The Astros have claimed right-hander Penn Murfee from the Braves, reports Chandler Rome of The Athletic. The Astros placed righty Kendall Graveman on the 60-day injured list in a corresponding move. Graveman is going to miss the entire 2024 season due to shoulder surgery.
It was reported on Monday that Murfee was released but it seems he was actually on release waivers and had not yet cleared. Murfee, who turns 30 in May, had surgery on his ulnar collateral ligament in June of last year while with the Mariners. This offseason, he was claimed off waivers by the Mets and Braves, with the latter club non-tendering him and re-signing him.
Atlanta put him on waivers this week to try to open up a roster spot but the Astros swooped in with a claim. It’s a little strange that Atlanta put him on waivers since they only have 36 players on their 40-man roster right now. Injured players can’t be placed on outright waivers, only release waivers. Perhaps the club was hoping Murfee would clear and become a free agent, then they could re-sign him to a minor league deal, not having to give him major league pay or service time. It’s a moot point now as whatever plans Atlanta had were foiled by Houston.
The Astros have roster spots to burn, so it’s more or less a free pickup for them. As mentioned, Graveman is going to miss the entire season and was going to end up on the 60-day IL at some point. The same is true of Luis García Jr., who had Tommy John surgery in May of last year. Lance McCullers Jr. had flexor tendon surgery and is a candidate for the 60-day IL as well. Then there’s Oliver Ortega, who recently had surgery to remove loose bodies from his elbow and will miss three to four months.
With all of those injuries, it’s quite easy for the Astros to claim a player and make a corresponding move and Murfee will now give them yet another player that can be moved to the 60-day IL to open up a spot in the future.
Murfee has a 2.70 career earned run average in 83 1/3 major league innings, all of those with the Mariners over the past two seasons. He struck out 27.9% of batters faced in that time while giving out walks at an 8.5% clip. Given those results, it’s understandable that so many clubs have shown interest since he lost his roster spot with Seattle.
Once healthy, he will jump into the mix for a spot in a Houston bullpen that has seen a decent amount of turnover. Héctor Neris, Phil Maton and Ryne Stanek each hit free agency and signed with other clubs. Graveman’s injury further depleted the depth and spurred the Astros to make a splashy addition, signing Josh Hader. Combined with Ryan Pressly and Bryan Abreu, Hader gives the Astros a lethal punch for leverage spots but the relief corps isn’t as deep as it was last year.
Murfee has just under two years of service, meaning the Astros could theoretically retain him for the next five years if he returns to health and is in good form. He also has a full slate of options, giving them some roster flexibility going forward.