When the Houston Astros selected Cody Bolton’s contract on March 30, it was the kind of transaction that barely registers: a 27-year-old reliever with a journeyman résumé, added to the roster as long relief depth. For Bolton, it was something else entirely.
Bolton was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the sixth round of the 2017 draft out of Tracy High School in Tracy, California, where he went 24-6 with a 1.42 ERA over his high school career and was considered one of the top 120 prospects in the country by Perfect Game. He worked his way through Pittsburgh’s system over the next several years, establishing himself as a legitimate prospect before a torn meniscus wiped out his entire 2021 season.
Reinvention on the Mound
He came back, made his major league debut with the Pirates in April 2023, and spent much of that year bouncing between Pittsburgh and Triple-A Indianapolis. The Pirates traded him to the Mariners after the season, and Bolton spent 2024 in Seattle’s system, where he made a significant adjustment, replacing his four-seam fastball with a cutter and a sinker with more movement, a change that helped him generate more swings and misses and gave his arsenal a different look.
The Mariners eventually moved him to Cleveland, where his time with the Guardians lasted exactly one appearance—two innings, three runs—before he was optioned to Triple-A Columbus. Then, while he was still working his way back from that demotion, Bolton was involved in a car accident that ended his 2025 season before it really began. Cleveland released him in June.
A Second Chance in Houston
Most players don’t come back from that kind of year. Bolton did. He signed a minor league deal with Houston in late July, still not fully healthy. He made his organizational debut with Sugar Land toward the end of August, pitching 13⅔ innings down the stretch and striking out 15. The Astros liked what they saw enough to bring him to spring training and, ultimately, to select his contract when the roster needed a long reliever.
Now, with Hunter Brown on the injured list and the rotation suddenly short-handed, Bolton’s role has taken on new importance. He has no minor league options remaining, which means the Astros are committed to keeping him on the active roster—or losing him. So far, they have shown no inclination to let him go.
It has been a long road back for Cody Bolton. But he is back—and on Monday night, with the Astros opening a three-game series in Colorado, he will take the ball as their starting pitcher, making the first major league start of his career.
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Photo: Minda Haas Kuhlmann via Flickr / CC BY 2.0