The Pittsburgh Pirates today acquired right-handed pitcher Joaquin Benoit (pronounced wah-KEEN ben-WAH) along with cash considerations from the Philadelphia Phillies in exchange for minor league right-handed pitcher Seth McGarry. The announcement was made by Executive Vice President, General Manager Neal Huntington.
Benoit went 1-4 with two saves, a 4.07 ERA (42.0ip/19er), 43 strikeouts and a .206 batting average against (32-for-155) in 44 relief appearances this year for the Phillies. He has also recorded 15 strikeouts while issuing just one walk over his last 13 appearances (12.1ip) since June 27.
Benoit has a career record of 58-47 with 53 saves, a 3.80 ERA (1060.1ip/448er) and 1055 strikeouts in 756 appearances (55 starts) in the big leagues with Texas (2001-08), Tampa Bay (2010), Detroit (2011-13), San Diego (2014-15), Seattle (2016), Toronto (2016) and Philadelphia (2017). Since the beginning of the 2014 campaign, the 40-year-old Benoit has also posted a 2.19 ERA (147.2ip/36er), 160 strikeouts and .157 batting average against in 149 games against National League opponents.
The Pirates also acquired minor league infielder Oneil Cruz and minor league right-handed pitcher Angel German from the Los Angeles Dodgers organization in exchange for left-handed pitcher Tony Watson.
The 18-year-old Cruz hit .240 (82-for-342) with nine doubles, one triple, eight home runs and 36 RBI in 89 games with Great Lakes this season. Cruz is currently ranked by MLBPipeline.com as the 21st-best prospect in the Dodgers organization.
The 21-year-old German went 1-0 with seven saves, a 1.91 ERA (33.0ip/7er), 37 strikeouts and .190 batting average against this season as a member of the Great Lakes Loons of the Single-A Midwest League.