Former Seattle Mariners fan-favorite reliever Penn Murfee has a new home. He was claimed off waivers by the Chicago White Sox.
The White Sox announced the deal on Monday on social media. In addition, pitchers Jimmy Lambert and Matt Foster became free agents.
Murfee had been with the Houston Astros organization most recently. It’s been a tumultuous last year and a half for Murfee, who was let go by the Mariners in the summer of 2023. He underwent a serious elbow surgery in 2023 and then spent time last offseason with the New York Mets and Atlanta Braves organizations, before landing in Houston.
When healthy, Murfee has been highly effective. He finished with a 1.29 ERA in 2023, albeit in just 16 appearances before getting injured. He was 4-0 in 2022 with a 2.99 ERA in 64 games. He helped the Mariners end their lengthy playoff drought and advance to the postseason for the first time since 2001.
Murfee was an integral part of the group that upset the Toronto Blue Jays in the American League wild card round. He features a nice two-seam fastball and slider combination and can be a tough matchup for right-handed hitters.
Murfee made just one appearance in the minor leagues in 2024, pitching for Singla-A Fayetteville. He threw just 0.1 innings before dealing with more injuries.
We’ll see if Murfee can get healthy enough to help the White Sox in 2025. After finishing with the worst record in baseball (41-121) in 2024, the team should have plenty of opportunity for guys to seize jobs.
Hopefully Murfee can be one of those guys.
