April 12: Joaquin Benoit
Welcome to Pickup of the Day, where every weekday we'll pick an under-the-radar player whose immediate value is on the rise. The idea here is to identify a starter who can give you some solid innings off the scrap heap, a talented backup who's been given a chance because of a starter's injury, an unheralded regular with a favorable matchup, or a potential breakout player who's starting to put it together. Unlike regular waiver-wire advice, Pickup of the Day is geared more towards interim success, but hopefully we'll have the intuition to help you snag a waiver-wire gem a few times this season.
The Tigers entered the season with a closer-by-committee. On Wednesday, manager Jim Leyland named a primary closer, and it’s a guy that’s yet to record a save this season. Leyland believes that Joaquin Benoit possesses the experience and ability to get both right- and left-handed batters out needed to serve as the ninth-inning man. The manager has expressed worry in the past about Benoit’s workload, which will lead to Phil Coke, Octavio Dotel and Al Alburquerque getting the occasional save chance. But Benoit is the guy to own for saves in Detroit right now.
