After reaching the World Series in 2024 for the first time in 15 years, only to lose to the Los Angeles Dodgers, the New York Yankees struggled throughout this year to reach those heights. One of the main culprits in the Yankees’ failure to contend for a championship again the bullpen. When the trade deadline hit at the end of July, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman had seen enough. He embarked on a revamp of the Yankees’ bullpen, reaching deep into the club’s farm system to deal nine prospects for three relief arms in separate deals. Now, a deadline of 8 p. m. ET on Friday looms for the Yankees to decide what to do with the costliest of those three bullpen acquisitions, as they decide whether to embark on another full-scale overhaul of their relief corps. Bullpen Remained a Problem After Trades In the end, how much good Cashman did with his bullpen shopping spree is highly debatable. The Yankees still finished 23rd overall in bullpen ERA across all of Major League Baseball. Yankees relievers gave up 75 home runs, 13th-most in baseball, over 566 2/3 innings. The . 236 opponents’ batting average allowed was a somewhat more respectable 10th overall but still not what would be expected from a championship contender. The Yankees traded four of those prospects to the San Francisco Giants for one relief ace, 28-year-old closer Camilo Doval, who just two years earlier saved a National League-leading 39 games for the Giants. Doval saw his save total drop to 23 in 2024, and his ERA jump from 2. 93 to 4. 88. The Yamasa, Dominican Republic, native was working toward revitalizing his career in 2025, with 15 saves for San Francisco and a 3. 09 ERA when he was traded to the Yankees. But after making the move to the Bronx, things started to fall apart for Doval again. Doval Struggled in Pinstripes With an estimated salary for next season estimated at $6. 6 million, according to a mathematical formula created by MLB Trade Rumors, the Yankees will want better than the 4. 82 ERA they got out of Doval, who was used primarily as a setup man in New York. The closer’s job went instead to another deadline acquisition, David Bednar, who was traded to New York from the Pittsburgh Pirates. In 18 2/3 innings over 22 games, Doval had only one save while allowing 19 hits and 11 walks while striking out 22. “His stuff’s really good, obviously, just again it’s strike-throwing. That next level of strike-throwing that allows you to be really, really good, and really, really sharp out there,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said of Doval in August, after the former Giant had allowed runs in three straight appearances. “Just not quite as sharp as when he’s at his best.” Yankees Must Decide Doval’s Fate by Friday Eligible for his second year of arbitration, Doval will command a significant raise over the $4. 2 million he pulled in this year between the Giants and Yankees. While MLB Trade Rumors sees him getting $6. 6 million, the sports business site Spotrac estimates a somewhat lower award of $5. 5 million. The Yankees now have until 8 p. m. ET on Friday to decide whether Doval is worth keeping around at those prices. The deadline is when all teams must decide whether they will tender contract offers to their arbitration-eligible players, or simply let them walk away as free agents.
https://heavy.com/sports/mlb/new-york-yankees/camilo-doval-non-tender-decision/
Yankees Face Final Decision on Fate of $6.6 Million Bullpen Arm
