Pirates Acquire Joaquin Benoit

The Pirates acquired veteran reliever Joaquin Benoit and cash considerations from the Phillies for right-handed relief prospect Seth McGarry, according to a team announcement.

Benoit, 40, has a 4.07 ERA, 9.2 K/9, 3.4 BB/9, 1.07 HR/9, and 31.5% groundball rate in 42 innings this year, missing ten days in June with a knee sprain.  The Pirates will be the eighth team for which Benoit has pitched.  As a long shot for the playoffs, the Pirates wouldn’t appear to have a strong need for  a rental like Benoit, who has about $2.6MM left on his contract this year.  But perhaps Benoit is meant to replace Tony Watson, who the Pirates sent to the Dodgers earlier today.

McGarry, 23, was drafted by the Pirates in the eighth round in 2015 out of Florida Atlantic University.  This year in High-A, he owns a 1.34 ERA, 8.5 K/9, and 3.1 BB/9 with just one home run allowed in 40 1/3 innings.