The New York Yankees officially put an end to the Camilo Doval Experiment and traded the righty reliever to the Pittsburgh Pirates, according to multiple outlets. They got two prospects in return, per Francys Romero: Double-A catcher Omar Alfonzo and outfielder Luis Cruz from the Bucs’ Dominican Summer League affiliate. Mark Feinsand also confirmed those names coming back to New York.
Doval wraps up his Yankees’ tenure with a 4.63 ERA in 58.1 innings between 2025 and 2026. In contrast, he had put up a 3.29 ERA in five years with the San Francisco Giants before becoming one of the Yankees’ 2025 deadline acquisitions.
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Doval was having another subpar year in 2026, sporting a 4.54 ERA in 39.2 innings. He has to be one of the most frustrating cases in Matt Blake’s tenure as the Yankees’ pitching coach, as he had elite velocity and ground-ball rates, in the 96th and 97th percentile, respectively. However, the results were rarely there, as the right-hander dealt with inconsistency and poor command most of the time. Doval could simply never generate the kinds of strikeouts and whiffs that are often associated with triple-digit velo.
Doval, 29, goes to a Pirates team that is trying to contend this year and boasts a 55-56 record as of Saturday. As for the Yankees, they move on from one of their late-inning relievers, which signals that they might be on the market for another one.
Alfonzo was ranked 17th by MLB Pipeline in a strong Pirates’ system. A catcher who will turn 23 on August 3rd, he’s hit a .238/.337/.419 line in 62 minor league games in 2026, 60 of them in Double-A. He has a 100 wRC+ and hits left-handed. He is the son of former MLB catcher Eliezer Alfonzo and the brother of Dodgers rookie backstop Eliezer Alfonzo Jr. The Yankees’ catching depth in the system has taken a toll with trades in recent years, so Alfonzo helps in that regard.
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Cruz is just 18 years old, so he is at least a few years away from the majors. Unranked among the Pirates’ top 30 prospects, he has hit a strong .318//.475/.364 with no homers, seven stolen bases, and a 135 wRC+ in the Pirates’ Dominican Summer League.
Update
Although the Yankees could still make a trade for a reliever to take Doval’s place, they will have a fresh arm ready in Chicago tonight regardless. Triple-A reliever Yovanny Cruz—another hard-throwing righty—will step into the bullpen. He’s appeared in three games for the Yanks this year, in separate stints, not allowing a run in 4.1 innings of one-hit ball with six strikeouts. Cruz has a 3.53 ERA in 35.2 innings at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in 2026.
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