The New York Yankees are trading right-handed reliever Camilo Doval and cash to the Pittsburgh Pirates for minor leaguers Omar Alfonzo and Luis Cruz, according to reports from Jeff Passan and other outlets. The deal brings bullpen help to Pittsburgh while the Yankees acquire catching and outfield depth.
The transaction marks the Yankees’ first move ahead of the deadline.
Doval, a 29-year-old reliever who earned National League All-Star honors with the San Francisco Giants in 2023, arrives in Pittsburgh with a 4.54 ERA across 39 2/3 innings this season. The hard-throwing righty has struggled to find consistent footing in the Bronx since arriving via trade from San Francisco at last year’s deadline, logging a 4.82 ERA in 22 appearances last year and eventually being relegated to mop-up duty by Yankees manager Aaron Boone.
Yankee Stadium Home/Road Splits and Pitching Arsenal
Doval’s difficulties in New York stem largely from stark home-and-road splits. While he has posted a sparkling 1.86 ERA and allowed just one home run in 19 1/3 innings away from the Bronx, his numbers ballooned to a 7.08 ERA with five homers allowed in 20 1/3 frames at Yankee Stadium. Left-handed batters have capitalized heavily on the venue’s notoriously short right-field porch, tagging Doval for a .360/.425/.573 batting line this season, compared to a stifling .143/.231/.247 line against righties.
Despite those struggles, the Pirates are betting heavily on Doval’s elite velocity and ground-ball tendencies. He averages 98.6 mph on his sinker and 98.8 mph on his cutter, while utilizing a slider averaging 88.8 mph as his primary breaking pitch.
“We cast people off all the time during a long Major League season, and the reality is, things change. They can change in a hurry sometimes.”
Aaron Boone, Yankees manager
To facilitate the swap, the Pirates are taking on $750K of his remaining salary, while the Yankees are sending about $1.086MM to Pittsburgh, leaving roughly $1.837MM of the salary yet to be paid out.
Financial Breakdown and Prospect Return for New York
In return for one and one-third seasons of Doval and modest financial relief, the Yankees receive two prospects from the Pirates’ system: catcher Omar Alfonzo and outfielder Luis Cruz. Alfonzo, ranked as Pittsburgh’s No. 17 prospect by MLB Pipeline, has spent the bulk of the season at Double-A Altoona. The 22-year-old Minneapolis native is slashing .238/.337/.419 with nine home runs and 35 RBIs across 60 games.
Scouting reports on Alfonzo highlight his strong raw power, bat speed, and plate discipline—evidenced by a 12.1% walk rate this season—though his 30.3% strikeout rate points to developmental hurdles ahead. Defensively, he draws praise for his framing and blocking ability, though inconsistent footwork and transfers create questions about his arm strength against running games.
The second piece of the package, 18-year-old outfielder Luis Cruz, is unranked in the top 30 of the Pirates’ farm system but has turned heads in the Dominican Summer League. Cruz posted an .856 OPS across 17 games this year and has accumulated a .758 OPS over 56 games in rookie ball during the past two seasons, giving New York an unproven ceiling addition for the lower levels of their minor league ladder.
Bullpen Needs and Next Steps for Pittsburgh
For Pittsburgh, the addition of Doval addresses an ongoing bullpen vulnerability. The Pirates’ relief corps has accounted for 24 of the team’s 56 losses—marking the fifth-most bullpen defeats in Major League Baseball—alongside the sixth-most blown saves in the league. Doval figures to step directly into high-leverage and closer consideration as the Pirates look to stabilize their late-inning relief mix before the final trade deadline moments.
Related reading