2016 Blue Jays Season Review: Joaquin Benoit

By: Jay Blue and @JaysGirlEmily

Canadian Baseball Network

Now that the season is over, the crew at Blue Jays from Away will take a look at the Blue Jays one by one and review how each player’s season went, whether he met expectations (or not) and look at how he fits into (what we think of) the Blue Jays’ plans going forward.

Today’s review is of 39-year-old relief pitcher Joaquin Beniot. Benoit came to the Blue Jays in exchange for the struggling reliever, Drew Storen. Starting his season with the Mariners, Benoit threw 24 1/3 innings with a 5.18 ERA and 1.44 WHIP, walking 15 and striking out 28. While it seemed like a salary-for-salary dump of struggling pitchers, Benoit magically hit the “Power Up” button when he arrived in Toronto.

Benoit went on a rampage, making 18 appearances without giving up a run, allowing 12 hits and seven walks while striking out 17 batters in that span. He finished his season, allowing just one run as a Blue Jay, giving up a solo home run on September 11. Benoit’s season ended early when, in the melee against the New York Yankees on September 26, he tore his calf muscle while running in from the bullpen.

Whether Benoit re-signs with or not, his contribution to the Blue Jays’ bullpen down the stretch was immense. The fanbase was likely expecting a rough ride from the man the Jays got for Drew Storen but were very pleasantly surprised when he found his groove and was a world beater in August and September.

Contract Status

Benoit is a free agent after earning $8 million for the past two seasons.

Emily Says

Benoit was picked up from the Seattle Mariners just before the trade deadline in exchange for the struggling Drew Storen, plus cash. With Seattle he had a 5.18 ERA over 24.1 innings with a WHIP of 1.44. Much like Jason Grilli, he experienced a dramatic improvement after being traded. With Toronto his ERA was 0.38 with a 1.10 WHIP.

He went 18 straight outings after coming to the Blue Jays without allowing a run, and recorded his 1000th career strikeout on September 4. He allowed one earned run over 23.2 innings with Toronto, but did allow 6 of 8 inherited runners to score. He struck out 24 and walked 9, for a K/BB ratio of 2.67.

It’s unfortunate Benoit was hurt during the big fight with the Yankees in the last week of the season, because it would’ve been nice to have him available for the playoffs. Luckily, the bullpen did just fine without him.

Regular Season Grades

Jay: A+

Emily: A