The SF Giants traded away closer Camilo Doval to the New York Yankees at the trade deadline for some prospects. His tenure in New York has been tumultuous so far as the Yankees are learning the hard way what the Giants knew about Doval for years.
Doval’s first outing with the Yankees after the trade was a nightmare as he blew a save and things have not gotten much better since then. His most recent outing on Thursday against the Boston Red Sox did not go well at all as he gave up an earned run on two hits, a walk, and a balk.
Camilo Doval’s struggles with the #Yankees continue.
He comes in and after a groundout, he gave up an infield single, he balked, he walked a batter and then allowed a game-tying RBI single.
Doval heard some boos coming off the mound as Aaron Boone called to the bullpen.
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Yankees learning the hard way what SF Giants knew about Camilo Doval
Now, Doval’s ERA with the Yankees has ballooned to 7.36 in 7 and 1/3 innings pitched. He has allowed seven walks while striking out eight batters and has given up nine hits. Yankees fans have already started to boo Doval and it is important to note that he came in during the sixth inning of that game which shows he is not being used as the closer.
The Giants saw just about every version of Doval since he was called up back in 2021. They saw him at his best when he appeared to be one of the most elite closers in the game with an electric fastball and biting slider who made an All-Star team. They also saw him when he seemingly could not find the strike zone at all and was demoted to Triple-A in order to figure things out.
Unfortunately for New York, they are getting the 2024 version of Doval so far rather than the 2023 or first half of 2025 version. For a team with postseason aspirations like New York, there must be some frustration that one of their big trade deadline acquisitions has not been as advertised thus far.
Except, for those who know Doval, his recent performance will not come as a huge shock. He has been known to get a “wild hair up his nose” in the parlance of Giants broadcaster Mike Krukow and has certainly made his share of mental mistakes on the mound especially with the pitch clock so none of this comes as a big surprise for Giants fans.
To be fair to Doval, it is tough to adjust to a new team in the middle of the year. There is probably no harder team to get adjusted to than the Yankees given the media attention on the team and the intense, often unforgiving, fanbase.
Things have not exactly been smooth sailing for the Giants in the ninth inning since they parted ways with Doval. While things often got a little hairy with Doval in the ninth, Randy Rodríguez has struggled getting used to the new role thus far. He still has plenty of time to figure things out but his struggles are a reminder that things are never easy in the ninth.
We will see if Doval can get himself sorted out in New York. If not, the Yankees may be looking to move on from him just like the Giants did.
