Cody Eppley
Cody Allen Eppley is an American former professional baseball pitcher and coach. He played in Major League Baseball for the Texas Rangers and New York Yankees.
Amateur career
Eppley attended Northern High School in Dillsburg, Pennsylvania, where he pitched for the school's baseball team. He then enrolled at Virginia Commonwealth University, where he played college baseball for the VCU Rams baseball team, competing in the Colonial Athletic Association.Professional career
Texas Rangers
The Texas Rangers drafted Eppley in the 43rd round of the 2008 Major League Baseball draft. He pitched to a 2.10 ERA with 34 strikeouts in 25.2 innings for the Arizona Rangers of the Rookie-level Arizona League and was named a Post-Season All-Star. Eppley was promoted to the Clinton LumberKings of the Class A Midwest League in late August that year. He next played for the Hickory Crawdads of the Class A South Atlantic League in 2009, pitching to a 2.93 ERA in 67.2 innings out of the bullpen.Eppley started the 2010 season with the Bakersfield Blaze of the Class A-Advanced California League, allowing no runs in 18 innings. He was then promoted to the Frisco RoughRiders of the Class AA Texas League in May and Oklahoma City RedHawks of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League in July. He finished the season with a 2.08 ERA and 82 strikeouts in 69.1 innings that year, and was named the organization's Minor League Reliever of the Year Award.
In 2011, he was assigned to the Round Rock Express, the Rangers' new PCL affiliate. Eppley was called up to the majors for the first time on April 23, 2011. He made his major league debut that day, throwing two innings against the Kansas City Royals. After allowing eight runs in nine innings, he was optioned back to the minors on May 23. Eppley served as the co-closer for the Express, alongside Pedro Strop, and was named a PCL Mid-Season All-Star. The Rangers designated Eppley for assignment at the end of spring training in 2012.
New York Yankees
On April 5, 2012, the Yankees claimed Eppley off waivers. He started the 2012 season with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees of the Class AAA International League and was recalled him on April 19. He was optioned to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre after long reliever D. J. Mitchell was recalled to the Yankees on April 29. On May 4, Eppley was called back up to the parent club, along with outfielder DeWayne Wise, after pitcher Mariano Rivera sustained an Anterior cruciate ligament tear. He was optioned back to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on May 13, but was recalled just two days later to replace David Robertson, who strained an oblique muscle. Eppley, along with fellow sidearm pitcher Clay Rapada, were used heavily during the 2012 season. He finished the regular season with a 3.33 ERA in 49 innings across 59 games. The Yankees did not include Eppley on their roster for the 2012 American League Division Series against the Baltimore Orioles. However, he replaced Eduardo Nunez on the roster for the 2012 American League Championship Series against the Detroit Tigers. He pitched in all four games, allowing four hits and a walk while striking out four in 3.2 innings of work.Eppley made the Yankees' Opening Day roster in 2013, despite allowing nine runs and 14 hits in eight innings. He gave up four runs in 1.2 innings to begin the year and was optioned to Triple-A. After pitching to an 8.53 ERA with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre through 19 games in the 2013 season, the Yankees released Eppley on June 5.