Eric Christian Yardley (born August 18, 1990) is an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professiona ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("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, who attempts to e ...

who is 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

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...

and

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. The Brewers are named for the city's association wi ...

Career

Yardley attended Richland High School in

Richland, Washington Richland () is a city in Benton County, Washington, United States. It is located in southeastern Washington at the confluence of the Yakima and the Columbia Rivers. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 60,560. Along with the nearby c ...

. He attended

Seattle University Seattle University (SeattleU) is a private Jesuit university in Seattle, Washington. Seattle University is the largest independent university in the Northwestern United States, with over 7,500 students enrolled in undergraduate and graduate p ...

and 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 Redhawks for four seasons (2010-2013). Yardley was undrafted out of college in 2013, and played for the

Taos Blizzard The Taos Blizzard were a professional baseball team based in Taos, New Mexico. The team was a member of the Pecos League, an independent baseball league which is not affiliated with Major or Minor League Baseball. The team played its home games ...

and the

Trinidad Triggers Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmo ...

of the independent

Pecos League Pecos may refer to: Places * Pecos River, rises near Santa Fe, New Mexico, United States * Pecos, Texas, a city in Reeves County, Texas, United States * Pecos County, Texas, named for the Pecos River ** Pecos Spring, a spring * Pecos, New Mexic ...

San Diego Padres

He signed a minor league contract with the

on July 21, 2013. He played for the

AZL Padres The Arizona Complex League Padres are a Rookie-level affiliate of the San Diego Padres, competing in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays its home games at Peoria Sports Complex in Peoria, Arizona, which is also the ...

in 2013, going 2–0 with a 1.89 ERA in 19 innings. He split the 2014 season between the

Fort Wayne TinCaps The Fort Wayne TinCaps are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. They are located in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and play their home games at Parkview Field. They won their lone Midwest ...

and the

San Antonio Missions The San Antonio Missions are a Minor League Baseball team of the Texas League and the Double-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. They are located in San Antonio, Texas, and are named for the Spanish missions around which the city was founded ...

, combining to go 2–4 with a 2.95 ERA in 65 innings. He split the 2015 season between the

Lake Elsinore Storm The Lake Elsinore Storm are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. The Storm plays their home games at Lake Elsinore Diamond (Pete Lehr Field), which opened in 1994; the park s ...

and San Antonio, combining to go 2–5 with a 2.97 ERA in innings. Following the 2015 season, Yardley played for the

Peoria Javelinas The Peoria Javelinas are a baseball team that plays in the West Division of the Arizona Fall League. The Javelinas play their home games in the Peoria Sports Complex in Peoria, Arizona. The ballpark is also the spring training facility for the S ...

of the

Arizona Fall League The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season sports league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during the autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are fi ...

. Yardley split the 2016, 2017, and 2018 seasons each between San Antonio and the

El Paso Chihuahuas The El Paso Chihuahuas are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. They are located in El Paso, Texas, and play their home games at Southwest University Park, which opened ...

. He combined to go 3–2 with a 2.93 ERA over innings in 2016, 3–2 with a 2.05 ERA over 70 innings in 2017, and 5–4 with a 4.13 ERA over innings in 2018. He opened the 2019 season back with El Paso, going 0–2 with a 2.83 ERA and 52 strikeouts over innings. On August 21, 2019, the Padres selected Yardley's contract and promoted him to the major leagues. He made his major league debut that day versus 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 ...

, allowing three runs (one earned) in a of an inning and suffering the loss. In 10 games for the Padres, Yardley went 0–1 with a 2.31 ERA and 7 strikeouts in innings. Yardley 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 play ...

on November 4, 2019.

Milwaukee Brewers

On November 15, 2019, Yardley was claimed off waivers by the

. Yardley enjoyed a great year for the Brewers in 2020, pitching to a 2-0 record and a 1.54 ERA with 19 strikeouts in 23.1 innings of work. Yardley was not quite as successful in 2021, struggling to a 6.75 ERA in 17 appearances with the Brewers. On November 5, 2021, Yardley was outrighted off of the 40-man roster and elected free agency.

Toronto Blue Jays

On January 25, 2022, Yardley signed a minor league contract with the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is locate ...

. He was released on May 3, 2022, and signed a minor league contract with 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 ...

on May 25. He is currently on their Triple A team the

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 ...

He elected free agency on November 10, 2022.

Personal life

Yardley is married to Tia Yardley.

References

External links

Seattle Redhawks bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yardley, Eric 1990 births Living people Arizona League Padres players Baseball players from Washington (state) Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players El Paso Chihuahuas players Fort Wayne TinCaps players Gigantes del Cibao players American expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic Lake Elsinore Storm players Major League Baseball pitchers Milwaukee Brewers players Nashville Sounds players People from Richland, Washington Peoria Javelinas players San Antonio Missions players San Diego Padres players Seattle Redhawks baseball players Taos Blizzard players Trinidad Triggers players