The Yankees went into last year’s deadline believing they were landing a high-end bullpen arm. Instead, they got a reliever who never really settled in, and by the end of the 2026 season, that rough fit was enough for Bleacher Report’s Zachary D. Rymer to label him the club’s worst player.
That pitcher was right-hander Camilo Doval, the former Giants All-Star closer who arrived in New York with the kind of résumé that suggested he could stabilize the back end of the bullpen. Rymer pointed to the expectation that Doval might rediscover that form in pinstripes, writing, "Doval was an All-Star closer for the Giants in 2023. There was some hope that he could revert to that form when the Yankees acquired him at the deadline in 2025," Rymer wrote.
It never clicked. Even with a nasty cutter, Doval had trouble turning appearances into clean innings, and the Yankees kept seeing the same problem: traffic on the bases and no easy escape route. He struck out just 21.9% of the hitters he faced in 39.2 innings with New York, and the damage showed up in the run column.
"He instead posted a 4.54 ERA in 44 appearances this year, after which the Yankees gave up and shipped him to Pittsburgh," Rymer added. "It was a case of addition by subtraction for their bullpen, though uncertainty remains about whether the team has a setup man as good as Doval was supposed to be."
New York sent Doval to the Pittsburgh Pirates at the deadline for catching prospect Omar Alfonzo and outfielder Luis Cruz. The Yankees clearly reached the point where they couldn’t keep running him out in the biggest spots, especially with the regular season winding down and the playoffs looming.
Whether the Yankees came out ahead in the trade is still an open question. What wasn’t open by then was their willingness to keep trusting Doval in high-leverage moments.
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