Pirates Acquire Camilo Doval From the Yankees

The Pirates traded two prospects to get Camilo Doval, a right-handed reliever, as a boost to their bullpen.

Two days ahead of the MLB Trade Deadline, the Pittsburgh Pirates have added much-needed relief pitching help.

The Pirates acquired right-handed pitcher Camilo Doval from the New York Yankees in exchange for catching prospect Omar Alfonzo and outfield prospect Luis Cruz. The Pirates are also receiving cash in the deal.

Doval is a bit of a bounce-back candidate. His best years were 2021-2023, and he’s struggled since joining the Yankees last year at the trade deadline. This year he has a 4.54 ERA in 39.2 innings.

Part of those struggles involve playing at Yankee Stadium. Doval has a 7.08 ERA in 20.1 innings at home, versus a 1.86 ERA on the road. He’s allowed five home runs at home versus one on the road. His road metrics are more in line with his career metrics for home runs.

There’s a good chance Doval improves just by leaving Yankee Stadium. The best hope would be that he pitches like he did with the Giants last year before the trade deadline, when he had a 3.09 ERA in 46.2 innings and a 0.39 HR/9.

Doval is owed around $2 million the rest of the season. With the cash exchange in the deal, the Pirates are only assuming $750,000 of the remaining money, per Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Doval also has one more year of arbitration remaining beyond this season.

Omar Alfonzo was the main prospect going the other way in the deal. The Double-A catching prospect was hitting .239/.338/.420 with nine homers this year for Altoona. He’s got some pop in his bat, and plays good defense behind the plate. The Pirates are dealing from a bit of a strength here.

While Alfonzo has the tools to potentially make the Majors, he ranks as the fourth-best catching prospect in the system. Easton Carmichael is one of the prospects I grade ahead of Alfonzo, and Carmichael was recently promoted to Altoona, which would have taken playing time from Alfonzo.

That group ahead of Alfonzo doesn’t include Edgleen Perez, who I have right behind Alfonzo. The Pirates got Perez as part of the return from the Yankees last year when trading David Bednar. Bednar is a better reliever than Doval, but the return for Doval is similar in value to the second piece the Pirates acquired for Bednar.

Dominican outfielder Luis Cruz was also traded in the deal. In his second prop season, Cruz hit for a .312/.453/.396 line in the DSL, while stealing seven bases. He showed good plate patience, rarely striking out, and walking at an 18.8% rate. All of this was in a sample of 64 plate appearances, with Cruz missing time due to an injury.

The Pirates got a reliever in Doval who could be a bounce-back candidate simply by changing parks. They also got cash in the deal to make the financial cost low. The prospect return wasn’t high, considering the catching depth the Pirates have around Alfonzo. Cruz was a lottery ticket, years away from any impact he could make.

This deal likely won’t be the final move the Pirates make to upgrade their bullpen. They need more than just Doval. The addition of Doval is a good low-cost move, which has been the theme the Pirates have taken to this point to upgrade their bullpen.

Until the next trade…

-Tim Williams