He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers, Tampa Bay Rays, Detroit Tigers, San Diego Padres, Seattle Mariners, Toronto Blue Jays, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Washington Nationals.

The official scorer credited the win to Van Poppel and not Benoit, a decision that was also supported by Texas manager Jerry Narron.

[4] In 2006, Benoit ranked in the top-10 American League relievers in strikeouts, innings pitched, and percentage of inherited runners who scored.

On March 4, 2010, Benoit signed a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training with the Tampa Bay Rays.

He tight-roped out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam, giving up just one run thanks to key strikeouts of Alex Rodriguez and Nick Swisher.

[13] Joaquín had a moderately successful 2012 campaign as the Tigers primary setup man, finishing with a 3.68 ERA while striking out 84 batters in 71 innings.

[14] In the ALCS against the Boston Red Sox, Benoit gave up a game-tying grand slam home run to David Ortiz, which tied the game at 5.

On November 12, 2015, the Padres traded Benoit to the Seattle Mariners for Enyel De Los Santos and Nelson Ward.

[17] Benoit struck out Evan Longoria to record his 1,000th career strikeout in a game against the Tampa Bay Rays on September 4.

Benoit owes much of his success to his ability to limit batting average on balls in play and maintain a high strand rate.