The New York Yankees have officially moved on from struggling right-handed reliever Camilo Doval, per multiple outlets, including The Athletic's Chris Kirshner.

New York traded Doval to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday ahead of Monday's August 3 trade deadline.

In return, the Yankees landed two prospects: catcher Omar Alfonzo and outfielder Luis Cruz from Pittsburgh's system.

The trade ends a disappointing 12-month run in pinstripes. Doval was still throwing hard, and his sinker kept drawing ground balls at a strong rate. But the rest of the picture was ugly.

Doval wraps up his Yankees career with a 4.63 ERA across 58.1 innings between 2025 and 2026. That is a far cry from the 3.29 ERA he posted over five seasons with the San Francisco Giants.

This season alone, Doval posted a 4.54 ERA in 44 outings for New York, with 18 walks and 39 strikeouts in 39 2/3 innings.

Kirshner reported the moment it became clear the Yankees no longer trusted Doval in a big spot.

During the July 22 doubleheader against the Pirates, with the bullpen already taxed, manager Aaron Boone turned to starter Will Warren to get the final outs of a 2-0 win rather than hand the ball to Doval.

From there, his workload only shrank. Over his final weeks in pinstripes, Doval was mostly limited to mop-up duty and low-leverage innings, per Kirshner.

Pitching coach Matt Blake spoke about it last week when the team was in Philadelphia.

“We expect more,” Blake told the Athletics. “There should be a higher level of production out of Camilo. He’s capable of it. He’s got one of the most-talented arms on our team.”

The return package is more about depth than fireworks. Alfonzo is a 22-year-old catcher who played mostly at Double-A Altoona this season. He hit .239/.338/.758 with nine homers and 35 RBIs.

Luis Cruz is only 18. He's hitting .333 with a .455 on-base percentage and a 1.122 OPS for Pittsburgh's Dominican Summer League affiliate.

What the move means for both sides

For the Pirates, this is a bet on upside. Doval was an All-Star in 2023, when he tied for the National League lead with 39 saves. And he has 105 saves from 2022-25 with San Francisco before the Yankees got him.

And while Doval's 2026 splits against lefties were bad (allowing .360 BA), he still brings real value against right-handed hitters (allowing only a .143 BA).

Plus, his career numbers against left-handed hitters (.243/.350/.390) are far more manageable than what he showed in pinstripes. He's also still under club control through the 2027 season before reaching free agency.

Pittsburgh’s bullpen has been a problem all year, and the club entered the day at 55-56 and 2.5 games out of the last National League wild card spot.

Whether Doval steps directly into high-leverage innings or eases in with lower-pressure work first will depend on how quickly he looks comfortable. But the opportunity for saves and setup innings is clearly there if he pitches to his past levels.

For New York, Doval's departure isn't leaving much of a hole. Even after moving Doval, the bullpen still has plenty of names Boone can trust, including David Bednar, Fernando Cruz, Brent Headrick, Paul Blackburn, and Ryan Yarbrough.

Joel Sherman of The New York Post reported on X that Yovanny Cruz is expected to be promoted to take Doval's spot in the lineup.

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Written by

Md Saife Fida