PITTSBURGH — Veteran reliever Joaquin Benoit turned 39 on Tuesday and, for his birthday, the Seattle Mariners traded him to Toronto for reliever Drew Storen and cash considerations.
Both clubs announced the trade after their games. It amounts to a swap of pitchers having disappointing years. Storen and Benoit will each be free agents after the season, and the Mariners received cash to cover the difference in salaries.
Storen has roughly $2.9 million remaining on his salary of $8,375,000, while Benoit is still owed about $2.6 million on his salary of $8 million.
“Obviously, this has not been Drew’s best season,” general manager Jerry Dipoto said, “but he is closely linked to a run of great success pitching in the back end of very good bullpens.
“Hopefully this serves as a change of scenery and over the next two months we can get him back on track.”
Storen, 28, was 1-3 with three saves and a 6.21 ERA this season for Toronto in 38 appearances. He was designated for assignment Sunday, one day after giving up three runs in one inning in a 14-5 loss to the Mariners at the Rogers Centre.
Prior to his season, Storen compiled a 3.02 ERA with 95 saves in 355 games over six seasons at Washington. He had 29 saves in 34 chances last season for the Nationals before a January trade sent him to Toronto for outfielder Ben Revere.
Benoit also struggled for much of this season while battling shoulder problems. He heads to Toronto with a 5.18 ERA in 26 games, but he has six scoreless outings in his last seven appearances.
The Mariners acquired Benoit on Nov. 12, 2015 from San Diego for two minor-league players: right-handed pitcher Enyel De Los Santos and infielder Nelson Ward.
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