He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs, in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) with the Saitama Seibu Lions, and in the KBO League (KBO) with the Doosan Bears.

[1] Bowden began his professional career with the Gulf Coast League Red Sox in 2005, and advanced to the Greenville Drive the following season, also playing one game with the Wilmington Blue Rocks.

[2] On August 30, Bowden made his first major league start against the Chicago White Sox.

[5] After three relief appearances, he was optioned back five days later to make room for Josh Beckett, who was coming off the disabled list.

[9] On April 21, 2012, Bowden was traded to the Chicago Cubs along with a player to be named later for Marlon Byrd.

[13] Bowden signed a contract with the Seibu Lions of Nippon Professional Baseball for the 2014 season.

[19] Bowden signed a one-year contract worth $650,000 with the Doosan Bears in the Korea Baseball Organization in November 2015.

[22] On March 4, 2019, Bowden signed a minor league contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

On July 13, 2019, Bowden signed with the High Point Rockers of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball.