ARLINGTON -- The Rangers made a pair of roster moves Thursday, placing right-handed reliever Jeremy Jeffress on the 10-day disabled list and purchasing the contract of right-hander Preston Claiborne from Triple-A Round Rock.
Jeffress is hitting the DL with a back strain he suffered while warming up on Tuesday night.
"It was just one pitch. I waited to receive the ball back, I turned to my right and it just felt like something grabbed," Jeffress said. "I felt OK pitching. My adrenaline was going, but I didn't feel it as much, but then I woke up the next morning and I couldn't get out of bed."
Jeffress is 1-2 with a 5.46 ERA in 29 2/3 innings for the Rangers this season. To make room for Claiborne on the 40-man roster, Eddie Gamboa was designated for assignment.
Claiborne had been the closer with Round Rock, posting a 1.37 ERA in 26 appearances. He was drafted by the Pirates as a third baseman out of Newman Smith High School in Carrollton, Texas, in 2006, but he opted to attend Tulane University instead, where he converted to a reliever. The Yankees drafted him in 2010, and he played with them from '13-14 before signing Minor League contracts with the Marlins and Giants.
Claiborne signed a Minor League deal with the Rangers in February, and he got called up to the Majors on Thursday, arriving in a big league clubhouse for the first time in a few years. Claiborne said he's making the most of his opportunity, and he will be ready and willing for whatever role he's needed to fill.
"That's how it was when I first got called up," Claiborne said. "You don't know, because obviously in the Minor Leagues you pick up a role and then you run with it, but when you get to the big leagues, you're pitched as needed. When they call, your job is to put up zeroes and get guys out, period. That's how it was when I was first up in 2013, and it's how I imagine it's going to be now."
Rangers manager Jeff Banister said Claiborne will be used in a long-relief type of role, but he noted Claiborne will be available to use in all situations.
Rangers beat
• Carlos Gomez is back in the lineup after getting a day off on Wednesday. He has a season-high nine-game hit streak, and he's batting .394 over those nine games.
• If Claiborne enters the game, he would be the fourth Rangers pitcher to make his season debut this homestand, joining Tyson Ross, Ernesto Frieri and Tanner Scheppers.
• Delino DeShields has nine stolen bases this month, the most in the American League and the third-most in the Majors behind Trea Turner's 14 and Dee Gordon's 11. DeShields' 17 stolen bases this year are tied for the second-most in the AL.