Preston Claiborne

Preston Michael Claiborne

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 2", Weight 225 lb.
• School Tulane University
• High School Newman Smith High School
• Debut May 5, 2013
• Final Game June 26, 2017
• Born January 21, 1988 in Dallas, TX USA

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Biographical Information

Preston Claiborne pitched 63 games in parts of three seasons in the majors.

Amateur Career

Claiborne was 9-1 with a 0.80 ERA and 103 strikeouts in 72 1/3 innings as a high school junior while hitting .430 with six home runs. He had a 10-3, 2.41 record as a senior and whiffed 111 in 92 1/3 innings. The Pittsburgh Pirates took him in the 23rd round of the 2006 amateur draft. He went to college instead and did well as a freshman (0-2, 2 saves, 2.36 in 28 games, second on Tulane in pitching appearances). In 2008, he went 2-1 with three saves and a 6.23 ERA, walking 22 in 39 innings, posting Tulane's worst ERA. He was 3-2 as a junior and 3-2 as a senior with two saves and a 5.67 ERA, though he did fan 55 in 46 innings. The New York Yankees took him in the 17th round of the 2010 amateur draft.

Minors

Claiborne split the summer of 2010 with the Staten Island Yankees (1-2, 2 saves, 2.28, 30 strikeouts in 23 2/3 innings) and the Tampa Yankees (0-1, 3.68 in 5 games). He went 0-1 with a 2.25 ERA in the playoffs for Tampa. He spent all of 2011 with Tampa, going 3-7 with 5 saves and a 3.11 ERA in 38 games, then was 0-2 with a 3.00 ERA for the Phoenix Desert Dogs in the Arizona Fall League. In 2012, the Dallas native was with the Trenton Thunder (2-2, 5 saves, 2.22 in 30 games; 49 strikeouts, 33 hits in 48 2/3 innings) and the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees (4-0, a save, 4.05 in 20 games). He was second in the Yankees chain in games pitched (50, behind Juan Cedeno). He opened 2013 with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and had 3 saves and a 3.48 ERA after eight games. He was promoted to the bigs to replace the injured Joba Chamberlain.

Majors

In his major league debut for the Yankees on May 5, 2013, Claiborne relieved Andy Pettitte in the top of the 6th with a 4-1 deficit against the Oakland Athletics. He retired Luke Montz, Seth Smith and Michael Taylor in order. After the Yankees tied the game in the top of the 7th, Claiborne had another 1-2-3 inning, getting Adam Rosales, Derek Norris and Jed Lowrie, then was replaced by Boone Logan, who gave up the game-losing homer to negate his standout effort. Preston went 0-2, 4.11 in 44 appearances, all in relief, pitching 50 1/3 innings. He had his first big league plate appearance on May 21, 2014 in the 13th inning of a tie game against the Chicago Cubs. He laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt against Jose Veras, moving two runners along and they both came in to score, giving him credit for a 4-2 win. Preston had a 3.00 ERA in 18 games in 2014, then was waived at season's end, only returning to the big leagues for 2 innings with the 2017 Texas Rangers.

Coaching Career

Claiborne joined the Yankees organization to start his coaching career. He was scheduled to be the pitching coach for the GCL Yankees West in 2020 before the minor league season was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic. Claiborne served as a pitching coach for the FCL Yankees in 2021-2022 and also worked as the Surprise Saguaros pitching coach in the Arizona Fall League in 2021. He was pitching coach of the Hudson Valley Renegades in 2023 and Tampa Tarpons in 2024.

Sources

• 2013 Yankees Media Guide
• Tulane bio

Related Sites

• Preston Claiborne on mlb.com