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Patrick Murphy Agrees To Deal With NPB’s Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters

By Darragh McDonald | November 22, 2023 at 5:35pm CDT

Right-hander Patrick Murphy has agreed to terms with the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, per Robert Murray of FanSided. The deal, which is pending a physical, will be for one year with a 2025 option as well as performance bonuses and escalators.

Murphy, 29 in June, spent 2023 with the Twins on a minor league deal. He began the year in a fairly typical relief role but got stretched out for the final two months of the season. From the start of April to August 1, he tossed 44 2/3 innings over 33 appearances with an earned run average of 4.63. He struck out 25.3% of opponents but gave out walks at a 16.1% clip. He made nine more appearances from there and tacked on another 40 2/3 innings with a 2.66 ERA, 24.7% strikeout rate and 8.8% walk rate.

Prior to this year, he was a third-round pick of the Blue Jays in 2013. He made it to the majors with that club and eventually went to the Nationals via a waiver claim. Between those two teams, he threw 39 2/3 major league innings from 2020 to 2022 with a 4.76 ERA, but he didn’t get to the big leagues in 2023.

Had he stayed in North America for 2024, he likely would have been limited to minor league offers but will instead head to Japan, where he should be in line for a larger salary and an opportunity to prove himself in what’s generally considered to be the strongest league outside of MLB. It’s unclear if the Fighters plan on using Murphy as a starter or reliever but he did both in 2023 and could perhaps provide them with some flexibility. If he fares well overseas, he could parlay that into a return to the majors down the road, a path taken by guys like Miles Mikolas, Chris Martin, Nick Martinez and others.

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Nippon Professional Baseball Transactions Patrick Murphy

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View Comments (17)
Post a Comment

17 Comments

  1. HawaiiPhil2020

    2 years ago

    Everybody loves a hamfight

    3
    Reply
    • gfan

      2 years ago

      Whats with all the altercations with cuts of pork ?

      3
      Reply
  2. Reynaldo

    2 years ago

    Phew, thought this was Tom Murphy leaving the states after today’s Mariners news

    Reply
  3. Roidville Slugger

    2 years ago

    I can’t read team’s name and not see nipples.

    2
    Reply
    • RonDarlingShouldntBeInTheHallOfFame

      2 years ago

      Got a really weird mental picture of two nipples ham fighting. Thanks a lot.

      You get a demerit.

      2
      Reply
      • Roidville Slugger

        2 years ago

        You’re welcome

        1
        Reply
  4. DonCarl97

    2 years ago

    Could be a nice option for the Premier 12 in December since no players in the 40-man roster will be participating

    Reply
  5. vaderzim

    2 years ago

    Got him confused with Pat Murphy at first. I was thinking, “didn’t he just become manager?”

    2
    Reply
    • AHH-Rox

      2 years ago

      My first thought was that I thought Daniel Murphy had finally retired.

      2
      Reply
  6. Paleobros

    2 years ago

    If he does well, maybe he could come back to MLB and really bring home the bacon.

    1
    Reply
  7. RonDarlingShouldntBeInTheHallOfFame

    2 years ago

    He left the Brewers already? He just got hired! Lol

    1
    Reply
  8. stlmlbfan77

    2 years ago

    Nobody fights ham. Nobody.

    1
    Reply
    • Paleobros

      2 years ago

      Rocky Balboa?

      Reply
    • gfan

      2 years ago

      The Loin Destroyers, The Bacon Bashers, and the Baby Back Rib Crackers would all disagree.

      1
      Reply
  9. This one belongs to the Reds

    2 years ago

    One of the better team names over there.

    1
    Reply
  10. Old York

    2 years ago

    In recent years, foreign pitchers with fast power curves have demonstrated success in NPB, such as Trevor Bauer (Yokohama DeNA BayStars), Brandon Dixon (formerly with the Orix Buffaloes), and Pierce Johnson (currently with the Atlanta Braves). It seems that the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters are aiming for Murphy to showcase overpowering pitching using a combination of fastball and power curve, similar to these successful pitchers.

    Reply
  11. rabidrabbit

    2 years ago

    Thanks to these guys, ham is a lot less of a threat than it used to be. Old Mate is helping to fight the good fight…

    1
    Reply

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