Phillies sign ex-Mariner reliever Benoit

Published 1:30 am Tuesday, December 6, 2016

OXON HILL, Md. — Reliever Joaquin Benoit and the Philadelphia Phillies have finalized a $7.5 million, one-year contract.

Benoit, a 39-year-old right-hander, has had an ERA under 3.00 for six of the past seven years. He was 3-1 with a 2.81 ERA last season, including a 0.38 ERA after the Toronto Blue Jays acquired him from Seattle on July 26 for reliever Drew Storen.

In 26 games with Seattle, Benoit was 1-1 with a 5.18 ERA.

For the season, he averaged 9.75 strikeouts per nine innings.

Benoit has a 0.98 WHIP (walks and hits per inning) over the past seven seasons, trailing only Kenley Jansen (0.89) and Craig Kimbrel (0.95). Benoit has 51 saves in 712 big-league games.

Philadelphia designated right-hander Michael Mariot for assignment to open a roster spot.