The 2025 trade deadline was the deadline of the reliever. Multiple All-Star closers were traded away, including Camilo Doval. The Yankees acquired the 28-year-old right-hander on July 31, giving the team another impressive power arm.

A Look at Doval

New Yankees reliever Camilo Doval was a dominant force from the moment he was first promoted to the Majors in 2021. Doval struck out 37 over 27, helping to play a key role for the Giants late that year.

Since then, Doval has largely been the team’s closer from 2022-25. He was removed from the role in 2024 in favor of Ryan Walker but won the job back this season.

The right-hander notched a NL-high 39 saves two years ago.

When Doval is close to the zone, he’s nearly unhittable. Opposing teams have hit sub-.200 off his sharp slider since the beginning of his MLB career, while his high-90s cutter is the pitch that he uses to work the strike zone.

Doval will also use a sinker. However, he lowered the usage of that pitch considerably this season. That pitch has only seen work 6% of the time this year.

However, Doval has a big arm swing and a lot of moving parts in that delivery. Command has not been a strong suit, as he walked batters over 10% of the time in three of his last four seasons.

Doval won’t be a free agent until after the 2027 season.

Analysis

The Yankees fortified their bullpen significantly. Earlier in the day, the Yankees acquired David Bednar in a trade with the Pirates, then sent power-hitting Minor League infielder Roc Riggio to Colorado for Rockies reliever Jake Bird.

All three arms give the team different looking pitchers and different matchup options.

Additionally, Doval is not a rental. Meaning, the Yankees can make use of him, theorectically, for the next three seasons as the team will likely maintain a win-now mentaility with their current core.

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