6 past trade deadline acquisitions that ended up helping the Blue Jays reach the postseason

Joaquin Benoit (2016)

In 2016, as the Jays were looking to make the postseason in consecutive years for the first time since the early 1990s, one of their main Achilles heel that year was the inconsistency of their bullpen. Other than closer Roberto Osuna and fellow relievers Joe Biagini and Brett Cecil, no one else they deployed that year gave them much confidence the moment they stepped onto the field, with most of them sporting ERAs over four. As a result, the Jays were desperate in getting some valuable arms to bolster their bullpen for the stretch run.

One of their targets ended up being Joaquin Benoit, who was struggling mightily for the Seattle Mariners that year, pitching to an ERA above five. For someone that had been consistently solid in his previous six-year span between 2010-2015, the Jays were willing to take the chance that a change of scenery would enable him to regain his form once again. In return, the Jays sent the Mariners their own struggling reliever in Drew Storen, so if it didn’t end up working out, at least it would feel the trade was even.

But boy, did the Jays ever win that trade in a landslide, as Benoit would go on the best stretch of his career with his new ballclub. In 25 games, he posted an unbelievable 0.38 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, along with 10 holds, all while giving up only one run with nine walks and 24 strikeouts in 23.2 innings of work. Unfortunately for both Benoit and the Blue Jays, he would suffer a season-ending injury when he tore his calf running in from the bullpen during a bench-clearing brawl between the Jays and the New York Yankees in the final week of the regular season.

Who knows if Benoit’s dominance could have taken the Jays beyond the ALCS in the end if he stayed healthy, but one thing was for sure, at least he did his part down the stretch to get the Jays enough wins to get to the Wild Card game with his improbable performance.