Marlins Claim Preston Claiborne Off Waivers

The Marlins have continued to take Yankee players, as they have claimed RHP Preston Claiborne off of waivers from the Bronx Bombers. Joe Frisaro reports that Claiborne will be on the 40 man roster.

Claiborne saw some action at the big league level for the Yankees this year, going 3-0 with a 3.00 ERA in 21 innings. He had an ERA+ of 131, though his WHIP was 1.62 and only struck out 6.9 per nine innings. While his end result was strong, he needs to work to make sure that his ERA won’t rise as his sample size increases.

The Yankees were often injured in 2014, especially from pitching. It was a bit surprising that Claiborne only pitched 21 innings, but he has done enough to make himself desirable outside the organization.

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The Marlins have been trying to make its bullpen better since the season ended. First, they acquired Aaron Crow from the Kansas City Royals in exchange for Brian Flynn and Reid Redman. Then earlier this week they received David Phelps from the Yankees as part of a 5 player trade. While Phelps has starting capability, he should see a majority of his time spent in the bullpen.

Claiborne has a much larger body of work with the Yankees from 2013. He went 0-2 with a 4.11 ERA, 98 ERA+, 1.29 WHIP, and 7.5 strikeouts per 9 innings in 50.1 total innings.

Claiborne is obviously a major league quality pitcher, but he needs to work on lowering his walk rate so he does not burn Miami in what is supposed to be a season with a very real chance at a playoff push. This is a low risk move, as Claiborne isn’t even arbitration eligible until 2017 and is under team control until 2020.