The New York Yankees traded Camilo Doval to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Omar Alfonzo and Luis Cruz at the trade deadline.
Alfonzo is the Yankees' No. 28 prospect now, and Doval will likely be on a new team next year. Doval was an All-Star closer in 2023, but things have gone downhill ever since then. In 2024, he had a 4.88 ERA in 62 games. He was having a decent year in 2025 before the Yankees got him, posting a 3.09 ERA in 47 games for the San Francisco Giants. However, in 22 games for the Yankees he had a 4.82 ERA.
This year, he had a 4.54 ERA in 44 games for the Yankees, and it became clear that he was not a reliable arm. Still, the Yankees managed to find a trade partner for him. The Pirates were still alive in the wild card race when they got Doval, but things just did not work out.
He had a 3.79 ERA in 20 games for the Pirates, and the team ultimately fell out of contention. He is arbitration-eligible next season and was likely to be non-tendered. However, the Pirates did not want to wait and just designated him for assignment in the final week of the season.
Doval was expected to be a big piece of the Yankees bullpen when they got him, but the results were not there. He never looked like the All-Star he was for the Giants, and he will now try to revive his career with a new team. Perhaps a team like the Tampa Bay Rays or Milwaukee Brewers with a reputation for fixing broken pitchers could make sense for him.
