Carl Donovan "Cody" Bolton (born June 19, 1998) is an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

in the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...

organization. He has previously played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) for 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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. The Mariners compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. The team joined the American ...

, and

Cleveland Guardians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. Since , the team has played its home gam ...

Amateur career

Bolton attended

Tracy High School Tracy High School is a four-year public secondary school located in Tracy, California, United States. Enrollment during the 2009-2010 school year was 2339 students. History The West Side Union High School, renamed Tracy Union High School in 19 ...

Tracy, California Tracy is the second most populated city in San Joaquin County, California, San Joaquin County, California, United States. The population was 93,000 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Tracy is located inside a geographic triangle form ...

. As a senior in 2017, he went 9–2 with a 1.13 ERA, striking out 97 batters in 68 innings and was named league MVP. In high school, he was 24–6 with a 1.42 ERA, helping the Bulldogs win two league titles and two division titles. He committed to play

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

at the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

and ranked as one of the top 120 high school prospects by Perfect Game.

Professional career

Pittsburgh Pirates

The

drafted Bolton in the sixth round of the

2017 Major League Baseball draft The 2017 Major League Baseball draft began on June 12, 2017. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The first 36 picks, including the first round and compensatory picks, were broadcast on MLB Network on June 12, while the remai ...

. He signed with the team, receiving a $300,000 bonus and forgoing his college commitment. Bolton made his professional debut with the

Rookie-level Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National L ...

Gulf Coast Pirates The Florida Complex League Pirates are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Prior to 2021, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Pirates. The team plays its hom ...

. In nine starts, he pitched to a 3.16 ERA. Bolton spent 2018 with the

West Virginia Power The Charleston Dirty Birds are an United States, American professional baseball team based in Charleston, West Virginia. They are a member of the South Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, a MLB Partner League, partner league ...

of the

Single-A Single-A, formerly known as Class A and sometimes as Low-A, is the fourth-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States, below Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A, Double-A (baseball), Double-A, and High-A. There are 30 teams cl ...

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its h ...

, going 3–3 with a 3.65 ERA in nine starts. He began 2019 with the

Bradenton Marauders The Bradenton Marauders are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Bradenton, Florida, and play their home games at LECOM Park, which also serves as the ...

of the

High-A High-A, officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing, is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A and D ...

Florida State League The Florida State League (FSL) is a Minor League Baseball league based in the state of Florida. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following ...

, where he was named Pitcher of the Week on May 13 and later an All-Star. He was promoted to the

Altoona Curve The Altoona Curve are a Minor League Baseball team based in Altoona, Pennsylvania, named after nearby Horseshoe Curve (but also alluding to the curveball, a type of pitch). The team plays in the Eastern League and is the Double-A affiliate of ...

of the Double-A Eastern League in June. Over 21 starts between the two clubs, Bolton went 8–6 with a 3.28 ERA, striking out 102 over innings. Bolton was one of the Pirates top 10 prospects entering 2020 and 2021 but he was unable to pitch competitively in either year. The 2020 minor league season was cancelled because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. Bolton began the 2021 season on the injured list with a knee injury and underwent surgery on his meniscus in May, forcing him to miss the whole season. Bolton was the Opening Night started for the Triple-A

Indianapolis Indians The Indianapolis Indians are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and play their home games at Victory ...

in 2022. He went 4-2 with a 3.09 ERA and 82 strikeouts over innings with Indianapolis. Bolton's usage changed after recovering from his knee injury. While he made 14 starts out of his 30 appearances in 2022, he never pitched more than 5 innings in an outing and did not throw more than 60 innings after June. Beginning in 2023, Bolton was a full-time reliever, occasionally making short starts as an

opener Opener, Open'er or Openers may refer to: * Opener (album), ''Opener'' (album), an album by 8mm * Opener (baseball), a baseball strategy to use a relief pitcher to start a game * Open'er Festival, a contemporary music festival held in Gdynia, Poland ...

. Bolton began 2023 back in Indianapolis, where he made 8 relief appearances and posted a 2.38 ERA with 14 strikeouts in innings pitched. On April 26, 2023, Bolton was selected to the 40-man roster and promoted to the major leagues for the first time. He debuted on April 29, pitching two scoreless innings against the Washington Nationals in the second game of a doubleheader. Bolton with the Pirates in seven different stints in 2023, frequently getting sent down to Triple-A. He made 16 appearances for the Pirates during his rookie campaign, but struggled to a 6.33 ERA with 22 strikeouts across innings of work. Bolton's fastball had above average velocity at 95.2 miles per hour, but batters had a .378 batting average against his fastball.

Seattle Mariners

On November 2, 2023, Bolton was traded to the

in exchange for cash considerations. Bolton pitched on

Opening Day Opening Day is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For Major League Baseball (MLB) and most of the American minor leagues, this day typically falls during the first week of April, although in recent year ...

for the Mariners in 2024, allowing a run in two innings, but he could not keep his spot on the roster. He was placed on the injured list on April 8, returning to the Mariners on April 21 and pitching in 11 games over the next month. He was sent down to the

Tacoma Rainiers The Tacoma Rainiers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. They are located in Tacoma, Washington, and play their home games at Cheney Stadium, ...

on May 23. He returned to the Mariners in June, pitching in two games before staying in Triple-A for the rest of the season. With the Mariners, Bolton had no decisions and a 4.34 ERA in innings. In Tacoma, he was 1–2 with 2 saves and a 3.07 ERA in 33 games. Bolton replaced his four-seam fastball for with a cutter and a sinker than had more movement but less velocity and caused more batters to swing and miss. Bolton was optioned to Triple-A Tacoma to begin the 2025 season. In two appearances for Tacoma, he struggled to a 9.00 ERA with one strikeout and one save over two innings of work. Bolton was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must, within seven days, return the pla ...

by Seattle on April 5, 2025.

Cleveland Guardians

On April 8, 2025, Bolton was traded to the

in exchange for cash considerations. He made one appearance for Cleveland, allowing three runs on four hits with one strikeout across two innings pitched. Bolton was designated for assignment by the Guardians on May 31 after sustaining injuries in a car accident involving a semi-truck while en route to Triple-A Columbus. He was released by the Guardians on June 6.

Houston Astros

On July 24, 2025, Bolton signed a minor league contract with the

Personal life

Bolton's father, Scott, is a Baptist pastor and his mother, Jennifer, has been active in church activities. Bolton has two sisters, Kaitlyn and Autumn. The Bolton family moved from Virginia, where Cody was born, to California in 2007. His family was in attendance at his MLB debut in 2023. Bolton played quarterback and wide receiver in football as a child before committing to baseball as a 14-year-old. While in high school, Bolton said his favorite baseball players were

Clayton Kershaw Clayton Edward Kershaw (born March 19, 1988) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). A left-handed starting pitcher, Kershaw has spent his entire MLB career with the Dodgers s ...

and

Albert Pujols José Alberto Pujols Alcántara (, ; born December 11, 1985) is a Dominicans, Dominican professional baseball Manager (baseball), manager and former first baseman and designated hitter who is the manager of the Leones del Escogido of the Domin ...

. One of Bolton's high school coaches brought a toilet to the team's dugout, so that players could "flush" out a poor performance. Bolton married Rachel Berry on December 13, 2024. Berry is from Indiana.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bolton, Cody 1998 births Living people Altoona Curve players Baseball players from San Joaquin County, California Bradenton Marauders players Cleveland Guardians players Columbus Clippers players Gulf Coast Pirates players Indianapolis Indians players Major League Baseball pitchers Sportspeople from Tracy, California Pittsburgh Pirates players Seattle Mariners players Tacoma Rainiers players Tracy High School alumni West Virginia Power players 21st-century American sportsmen