Preston Blake Guilmet ( ; born July 27, 1987) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cleveland Indians, Baltimore Orioles, Tampa Bay Rays, Milwaukee Brewers, St. Louis Cardinals, Toronto Blue Jays, and Miami Marlins. He has also played for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He grew up in Roseville, California and graduated from Oakmont High School. He later played college baseball for the University of Arizona.
Professional career
Guilmet attended the University of Arizona from 2006 to 2009. In 2007, he was the Pac-10 Pitcher of the Year. He was drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the 22nd round of the 2008 Major League Baseball Draft, but did not sign and returned to Arizona.
Cleveland Indians
Guilmet was drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the 9th round of the 2009 Major League Baseball Draft. He made his professional debut with the Low-A Mahoning Valley Scrappers, pitching to a 6-6 record and 4.09 ERA in 15 appearances with the team. The next year, Guilmet played for the Single-A Lake County Captains, recording a 4-1 record and 2.25 ERA in 30 games with the team. In 2011, he played for the High-A Kinston Indians, posting a 2.16 ERA with 35 saves and 60 strikeouts in 58.1 innings of work. In 2012 for the Double-A Akron Aeros, Guilmet pitched to a 2.39 ERA with 24 saves and 51 strikeouts in 52.2 innings pitched. He began the 2013 season with the Triple-A Columbus Clippers.
Guilmet was selected to the 40-man roster and promoted to the majors for the first time on July 7, 2013. He made his major league debut on July 10 against the Toronto Blue Jays, and was optioned back to Columbus the next day. In his rookie season, Guilmet posted a 10.13 ERA in 4 appearances for Cleveland. On March 30, 2014, Guilmet was designated for assignment by the Indians.
Baltimore Orioles
On April 7, 2014, Guilmet was traded to the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for Torsten Boss. He spent most of the season with the Triple-A Norfolk Tides where he appeared in 40 games, posting a 4-2 record and 3.91 ERA. After pitching six scoreless innings in his first five games with the Orioles, he picked up his only decision with the ballclub in a 3–1 loss to the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park on May 29. He made a total of 10 relief appearances with the Orioles, surrendering six earned runs and eight hits in 10 innings. He was designated for assignment on September 27 when the Orioles needed to make room on its 40-man roster for Alexi Casilla, who had been promoted from the Tides.
Toronto Blue Jays
On October 3, 2014, Guilmet was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for cash considerations. He was designated for assignment by the Pirates on December 19, and subsequently claimed off waivers by the Toronto Blue Jays on December 23. Guilmet was optioned to the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons on March 15, 2015. In 10 appearances for Buffalo, Guilmet pitched to a 1.26 ERA with 12 strikeouts. On May 10, he was designated for assignment by the Blue Jays.
Tampa Bay Rays
Guilmet was claimed off waivers by the Tampa Bay Rays on May 13, 2015, and optioned to the Triple-A Durham Bulls. After 4 games with Durham, he was recalled by the Rays on May 24, and optioned back to Durham after that day's game. He was designated for assignment on July 7 after logging a 5.06 ERA in 3 appearances with the Rays and a 2.40 ERA in 13 games for Durham.
Los Angeles Dodgers
Guilmet was claimed off waivers by the Los Angeles Dodgers on July 10, 2015, and optioned to the Triple-A Oklahoma City Dodgers. The Dodgers designated him for assignment on July 21 after he recorded a 3.00 ERA in 3 games in Triple-A.
Milwaukee Brewers
The Milwaukee Brewers claimed Guilmet off waivers on July 31, 2015. He was assigned to the Triple-A Colorado Springs Sky Sox. Guilmet made 2 appearances for Milwaukee in 2015, but struggled to a 27.00 ERA before being outrighted to the Triple-A on September 8. On November 6, 2015, he elected free agency.
During the 2015 season, Guilmet played for four different Triple-A organizations, Buffalo, Durham, Oklahoma City and Colorado Springs. He made 39 appearances in the minors and had a 2–2 record with a 2.15 ERA and 46 strikeouts. He also pitched in the majors for Tampa Bay and Milwaukee, compiling a 0–0 record with an 11.05 ERA and six strikeouts in five outings.