Former Nationals Reliever Signs With KBO Team

Back during the dog days of the 2021 MLB regular season, the Washington Nationals made a move to shake up their bullpen.

They claimed relief pitcher Patrick Murphy off waivers from the Toronto Blue Jays.

Murphy appeared in 17 games with the Nationals down the stretch of that year. He wasn’t overly effective, producing a 5.30 ERA across 18.2 innings.

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There was one outlier in his performance; he struck out 23 batters

For a pitcher with a career strikeout rate of 20.3% in the big leagues, it was a sign that maybe he was turning the corner and getting something more out of his stuff.

Alas, it was just a flash in the pan.

Murphy made six more appearances with Washington in 2022, struggling again with a 6.35 ERA and only four strikeouts in 5.2 innings.

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He struggled mightily with his control, issuing eight walks in that span and spending a majority of the campaign in the minor leagues.

Granted free agency after the season, Murphy signed a deal with the Minnesota Twins but didn’t appear in a Major League game during the 2023 campaign.

The 2024 season was spent overseas in Japan with the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, which led to him signing a free agent deal with the Texas Rangers last December.

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Stuck in their minor league system, the former Nationals reliever was released from his minor league deal by the Rangers and is heading back overseas.

This time, he is taking his talent to Korea, signing a $277,000 deal with the KT Wiz of the KBO League according to Dan Kurtz of MyKBO.

Murphy found some success with Texas' Triple-A affiliate, producing a 3.18 ERA across 22.2 innings. But his peripherals weren’t great with a 16.8% strikeout and 9.9% walk rate.

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That didn’t prevent the Wiz from agreeing to a deal with the former Nationals reliever and releasing William Cuevas to open up an international player roster spot.

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