The Rangers signed right-handed pitcher Patrick Murphy to a minor league contract with an invite to big league spring training, the club officially announced Thursday night, for the second-straight year.
Murphy, 30, was in camp with the Rangers last spring and yielded a 0.66 ERA in 13 2/3 innings of Cactus League play. He made a strong impression and might’ve been in position to earn a major league roster spot had he not broken camp with a strained pectoral muscle.
The multi-inning reliever pitched in 15 minor league games last season, largely at Triple-A Round Rock, before he was released midseason. Murphy — who’d spent the previous two seasons in Japan — had a 3.12 ERA in 15 games for the KT Wiz of the Korea Baseball Organization after his release.
He offers the Rangers organizational depth in the midst of another bullpen rebuild. The Rangers have signed three relief pitchers to major league deals this winter and acquired right-hander Carter Baumler, a Rule 5 draft selection, from the Pittsburgh Pirates.
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Murphy has pitched in 35 career big league games. His last stint was in 2022, with the Washington Nationals, when he had a 6.35 ERA in 5 2/3 innings.
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