Joey Murray

For the musician, see A Touch of Class (band).

Joseph Murray (born September 23, 1996) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent.

Joey Murray
Free agent
Pitcher
Born: (1996-09-23) September 23, 1996 (age 28) Dublin, Ohio, U.S.
Bats: Left Throws: Right

Amateur career

Murray attended Dublin Coffman High School in his hometown of Dublin, Ohio.^[1] Undrafted out of high school, he then attended Kent State University, playing three seasons for the Golden Flashes.^[1] In his freshman season, Murray pitched to a 2–1 win–loss record, 3.69 earned run average (ERA), and 57 strikeouts in 39 innings pitched.^[2] In the summer, Murray played for the Keene Swamp Bats of the New England Collegiate Baseball League.^[2] As a sophomore in 2017, he went 6–1 with a 1.80 ERA and 110 strikeouts in 75 innings, and in the summer played for the Cape Cod League's Orleans Firebirds, where he was named a league all-star.^[2][3] In his third and final season with the Golden Flashes, Murray posted a 9–2 record with a 2.45 ERA and 141 strikeouts in 952⁄3 innings.^[2] He was named the Mid-American Conference Baseball Pitcher of the Year in both 2017 and 2018.^[4][5]

Professional career

Toronto Blue Jays

Murray was selected by the Toronto Blue Jays in the eighth round, with the 236th overall selection, of the 2018 Major League Baseball draft.^[6] He signed for the full draft-slot bonus of $169,600 and was assigned to the Low-A Vancouver Canadians. In 252⁄3 innings, Murray went 1–1 with a 1.75 ERA and 39 strikeouts.^[2] Murray began the 2019 season with the Single-A Lansing Lugnuts, and later earned promotions to the High-A Dunedin Blue Jays and Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats. He posted a combined 10–7 record with a 2.75 ERA.^[2] His 169 strikeouts led the entire Blue Jays organization.^[7] Murray did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.^[8]

He returned to action in 2021, but made only one appearance for the rookie–level Florida Complex League Blue Jays before missing the remainder of the season with an elbow strain.^[9] In 2022, he made 5 appearances (4 starts) for Double–A New Hampshire, posting a 7.84 ERA with 23 strikeouts in 20+2⁄3 innings pitched. Murray underwent Tommy John surgery in May 2022, ending his season.^[10] On July 25, 2023, he was activated from the injured list and assigned to Single–A Dunedin.^[11] However, on July 29, Murray was released by the Blue Jays organization.^[12]

Sioux City Explorers

On May 2, 2024, Murray signed with the Sioux City Explorers of the American Association of Professional Baseball.^[13] In 19 starts for the Explorers, he posted a 5-8 record and 5.94 ERA with 86 strikeouts over 94 innings of work.

On April 24, 2025, Murray re-signed with Sioux City.^[14] However, he did not appear for the team before being released on June 1.^[15]