Houston Astros Claim Former Seattle Mariners Reliever

The Houston Astros added an arm as they moved one of their veteran arms to the injured list as they made final preparations for the 2024 regular season.

The Houston Astros claimed relief pitcher Penn Murfee off waivers from the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday, adding a bullpen arm to their 40-man roster in preparation the 2024 season.

The Astros announced the move on their social media accounts.

To make room, the Astros moved relief pitcher Kendall Graveman to the 60-day injured list. Graveman is set to miss the entire season after surgery to repair the torn labrum in his right shoulder in January.

Murfee ended last season on the Seattle Mariners’ 60-day injured list after he experienced right elbow inflammation in July, which led to surgery.

Before that, he was a reliable reliever for the M’s. From 2022-23 he made 80 total appearances (64 appearances in 2022 and 16 more in 2023). He has a 5-2 record and a 2.70 ERA in 83.1 career innings, with 92 strikeouts and 28 walks with a 0.97 WHIP.

After the season the Mariners waived him and the New York Mets claimed him on Halloween. Two weeks later the Mets waived him and he quickly signed with Atlanta. The Braves released him on Monday.

Murfee has yet to pitch since the surgery and still needs more time to recover. He’s still expected to be out multiple months.

For his career he strikes out nearly 10 hitters per nine innings. His walk rate in 2023 (6.4) was concerning, but in 2022 that rate was 2.3.

Murfee, 30, got to the big leagues the hard way. He was a 33rd round pick of the Mariners in 2018 and worked his way through their system after his collegiate career at Santa Clara.