie Swihart.

Jordan specializes in liberal arts at the University of New Mexico, where he played football from 2014 to 2017. He ran 105 times for 551 yards in career. He also caught 13 passes for 103 yards.

The Red Sox closed the clubhouse morning press session from 8 to 9 am and told an anonymous player that the Red Sox were dealing with a personal family emergency.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora spoke to the media at 10 am

"It's very difficult," said Cora without going into details. "How we went through Nick (Cafardo, who died suddenly) (from the Boston Globe) and how we are going through this ordeal. It's not easy, honestly. Just start thinking about the same things I said last week. Same feeling today. Same feelings. The only thing about the band, I think David (Price) just put it in 150 characters (on Twitter). That's what we are. That's what we feel for each other. Through all that we experienced last year, it was great. But I think the coolest thing is that we really have become a family.

"You start to look at everything we went through, it was amazing," added Cora. "Some days you look back and you say," Yes. That's what makes it special. In the same way they were there for me when Ari's son, J.D. (Arteaga) died. They were there for me. In the same way, I will be there for them.

"I'm talking about the family in the World Series, just that the parents come to me and tell me how proud they are or say thank you because of the location of their child and all that. It hurts. It hurts. It's hard. It's something that I know is part of it. Because that's life. I said it last week: it's not about what's happening on the ground. "