[1] He had passed his GED tests and successfully petitioned Major League Baseball (MLB) to become draft-eligible.

[2] The Oakland Athletics selected Bonderman out of high school with the 26th pick in the 2001 Major League Baseball draft, a selection that, according to Michael Lewis's Moneyball, caused Athletics general manager Billy Beane to throw a chair through a wall in fury.

The Athletics had sent Carlos Peña, a player to be named later (who later became Bonderman), and Franklyn Germán to the Detroit Tigers.

In his rookie campaign of 2003, the Tigers finished with the second-worst record in MLB history at 43–119 and came close to being the first team with two pitchers who each lost 20 games in a season since Wilbur Wood and Stan Bahnsen with the 1973 Chicago White Sox.

[6] One night after Mike Maroth lost his 21st of the year,[7] Bonderman was reinstated into the rotation but cemented a 6–19 record as the losing pitcher in his last decision of the season in a 6–2 defeat to the Twins at the Metrodome on September 19.

In 2007, Bonderman had the best start of his career, but after the all-star break he struggled only winning four games, finishing 11–9 with a 5.01 ERA.

[9] On June 13, 2009, five days after his only start of the season, Bonderman was placed on the disabled list indefinitely because of recurring pain in his pitching shoulder.

He made his first start for the major league club on June 2, and took the loss in a 10–0 win by the Minnesota Twins.

On June 7, in his second start, he pitched three-hit ball for six innings to beat the New York Yankees and earn his first win since 2010.

On July 14, 2013, Bonderman was signed to a minor league deal bringing him back to Detroit, playing for the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens.