Blue Jays: Top 10 Playoff Push Trades

A Swap of Struggling Relievers

10. Joaquin Benoit for Drew Storen

You can never stop acquiring high-end bullpen pitching and that was what GM Ross Atkins did as he geared the Blue Jays up for the 2016 playoffs. One great term I’ve heard one general manager say is “Fail Fast” and that is what Atkins did with Drew Storen.  Atkins acquired Storen in the offseason leading into 2016 for high energy player and fan favorite Ben Revere. After 38 appearances and a 6.21 ERA, Atkins moved on from Storen and acquired Joaquin Benoit in exchange.

Benoit had a long history of being a really good bullpen pitcher, however, he was struggling in his first season in Seattle, as he had a 5.18 ERA in 26 games so the trade could be a change of scenery for both players. Benoit made 25 appearances for the Blue Jays and allowed one, yes you read that right, one run over 23.2 IP.  It wasn’t until his 19th appearance with the Blue Jays before he allowed his first run which came off of a David Ortiz solo homerun.

In his time with Toronto, Benoit picked up two wins, one save and 10 holds.  His superb pitching came to a crashing end on September 26, just over a week before playoffs. During a bench-clearing incident against the New York Yankees, Benoit sustained a tear to his calf muscle and would end up missing the remainder of the season.

You have to wonder what the bullpen situation would have been like with Benoit in it.  However, even without pitching in the playoffs, it is no doubt that Benoit was a huge acquisition for the Blue Jays to get them to the postseason. Benoit would play in the 2017 season between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh but couldn’t bring back his days in Toronto and no longer plays.