Camilo

Doval

Doval struggled after coming over to the Yankees at the trade deadline last year, posting a 4.82 ERA, 1.607 WHIP, and 22/11 K/BB ratio in 18 2/3 innings. He does have a career 3.39 ERA and 108 saves in 297 MLB games, so there is a good chance he can bounce back and be a solid late-inning reliever for the Yankees in 2026.

The Yankees gave him three runs to work with. Doval went on to retire all three guys he faced, but the runner did come around from second on a pair of groundouts. It’s Doval’s fourth straight scoreless outing. Still, he’s not making up any ground on David Bedner, who pitched scoreless ninth and 10th innings and was credited with the win tonight.

Camilo Doval opened the eighth with a two-run lead and wound up walking two, making a bad throw to second on a double-play ball and giving up an RBI single to Jose Altuve. Bednar came in with the bases loaded and one out and immediately walked Christian Walker after getting him 0-2, tying the game. However, he bounced back to strike out Yainer Diaz and Taylor Trammell. He then had an easy ninth after Trent Grisham’s homer gave the Yankees another lead. It’s Bednar’s second blown save for the Yankees, but no one will blame him for that. He’s pretty obviously the favorite for saves in the Bronx right now, at least until he messes up.

Bednar was the only one of the Yankees’ supposed big four in the pen not to have worked on back-to-back days, so he was the obvious choice to close today. However, Aaron Boone, who typically hates using relievers on three straight days, did have Camilo Doval ready to go in the ninth. Bednar remained in after getting two outs in the eighth and was left in even after a Corey Seager walk (which really should have been a strikeout) and a Marcus Semien single with two outs. Boone went to the mound at that point, but he stayed the course and Bednar struck out Adolis García and end the game. It’s probably correct to consider Bednar the favorite for saves in the Yankees pen at this point, even though Devin Williams will likely rebound once again.

The Yankees led 9-4 in the seventh inning before turning the gave over to Bird, who was making his first appearance for the Yankees since being acquired before Thursday’s trade deadline. Bird allowed a grand slam to Kyle Stowers, which got the Marlins back in the game. David Bednar and Camilo Doval followed Bird with each entering the ballgame with the lead and being charged with a blown save. The Yankees’ new bullpen acquisitions all fell flat in their debuts.

The Yankees already had the makings of a lockdown bullpen heading into Thursday’s deadline with Devin Williams and Luke Weaver both more than capable of closing out games at a high level. Then they went out and acquired David Bednar and Doval to fortify what was already a strength on the ballclub. The 28-year-old hurler had posted a 3.09 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and a 50/24 K/BB ratio over 46 2/3 innings with the Giants this season. The move will be a hit to his fantasy value as its highly unlikely that Doval emerges as the Yankees’ closer.

The Yankees already had a couple of closers on their roster prior to Thursday’s deadline — then went out and acquired David Bednar and now Doval to fortify one of the best bullpens in the league. It’s a bad landing spot for fantasy purposes though as there’s no way Doval winds up working the ninth inning with all of the viable in-house alternatives that the Yankees have.

With the Giants in a freefall and looking less likely to make the playoffs than they were before the All-Star break, Doval is “among the relievers who could be on the move in the next few hours.” Doval is arbitration-eligible for two more seasons, so the Giants could likely get a haul for him at the deadline in a market that is clearly a seller’s market when it comes to bullpen arms. Doval’s strikeouts are down this season, and the Giants have Randy Rodriguez, Ryan Walker, and some intriguing young arms who could fill the gap in the bullpen.

Most of this is speculation, but Sammon notes that the market for controllable relievers is heating up, and the Giants could get a haul in return for Doval at the deadline. The Giants have not indicated that they will sell at the deadline, but they are now only two games over .500, and there are other strong relievers in the bullpen, like Randy Rodriguez and Ryan Walker. As of now, it seems like a long shot that Doval will be traded, but it’s a situation to monitor.

Doval did allow a hit and issue a walk, but he was able to work around that traffic to up his save total to 15 on the year. The right-hander has looked shaky as of late, but he was able to avoid giving up a run; something he’d allowed in four of his last six appearances. Doval will remain the closer for the foreseeable future.