Joaquin Benoit

WTM’S PLAYER PROFILE

1997
R:  3-3-0, 2.05 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 44.0 IP, 2.3 BB/9, 7.8 K/9

Benoit pitched well in ten starts in rookie ball, with good control.

1998
A:  4-3-0, 3.83 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 80.0 IP, 2.0 BB/9, 7.7 K/9

The Rangers jumped Benoit up to full-season ball and he continued to pitch well, probably better than the ERA showed.  He made 15 starts, as a strained elbow cost him some time.

1999
A+:  7-4-0, 5.31 ERA, 1.59 WHIP, 105.0 IP, 4.3 BB/9, 7.1 K/9

Benoit again missed some time with injuries, but made 22 starts.  He started having control problems and got hit much harder than previously.

2000
AA:  4-4-0, 3.83 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 82.1 IP, 3.3 BB/9, 7.9 K/9

Benoit missed more time with nagging injuries, but pitched much better than the previous year.

2001
AA:  1-0-0, 3.32 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, 21.2 IP, 2.5 BB/9, 9.6 K/9
AAA:  9-5-0, 4.19 ERA, 1.42 WHIP, 131.0 IP, 5.0 BB/9, 9.8 K/9
MLB:  0-0-0, 10.80 ERA, 2.20 WHIP, 5.0 IP, 5.4 BB/9, 7.2 K/9

Benoit saw a sudden increase in his K rate and went from AA to the majors, although he didn’t dominate in the minors.  In fact, he also had a dramatic increase in his walk rate in AAA.  He made one spot start for the Rangers in August.

2002
A+:  0-0-0, 0.00 ERA, 0.80 WHIP, 5.0 IP, 5.4 BB/9, 14.4 K/9
AAA:  8-4-0, 3.56 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 98.2 IP, 3.4 BB/9, 9.4 K/9
MLB:  4-5-1, 5.31 ERA, 1.76 WHIP, 84.2 IP, 6.2 BB/9, 6.3 K/9

Benoit made scattered spot starts for the Rangers throughout the first two-thirds of the season, then came up to stay at the end of July.  While in AAA, he pitched well, greatly reducing the walks.  He struggled to throw strikes in the majors.

2003
AAA:  2-1-0, 3.82 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 33.0 IP, 3.0 BB/9, 8.5 K/9
MLB:  8-5-0, 5.49 ERA, 1.43 WHIP, 105.0 IP, 4.4 BB/9, 7.5 K/9

Benoit spent most of the season with Texas, making 17 starts and eight relief appearances.  He improved his control but had serious gopher ball problems with the Rangers, allowing 23, or more than two per nine innings.

2004
AA:  0-0-0, 0.00 ERA, 0.00 WHIP, 2.0 IP, 0.0 BB/9, 27.0 K/9
MLB:  3-5-0, 5.68 ERA, 1.40 WHIP, 103.0 IP, 2.7 BB/9, 8.3 K/9

With Benoit out of options, the Rangers kept him in the majors but used him a little sparingly.  He appeared in 28 games, 15 of them starts.  His walk and K rates were good, but he continued to have gopher ball problems, allowing 19.

2005
R+:  0-0-0, 0.00 ERA, 0.50 WHIP, 2.0 IP, 4.5 BB/9, 18.0 K/9
AAA:  0-1-0, 5.40 ERA, 1.60 WHIP, 5.0 IP, 7.2 BB/9, 3.6 K/9
MLB:  4-4-0, 3.72 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, 87.0 IP, 3.9 BB/9, 8.1 K/9

Benoit missed April with sore right shoulder, then missed much of June with right elbow tendonitis.  Apart from rehabs, he spent the rest of the season with the Rangers.  Of 32 games, he started nine.  Overall, he made considerable progress, cutting the longballs to nine.

2006
MLB:  1-1-0, 4.86 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, 79.2 IP, 4.3 BB/9, 9.6 K/9

The Rangers used Benoit entirely in relief.  He saw an increase in his K rate, but also had control problems.  He pitched a little better than his ERA indicates, as he had a low strand rate of 59%.

2007
MLB:  7-4-6, 2.85 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 82.0 IP, 3.1 BB/9, 9.5 K/9

Benoit had his first big season, appearing in 70 games and putting up good numbers across the board.

2008
AA:  0-0-0, 16.20 ERA, 4.80 WHIP, 1.2 IP, 21.6 BB/9, 10.8 K/9
AAA:  1-0-0, 0.00 ERA, 0.33 WHIP, 3.0 IP, 0.0 BB/9, 9.0 K/9
MLB:  3-2-1, 5.00 ERA, 1.67 WHIP, 45.0 IP, 7.0 BB/9, 8.6 K/9

Benoit had a much more difficult season, which included missing a month starting in early July with right shoulder inflammation.  He had a very rough month of June, so it’s possible the struggles were partly injury-related.

2009
INJURED

Benoit missed the entire season due to rotator cuff surgery.  He became a free agent afterward and signed a minor league deal with Tampa Bay.

2010
AAA:  0-1-2, 2.79 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 9.2 IP, 2.8 BB/9, 15.8 K/9
MLB:  1-2-1, 1.34 ERA, 0.68 WHIP, 60.1 IP, 1.6 BB/9, 11.2 K/9

The Rays called Benoit up in April and he had a big year for them, in fact his best ever.  After the season he signed a three-year, free agent contract with Detroit.

2011
MLB:  4-3-2, 2.95 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 61.0 IP, 2.5 BB/9, 9.3 K/9

Benoit continued pitching very well for the Tigers.

2012
MLB:  5-3-2, 3.68 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 71.0 IP, 2.8 BB/9, 10.6 K/9

Benoit pitched much the way he had the previous year, except that he had gopher ball problems.  He gave up 14, or two per nine innings.

2013
MLB:  4-1-24, 2.01 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 67.0 IP, 3.0 BB/9, 9.8 K/9

The Tigers employed Benoit as their closer for much of the season and he had another strong year.  After the season the Padres signed him to a two-year contract with an option for a third year.

2014
MLB:  4-2-11, 1.49 ERA, 0.77 WHIP, 54.1 IP, 2.3 BB/9, 10.6 K/9

Benoit had another outstanding season with San Diego.  He missed several weeks in August and September with shoulder problems.

2015
MLB:  6-5-2, 2.34 ERA, 0.90 WHIP, 65.1 IP, 3.2 BB/9, 8.7 K/9

Benoit continued pitching well, although his walk and K rates declined.  And extremely low BABIP of .182 helped him compensate.  After the season, San Diego exercised Benoit’s option for 2016, then traded him about a week later to Seattle.

2016
MLB (Sea):  1-1-0, 5.18 ERA, 1.44 WHIP, 24.1 IP, 5.5 BB/9, 10.4 K/9
MLB (Tor):  2-0-1, 0.38 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, 23.2 IP, 3.4 BB/9, 9.1 K/9

Benoit had a rough time with the Mariners, with a sharp increase in his walk rate.  It’s possible the problems were health-related, as he missed three weeks starting in late April with right shoulder inflammation.  He also was hurt by a low strand rate of 66%.  Shortly before the trade deadline, Seattle traded Benoit to Toronto, where he pitched very well.  After the season, he became a free agent and signed a one-year deal with the Phillies.

2017
MLB (Phi):  1-4-2, 4.07 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 42.0 IP, 3.4 BB/9, 9.2 K/9
MLB:  0-2-0, 7.56 ERA, 2.04 WHIP, 8.1 IP, 6.5 BB/9, 3.2 K/9

Benoit didn’t pitch all that well for the Phillies, although his walk and K rates remained good.  His xFIP of 4.66 indicates that it probably wasn’t bad luck.  The Pirates acquired Benoit at the trade deadline at the same time they traded Tony Watson, evidently with the idea that Benoit would replace Watson as a setup man.  Benoit was awful for the Pirates, struggling through seven August outings.  In late August, he went on the disabled list with a mysterious knee ailment.  He pitched once after that, on September 7, then went on leave to attend to an unspecified personal situation.  He didn’t pitch again.

The Pirates’ acquisition of Benoit was one of several embarrassing late-season moves that exhibited a disturbing lack of direction in the front office.  The move appeared to be an attempt to convince the fans that the Watson trade didn’t mean the team was giving up on the season, although with Watson struggling there was no reason for the fans to be upset about his departure.  The move may also have been an attempt to give the increasingly rookie-phobic Clint Hurdle a veteran, any veteran, to call on in the late innings.  Benoit wasn’t having a good season and was 40 years old, so the move offered little immediate upside and no future benefits.  The Pirates would have been better off taking a chance of one of their young, AAA relievers, which at least would have given them the benefit of the major league innings that were wasted on Benoit.  Of course, the Pirates also wasted the money they paid Benoit, which is especially baffling when you consider that they gave Juan Nicasio, an actual good pitcher, away solely to save $600,000.  In any event, Benoit will be a free agent after the season and obviously won’t be a candidate to return.