Joaquin Benoit and his agent are believed to be seeking an annual salary of between $7MM and $10MM per year, reports ESPN.com's Buster Olney (via Twitter). That would make Benoit slightly more affordable than fellow free agent reliever Fernando Rodney, who is reportedly looking for $10MM+ annually.
Coming off a season in which he recorded a 2.01 ERA and 9.8 K/9 in 67 innings, Benoit represents one of the more appealing options on the relief market, which should give him some leverage in negotations. Back in October, MLBTR's Steve Adams predicted that the righty would land a two-year deal worth $16MM, so an annual salary of $7-10MM isn't an unreasonable request for Benoit and his reps at ACES.
Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports reported late last night that teams believe Benoit's likeliest potential destinations are the Indians, Padres, Mariners, Cubs, and Yankees.
I think he’s actually worth more than that.
I agree. He had a solid year with the tigers despite giving up that bomb to ortiz lol
I blamed the guy that call for the change-up. Yes, Benoit didn’t exactly throw in the right place.
It depends if Benoit wants a set-up role. I think the Tigers kind of dismissed the idea (public ally at least) of bringing him back because they assumed they’d be outbid.
If he’s going to close, 7~8 million doesn’t sound bad at all.
I’d rather have Benoit than Rodney at that price
Why wouldn’t the Tigers just bring him back for that price? He would be an awesome 8th inning guy to hand the ball to Nathan.
I totally agree. Why let the Indians or Yanks get him. This is probably the last position the Tigers are going to fill unless a trade comes along.
Tigers are likely thinking 6-7 while Benoit is hoping for a closer gig closer to 10. Big question is if Benoit is willing to take less $$ to play for a contender or is simply looking for 1 more payday. That would also factor into contract length. I wouldn’t go more than 2 years on Benoit, a 3rd year would have to be a club option.
Seems like Brian Wilson really set the market high for relievers.
Because DD is in money saving mode. He’s already anointed Rondon as the set up man. Just hope it works out better this year, than when they anointed him closer last off season.
Not necessarily. DD’s not going to spend 8-10M on a set up guy and all of the best candidates are looking for closer money right now. Benoit undercutting Rodney is a sign that the market might be thawing since nobody wants to be the guy at the end of January who’s looking at a 1 year deal or 1/2 of what they wanted on a multi-year deal.
I expect DD to sign another reliever in 5-6M range, likely in January unless Benoit decides he’d rather setup for the Tigers, or another contender, than close for an also-ran. Unlike last year there are a number of good relievers on the market, especially if you want someone for the 8th.
There a still A LOT of relievers out there unsigned, so the market is definitely saturated. When DD says “Rondon will be our 8th inning guy”, he means it. He doesn’t mince words, or go back on what he’s said, from my experience. Also, I should mention my response was meant for Diggit’s post below, but for some reason the mobile site made it a new posting instead. ::Shrugs::
Is there any better 8th inning guy than Benoit?
Depends on what month it is.
DD will likely wait. There are always “after Chrismas sales” in the Hot Stove season. There are so many relievers with similar value, why overpay at this point?
As long as they are not picky about who they get, the are likely to get a bargain on a veteran arm with late inning experience close to Spring Training.
DD better scoop him up while you can. When comes to playoffs pitching, speed and defense count. Batting averages overall drop in playoffs.
I find it a little hard to believe that the Paders would be willing to give Benoit that much money when they are already paying Street $7M next year. Benoit would be a nice fall back option for when Street inevitably gets hurt this year. Maybe there was more to the Gregerson trade than we all thought?
Still surprised Detroit didn’t want him regardless if he gave up a grand slam to Big Papi in the post season. The guy has talent and it wasn’t his fault he came into the game with the bases loaded and the Red Sox’ best hitter was up. Zero room for error and it is the playoffs? Yeah, that is nerve racking.
Anyways, two years for $16-20 with a vesting option sounds good to me.
Texas should get involved.
Bullpen of Feliz, Frasor, Ross, Soria, Cotts, Benoit, Scheppers would be nasty.