Accardo signed as an undrafted free agent by the San Francisco Giants of the National League in 2003 after attending Illinois State University. He made his major league debut on May 4, 2005, pitching one perfect inning in relief against the Arizona Diamondbacks. He finished the season with a 3.94 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 9 walks and 16 strikeouts in innings of work. In, Accardo was briefly the team's closer when Armando Benítez suffered an ankle injury.. in.
On July 21, 2006, Accardo was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays for third baseman Shea Hillenbrand and relief pitcherVinnie Chulk, where he finished the season. In 2006, he posted a combined 5.35 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, 20 walks and 54 strikeouts in 69 innings of work. In, Accardo took the role of closer from Jason Frasor, who had only become the closer due to an elbow injury sustained by B. J. Ryan. He began the season posting 21 consecutive scoreless innings until allowing 3 runs on May 26, 2007 in a game against the Minnesota Twins. On September 28, he recorded his 30th save of the year. Accardo missed much of the 2008 season because of injury. He had a good spring training in 2009 but did not make the Toronto Blue Jays 25-man roster out of camp. He started the season at Triple A with the Las Vegas 51s. On June 18, his contract was purchased by Toronto to replace the injured Scott Downs. At the time, the Blue Jays' pitching staff continued to be hit by a string of injuries. He made his first 2009 major league appearance that day against the Philadelphia Phillies in an 8–7 victory and earned the save. After making 31 appearances for the Jays over 2009-2010, Toronto did not tender a contract to Accardo prior to the 2010 non-tender deadline, thereby making him a free agent.
Baltimore Orioles
On December 14, 2010, Accardo signed a one-year deal worth $1.08 million with the Baltimore Orioles. On June 18, 2011, Accardo was designated for assignment. He finished the season with a 5.73 ERA and 1.62 WHIP in 31 appearances and elected free agency on October 11.
Cleveland Indians
Accardo signed a minor-league contract with the Cleveland Indians on January 19, 2012. He was invited to the Indians' spring training camp, but did not make the Opening Day roster. His contract was purchased by the Indians' on May 14, 2012. Accardo was designated for assignment on August 5, 2012 to make room on the roster for Chris Seddon and was released on August 9.
Oakland Athletics
On Aug. 15, 2012, he signed a minor league contract with the Oakland Athletics and was assigned to the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats. On September 23, the Athletics selected his contract from Sacramento, and he made his final major league appearance to date, allowing two runs in two innings against the Texas Rangers on September 27. On October 18, 2012, the Athletics announced that Accardo had cleared waivers and elected free agency rather than accept an outright assignment to Triple-A.
Later playing career
On February 5, 2013, Accardo signed a minor league contract with the Washington Nationals. He was released on June 26, 2013 after struggling at Triple-A Syracuse, where he posted a 5.56 ERA in 22 innings. Accardo began the 2014 season pitching for the Long Island Ducks of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball before being released. He later signed with the Bridgeport Bluefish to finish out the season, posting a combined 4.40 ERA and 1.52 WHIP in 60 appearances. On February 26, 2015, Accardo signed a minor league contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks. He was released on March 30.
Coaching career
Accardo was the pitching coach for the Gulf Coast Mets in 2017. He served as the bullpen coach for the Las Vegas 51s in 2018. Accardo served as the Mets minor league pitching coordinator in 2019, and as a pitching strategist on the major league staff starting in June 2019. On December 8, 2019, Accardo was named the Mets assistant pitching coach.
Pitching style
Accardo has four pitches. He leads with a four-seam fastball at 90–92 mph and his main off-speed pitch is a splitter from 84–86 mph. He also features a two-seam fastball and a cutter. Right-handed hitters see his full repertoire, but he does not throw the cutter to left-handed hitters. Accardo relies heavily on the splitter with 2 strikes.
Personal life
Accardo's daughter, Leighton, was diagnosed with germ cell cancer in 2019.
