Sources: Yankees dumping reliever Camilo Doval in trade with Pirates

Gary Phillips, New York Daily News on Aug 1, 2026

Published in Baseball

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CHICAGO — A year after acquiring Camilo Doval at the trade deadline, the Yankees are sending him packing.

The team agreed to trade the embattled reliever and cash considerations to the Pirates for two prospects, multiple sources confirmed to the New York Daily News on Saturday. ESPN’s Jeff Passan first reported the deal, which is still not official, while independent reporter Francys Romero first mentioned that Pittsburgh is sending Double-A catcher Omar Alfonzo and Dominican Summer League outfielder Luis Cruz back to New York.

While Alfonzo was considered the Pirates’ 17th-best prospect by MLB.com, it is a significantly smaller return than the one the Yankees sent to the Giants for Doval last season, as they parted with farmhands Carlos De La Rosa, Parks Harber, Trystan Vrieling and Jesús Rodríguez to get the flamethrowing-but-erratic righty.

The Yankees sacrificed that package believing that Doval, a former closer and an All-Star in 2023, could be a late-inning weapon for them as they overhauled their bullpen last summer. However, Doval struggled with a new role and recorded a 4.82 ERA over 18 2/3 innings with the Bombers in 2025.

Over the winter, Yankees assistant pitching coach Preston Claiborne traveled to the Dominican Republic to work with Doval. The hope was that that work, and a stint in the World Baseball Classic, would set Doval up for success this season. However, Doval recorded a 4.54 ERA over 39 2/3 innings. And while he was able to cut his walk rate, his strikeout rate dropped to a career-low 21.9%.

Doval also struggled with lefties like never before, allowing a .999 OPS against them.

The poor performance left Doval, relegated to low-leverage opportunities, well removed from manager Aaron Boone’s circle of trust in recent weeks.

Still, a source said that a few teams had checked on Doval prior to Saturday’s trade. Now the Pirates, fighting for a wild-card spot, will try to fix him in a less pressurized market.

Doval still has another year of club control after this season, and he’s making $6.1 million this year. Per the New York Post’s Joel Sherman, the Pirates are assuming $750,000 of the roughly $2 million that Doval is still owed for 2026.

The Yankees, meanwhile, plan to promote another fireballer, Yovanny Cruz, to take Doval’s spot, multiple sources said. However, they’re still scouring the trade market for a high-leverage reliever after Doval failed to be one.