William Penn Murfee (born May 2, 1994) is an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

in the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

organization. He has previously played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) for the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. The Mariners compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. The team joined the American ...

Career

Amateur career

Murfee attended

Montgomery Bell Academy Montgomery Bell Academy (MBA) is a preparatory day school for boys in grades 7 through 12 in Nashville, Tennessee. The school is located in the Whitland Area Neighborhood. History MBA was established in 1867 in the aftermath of the American ...

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

. Undrafted out of high school in 2013, Murfree attended

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private university, private research university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provide ...

. Murfee redshirted his freshman season, and played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

for the

Commodores Commodores, often billed as The Commodores, are an American funk and Soul music, soul group. The group's most successful period was in the late 1970s and early 1980s when Lionel Richie was the co-lead singer. The members of the group met as m ...

for three seasons. Murfee was an infielder his first two seasons, before converting to pitching for his final year at Vanderbilt. Murfee transferred to

Santa Clara University Santa Clara University is a private university, private Jesuit university in Santa Clara, California, United States. Established in 1851, Santa Clara University is the oldest operating institution of higher learning in California. The university' ...

for his redshirt senior season.

Seattle Mariners

Murfee was drafted by the

in the 33rd round, with the 988th overall selection, of the 2018 Major League baseball (MLB) draft. He spent the 2018 season with the

Everett AquaSox The Everett AquaSox are a Minor League Baseball team in Everett, Washington. The team is a member of the Northwest League and is the High-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. The AquaSox play their home games at Funko Field, which has a seatin ...

, going 3–2 with a 6.55 ERA over 33 innings. In 2019, he split between the

Modesto Nuts The Modesto Nuts are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. They are located in Modesto, California, and are named for the several types of nuts grown in the Central Valley. They ...

Arkansas Travelers The Arkansas Travelers, known informally as The Travs, are a Minor League Baseball team based in North Little Rock, Arkansas. The Travelers are the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners and play in the Texas League. Hi ...

, and

Tacoma Rainiers The Tacoma Rainiers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. They are located in Tacoma, Washington, and play their home games at Cheney Stadium, ...

, going a combined 6–5 with a 3.57 ERA and 136 strikeouts over innings. Murfee received the Mariners 2019 minor league "60 ft., 6-in Club” Award. After the season, he played for the Peoria Javelinas of the

Arizona Fall League The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season baseball league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are filled ...

. And also, on October 10, 2019, he was selected for the

United States national baseball team The United States national baseball team, also known as Team USA, represents the United States in international level baseball competitions. The team is currently ranked 5th in the world by the World Baseball Softball Confederation. The United S ...

at the 2019 WBSC Premier 12. Murfee did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. In 2021, he split the season between Double-A Arkansas and Triple-A Tacoma, posting a 7-3 record and 4.23 ERA with 97 strikeouts in 78.2 innings pitched across 26 appearances (14 starts). He was assigned to Tacoma to begin the 2022 season. On April 20, 2022, Murfee was added to the Mariners active roster. Murfee was unused out of the Mariners bullpen in the six days he spent on the active roster, and was removed from the 40-man roster and returned to Triple-A on April 27. Due to his time spent on Seattle’s active roster, but no major league playing time, Murfee became a

phantom ballplayer A phantom ballplayer is either a baseball player who is incorrectly listed in source materials as playing in a Major League Baseball (MLB) game, often the result of typographical or clerical errors, or a player who spent time on an MLB Major Lea ...

. The following day, Murfee was re-selected to the 40-man and active rosters. He made his

MLB Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

debut on April 29, 2022, pitching against the

Miami Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League East, East Division. The ...

and recording his first two strikeouts. He made 64 appearances for Seattle in his rookie campaign, pitching to a 4-0 record and 2.99 ERA with 76 strikeouts in 69.1 innings of work. Murfee pitched in 16 contests for Seattle in 2023, registering a 1.29 ERA with 16 strikeouts across 14.0 innings of work. On June 27, 2023, it was announced that Murfee would undergo season–ending surgery on his

ulnar collateral ligament Ulnar collateral ligament (or UCL) may refer to: * Ulnar carpal collateral ligament * Ulnar collateral ligament of elbow joint The ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) or internal lateral ligament is a thick triangular ligament at the medial aspec ...

Houston Astros

On October 31, 2023, Murfee was claimed off waivers by the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...

. On November 14, Murfee was once again claimed off waivers, this time by the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...

. The Braves non-tendered him on November 17, and he re-signed with Atlanta on November 30. He was then placed on release waivers by the Braves on March 25, 2024 On March 27, Murfee was claimed off waivers by the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...

. The next day, the team placed him on the 15–day injured list, moving him to the 60–day injured list on April 4. Murfee made one rehab appearance for the Single–A Fayetteville Woodpeckers but was shut down after experiencing elbow discomfort.

Chicago White Sox

On November 4, 2024, Murfee was claimed off waivers by the

. In 15 appearances for the White Sox, he struggled to an 0-1 record and 7.82 ERA with 13 strikeouts across innings pitched. On May 6, 2025, Murfee was removed from the 40-man roster and sent outright to the Triple-A

Charlotte Knights The Charlotte Knights are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. They are located in Charlotte, North Carolina, and play their home games at Truist Field ...

References

External links

Vanderbilt Commodores bioSanta Clara Broncos bio
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Murfee, Penn 1994 births Living people Arkansas Travelers players Baseball players from Nashville, Tennessee Charlotte Knights players Chicago White Sox players Everett AquaSox players Fayetteville Woodpeckers players Leones del Escogido players Major League Baseball pitchers Modesto Nuts players Peoria Javelinas players Santa Clara Broncos baseball players Seattle Mariners players Tacoma Rainiers players United States national baseball team players Vanderbilt Commodores baseball players 2019 WBSC Premier12 players American expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic