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KT Wiz sign new pitcher Murphy, release postseason hero Cuevas

Published: 11 Jul. 2025, 15:59

KT Wiz starter William Cuevas pitches against the Hanwha Eagles during the clubs' KBO regular-season game at Daejeon Hanwha Life Ballpark in Daejeon on June 3. [YONHAP]

The KT Wiz announced their signing of former major league pitcher Patrick Murphy on Friday.

The KBO club said Murphy agreed to a $277,000 deal for the rest of this season. The league began its annual All-Star break Friday, and the season will resume next Thursday.

In a corresponding move, the Wiz released William Cuevas, their longtime staff ace, after parts of seven seasons with the right-hander.

Murphy, 30, was a third-round pick by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 2013 MLB draft and made his big league debut with the club in 2020. The righty later played for the Washington Nationals, and his last MLB game came in 2022.

Murphy pitched for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball in 2024, going 1-2 with a 3.26 ERA over 38 2/3 innings in relief. He returned to the United States this year for a minor league stint with the Texas Rangers.

"Murphy has a good four-seam fastball and can mix in two-seam fastballs, cutters and curveballs effectively," Wiz general manager Na Do-hyun said. "We hope he will be an anchor for our pitching staff."

Na also thanked Cuevas for his contributions over the past seven seasons. The 34-year-old pitcher had a disappointing first half of the season, going 3-10 with a 5.40 ERA in 18 starts.

Cuevas first joined the Wiz in 2019. He was released after two outings in 2022 due to an elbow injury, but the Wiz brought him back in June 2023. Cuevas went a perfect 12-0 that year.

Cuevas made his biggest impact during the Wiz's run to their first Korean Series title in 2021. Cuevas started the first-place tiebreaker game against the Samsung Lions on two days' rest and tossed seven shutout innings for a 1-0 win, which sent the Wiz straight to the Korean Series.

Cuevas then won Game 1 of the championship series after holding the Doosan Bears to a run over 7 2/3 innings.

The 34-year-old has not been nearly as effective this year. He allowed five or more runs in six starts this year, including one on April 23, when he was roughed up for a career-worst 10 runs on 12 hits in just four innings against the SSG Landers.

The Wiz entered the All-Star break in fifth place among 10 teams at 45-41-3 (wins-losses-ties).

Yonhap