Former Washington Nationals Reliever Patrick Murphy Signs With Rangers

Patrick Murphy spent parts of two seasons with the Washington Nationals and is returning stateside after a stint in Japan.

Oct 1, 2021; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Nationals relief pitcher Patrick Murphy (52) pitches against the Boston Red Sox at Nationals Park. | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

Former Washington Nationals reliever Patrick Murphy will try to revive his Major League career with the Texas Rangers, as he signed a minor league deal with the team earlier this week that includes an invitation to Major League spring training.

The Rangers have signed several relievers with Major League experience the past few days, including acquiring Nationals reliever Robert Garcia in a trade for Texas first baseman Nathaniel Lowe.

Murphy last pitched in the majors with Washington in 2022, as the right-hander made a smattering of appearances early in the season before he was demoted to Triple-A Rochester.

Last year he was in Japan with the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, where he went 1-2 with a 3.26 ERA in 40 games. He struck out 30 hitters in 38.2 innings. He was not offered a new deal to remain in Japan next season.

Murphy joined the Nationals in 2021 after he was designated for assignment by Toronto and made 17 appearances in which he finished with a 5.30 ERA, giving up 11 earned runs and 19 hits in 18.2 innings. He struck out 23 and walked six, which was a promising strikeout-to-walk ratio and made him a viable bullpen option for 2022.

But Murphy didn't catch on the following season. He made just six appearances for Washington, finishing with a 6.35 ERA in 5.2 innings pitched. He struck out four and walked eight.

The Nats designated him for assignment and he cleared waivers. He spent the rest of that season at Rochester on stand-by but was never called up. He did clean up the strikeout rate, as he fanned 73 hitters in 63 innings with a 5.00 ERA in 40 games. But he became a free agent after the season.

He spent 2023 with Minnesota’s Triple-A St. Paul Saints, where he had a 3.69 ERA, 97 strikeouts and six saves in 85.1 innings.

Murphy, an Arizona native, needed Tommy John surgery while he was in high school, but he was still drafted in the third round of the 2013 MLB draft by Toronto.

He bypassed a commitment to play baseball at the University of Oregon to take a $500,000 bonus from the Blue Jays.

He made his Major League debut with Toronto during the COVID-shortened 2020 season and in 2021 he spent a good portion of that season on the 60-day injured list due to a sprained AC joint in his shoulder. The Blue Jays designated him for assignment shortly after he came off the injured list.