Yankees trade reliever Camilo Doval to Pirates for two prospects
Yankees relief pitcher Camilo Doval reacts during the eighth inning against the Minnesota Twins at Yankee Stadium on July 4, 2026. Credit: Jim McIsaac
CHICAGO — Camilo Doval never lived up to the promise, not to mention the hype, that accompanied his joining the Yankees’ bullpen at last year’s trade deadline. And now the righthander is a Yankee no more.
Cutting bait on the disappointing Doval, who despite an electric fastball that routinely surpasses 100 mph never developed into the lockdown setup man the club envisioned, the Yankees sent him to the Pirates on Saturday for prospects Omar Alfonzo, a catcher, and Luis Cruz, an outfielder.
Doval, under team control through 2027 — among the reasons the Yankees found him appealing before the 2025 deadline — had a 4.54 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP in 44 games this season.
“I think he’s actually in a pretty good spot right now to where, hopefully, a fresh start and better role will serve him well,” Aaron Boone said before Saturday night’s game vs. the Cubs. “Hopefully it’s something that works out well [for Doval].”
The Yankees recalled hard-throwing righthander Yovanny Cruz from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to take Doval’s spot in the bullpen, at least in the short term. He allowed a run in the eighth inning as the Yankees lost to the Cubs, 5-2, on Saturday night.
The Doval trade was the first domino to fall in general manager Brian Cashman’s desire to upgrade his roster before Monday’s 6 p.m. trade deadline.
Adding a solid late-inning reliever (or two) is high on his to-do list. He also is in the market for a righthanded-hitting catcher and is exploring options for potential additions to the offense.
Cody Bellinger is out for at least the next four to six weeks with a Grade 2 left hamstring strain and there continues to be uncertainty about the return dates of Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton. The Yankees have scored six runs in their last 40 innings.
Though it is not at all high on the priority list, acquiring a starting pitcher cannot be ruled out.
Doval never got his footing as a Yankee. He arrived in the Bronx to great fanfare after the Yankees acquired him from the Giants but ended up posting a 4.82 ERA and a 1.61 WHIP in 22 games. He allowed 57 hits (including eight home runs) and 29 walks in 58 1⁄3 innings as a Yankee, striking out 61.
The lefthanded-hitting Alfonzo, 22, has a .238/.337/.419 slash line with nine homers and 35 RBIs in 62 games with Double-A Altoona (60 games), the FCL Pirates (one game) and Class A Bradenton (one game).
The lefthanded-hitting Cruz, 18, has a .300/.463/.380 slash line in 18 games with the DSL Pirates Gold and DSL Pirates Black.
Erik Boland started in Newsday's sports department in 2002. He covered high school and college sports, then shifted to the Jets beat. He has covered the Yankees since 2009.
