BREAKING: Pirates acquire Camilo Doval in deal with Yankees

What's going on everyone and welcome to the North Shore Nine podcast brought to you by FanDuel and we have an emergency podcast, Neil, my name is Nathan, that's Neil, the Pirates have acquired right-handed reliever Camilo Doval from the New York Yankees,

in exchange for two prospects, Omar Alfonso, who ranks number 17 on MLB Pipeline, and unranked prospect Luis Cruz, who is in the Dominican Summer League.

First of all, Neil, first reaction, instant reaction here?

I don't love Duval, I don't love him as a pitcher, but like, we got him for free, I don't really think either of these prospects we gave up are that good,

or ever going to become major league players, which is great.

And at the very least, Duval has stuff that you can cope on, that you can look at and say, okay, I can see why the Pirates like this guy.

I do think he's going to fit right in with this group of relievers, maybe not for the reasons everyone wants to, but just looking at his numbers, I think we're going to see a lot of similarities between him and Gregory Soto and Yohan Ramirez, for better or for worse.

I'm honestly just happy that they did something before the trade deadline, and they didn't wait until the last second.

And Cody brings up in the chat, Alex Stumpf bringing up, cash is also coming to the Pirates in the deal, so that helps out a good bit here with Duval.

So far this year, Duval with a 3-1 record, a 4-5-4 ERA, 44 games, one save, he hasn't been there closer, that's been good old David Bednar, 39 and two-thirds innings of work, 39 Ks, his whip sits at a 1.41 this year.

So like you're saying, Neil, it's a guy where he could fit right in with this bullpen.

It's going to make the right-handers better, let's be honest, the right-handed pitching has been a problem with this bullpen.

Surprisingly, they've hit something with Mason Montgomery and at least Gregory Soto for a bit on the left side, but the right side has been like, ooh, how are we fixing this?

You have Marinascio coming in for Dennis Santana, that's been so-so far.

It's like, can Duval be one of these late-inning guys?

And he's done it in the past, and I know people hate hearing the past.

23 saves with the Giants, he was traded alongside, he came right after the David Bednar deal, there's the infamous John Boy Media reaction people are joking with.

They're jumping on the chairs going, we got Duval for the back end of the bullpen, and now it's, what worries me is Yankees fans being excited he is gone.

That's the thing.

Yankees fans probably have a bit more of like higher expectations.

Like, I personally know one Yankees fan who hates David Bednar and thinks he's trash, even though he's been quite good for them all season.

It does make the bullpen better.

Does it make it better in a substantial way?

I think that remains to be seen.

I do, I think, I like the approach from the sense that I think they've been burned by guys like Dennis Santana, Isaac Mattson, who don't have the flashiest stuff and got good results in the past.

And so I think they're chasing a different process here, getting guys with their stuff and then trying to fix the stuff.

And I like that.

And I also like, as people in the chatter pointed out, that he's a sub 2 ERA away from Yankee Stadium.

It could be just him and Yankee Stadium don't get along.

Yeah, and here's the exact numbers for home and on the road this year.

So, at Yankee Stadium, the Chavs brought up 20 and a third innings, a 7-0-8 ERA against 99 total batters faced.

That's not great.

And that might be why Yankees fans despised him this year.

However, away from Yankee Stadium, 19 and a third and a 1-8-6 ERA.

So, if you put that into perspective, he's not going to be pitching at Yankee Stadium any longer this year.

The Pirates were just at Yankee Stadium.

You don't have to worry about that aspect from Camilo Doval.

So, hopefully, they're going to be getting that away from Yankee Stadium type of a pitcher at PNC Park more than often.

But, yeah, against lefties, he has not been great.

But, against the righties, that's where another part of his splits come into play.

Against lefties this year, a .360 batting average.

Against righties, a .143 batting average.

He's been able to get these right-handers out, which is good.

And that's something these Pirates relievers have struggled mightily with.

And just to show up here, let's pull up his Savant page really quick, just so people can see what we're talking about, really briefly.

So, as we can see some of these numbers, a lot of people might not be like, metrics, I don't care about metrics.

If you don't understand the blue and red, blue means poor, red means great.

And he only has the darkest of red in two categories, his fastball velocity and his ground ball rate.

So, I guess he's going to be getting a lot of ground balls here, 97th percentile in all of Major League Baseball.

And as the chat brings up, you're practically getting him for free and money.

This is a win.

And I agree from that aspect.

But, like, when you look at this, it's not the most flashy metrics, wouldn't you say, Neil?

It's not the most flashy player you could have gotten.

Yeah.

the big – obviously, walks.

I think walks are a pretty big concern for me just because I think we've been burned by people who can't stop walking people.

But I really wish – and I think the next type of moves has to be is we need to start focusing guys who can strike people out.

Because the Pirates, I think this bullpen – one of the biggest issues this bullpen has had is, like, just not being able to get a strikeout when it's needed.

It's like giving up hard contact or, like, letting the defense take advantage.

And so if Doval is able to, like, home this fastball to get more whiffs, to strike more people out, I think that's a really big win for us.

But he can't be the best arm you bring in at the deadline, I think, is where I'm at.

He cannot be pitching – like, these numbers and these analytics are not the stuff of a back-end reliever.

And the Pirates cannot treat Doval as a back-end reliever.

I agree with that.

And I really hope – and things have been going wrong for this team as of late.

Let's all be honest.

It's been a lot of negativity on the internet, on the Discord.

People are freaking out, including myself.

I'll be honest there.

But if this is the big buy – I'm worried and I'm at the same time hoping for the best here that this is not the flashy move.

This is not going to be the main move like you are saying and, like, some people in the chat are saying, like, you got to get more.

And everyone's bringing up Luke Weaver.

If they were to get Doval and Luke Weaver, a lefty that's pretty solid and a righty that's been okay this year, you're added two bullpen arms to your bullpen to help it get better.

I hope this isn't the only thing they do, though.

I hope this is not the best righty they can get.

I hope there is more.

Because, let's be honest, like, I don't – he'll help the back end, but I don't think he's going to be the elite bullpen arm Pirates fans have been wanting.

I don't know if that makes sense to everyone watching here, but.

Well, I don't think this is going to be the only move.

I think the Pirates are going to acquire more.

He just can't be the best.

You know what?

Like, Luke Weaver is, like, that step up that you need to go get.

I think Mason Miller is pretty on a table right now if you go get Morejon from the Padres, if they're willing to trade him.

You do have to go get two guys better than Doval.

We can't be bringing in more meatball runs or whatever.

Like, Doval has to be the baseline for what the Pirates are doing at the deadline.

And if that's the case, this is good.

You send Doval out in the sixth or the seventh inning, I like it.

I like it a lot.

If I've seen Doval in the eighth inning down the stretch, I'm going to be quite upset, I think.

Yeah, this is, I think Doval is a way better option than you could get from Isaac Mattson so far.

I think he's a better option than, like you said, Meatball Ron Marinaccio.

He's completely a better option than what Dennis Santana was.

It's just, do you want to trust him in those seventh, eighth, and ninth innings?

Is he one of those guys that's going to send you on a roller coaster?

And he could be one of those guys.

Like we brought up, his home and road splits are way better on the road away from Yankee Stadium.

So he's going to be away from Yankee Stadium for now.

Let's just, here's the thing about Doval.

So like, this is this year's metrics.

Let's just take a brief look at what he did last year.

And there's the difference.

So I think it was DiNardo that sent something in our group chat.

And this was like, oh, I don't know about this because you saw, see how these metrics just drop off a tad from the difference.

Now, part of this in 2025, he was pitching in San Francisco and New York.

So that could also be part of it.

But his numbers did drop off this year.

Yeah.

And the walks are still the thing that like speaks the most to me.

That gives me worry.

Yeah, definitely.

Obviously, his walk rate is one of the things that's improved from 25 to 26.

But when you go to 26, it's still pretty bad.

And, he doesn't get as much chase as you'd want from a reliever or as many, much K, your K rates low for a reliever.

So like those would be the really big things I want to see Bill Murphy try to work with Doval on because this guy used to be a premium closer in baseball.

There is like talent to be found there.

And so it's up to this pitching, like this pitching coaching staff to like unlock that.

And then this turned into a really special acquisition because the Yankees clearly just wanted to get rid of him for anything.

The fact that they asked for basically no name prospects and are willing to send cash means that this is basically like almost like a DFA level thing for the Yankees.

And so, you need to make this your next Dennis Santana where the Yankee, you find Yankees trash and turn it into gold.

And if you do, it's really cool.

And the Pirates are in a much better position for it.

The Pirates have been a team that's been able to fix bullpen arms, too.

They've at least gotten some length out of relievers in the past.

We did just see Dennis Santana go, but he was an example of one of those guys that the Pirates just seemed to fix for at least a year and a half.

And they got good serviceable usage out of him.

And now he's gone.

But hopefully Camilo Doval can be one of those guys where his numbers are going to get, hopefully, drastically better at PNC Park.

Like we brought up earlier, the home and road splits.

You have a 7 ERA plus at Yankee Stadium at home pitching this year.

But on the road, it was a sub 2 ERA.

So hopefully you're going to get that guy out of this deal.

And I'm wondering, and the whole Bill Murphy thing, it's going to be curious to see what Bill Murphy can do here.

Because the criticism of Bill Murphy this year has been very large.

We've seen a lot of pitchers, take a step back.

Paul Skenes being one.

We saw Mattson take a dramatic step back.

Dennis Santana took a huge step back to no longer, he's not even on the team.

This is one of those guys where Doval could be one of Bill Murphy's, hopefully, I'm going to fix this guy.

And I'm going to make him really good here.

And that's the thing, like, I think it might, it was someone on Twitter I saw, basically.

This is basically a reclamation type of move, hoping for the Pirates.

And the fact that the Yankees got rid of him, a team that's drastically in a playoff race, and they were making this sell-off move, shows that they were just hoping to get rid of the guy.

And from the Pirates aspect, they didn't give up much to get him.

They gave up the 17th ranked prospect.

You have catching prospects ahead of Omar Alfonso, so that you didn't take a hit in the catching department.

And then Luis Cruz, who is in the Dominican Summer League.

So, I guess, like, final thoughts about Doval before we take a break.

And then we'll go to the prospects, I guess, and maybe some more Doval.

Yeah, again, as a start, considering we haven't hit crunch time when it comes to the deadline where, like, deals really start happening, this is fine.

It could very easily blow up in our faces, but I think these are, worthwhile risks to be taking, all things considered.

But, like I said before, this cannot be the only thing.

Yeah.

This has to be the baseline, and this has to be the start of getting better bullpen arms in.

Yeah.

And maybe that's the case, or maybe, I think everyone's a little traumatized from the 2024 deadline, where Jalen Beeks was the best arm to come in.

And this feels like a Jalen Beeks-esque move.

And we just need to improve on that.

I think Doval is better than Jalen Beeks, but I see where you're coming from with this.

Because we've seen this before.

Like, Beeks was acquired days before the trade deadline, and then we saw the De La Cruises and IKFs get added at the deadline.

And sure, the deadline is still two days away.

Who knows, maybe they do something else tonight, after the game, during the game, or even before the game.

Maybe Ben's still on the phone.

And you have to hope he is, especially with this bullpen, and possibly a bat now with the loss of Ryan O'Hearn.

Before we take a break, really, well, actually, let's take a break.

We're going to hear from Cody, and we'll be right back.

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Okay, welcome back, everybody here.

If you're just joining us, Camilo Doval from the Yankees, new Pittsburgh Pirate, and they will be sending Omar Alfonso, their 17th-ranked prospect in the system, a catcher, and Luis Cruz from the Dominican Summer League.

Let's just talk briefly about the prospects they're giving up.

Let's just mainly talk about Omar Alfonso as he is the named prospect that is the bigger piece in this deal.

So with Alfonso, he was a guy that Jim brought up in a mock in the trade deadline, well, trade show on NS9 Live, where he said you can get him maybe for a Lane Thomas.

You're giving him up here for a reliever in Camilo Doval.

And with the catching depth that this team does have, I'm fine with them giving up Alfonso, because prospect-wise, you still have Axial Plaz, and I know Cody joined us to set this up, and he was terrified, saying, like, it better not be Plaz.

But you got him at 6, Easton Carmichael at 7, Edgling Perez, who you got from the Yankees last year at 8 on your MLB pipeline rankings, and you still got Rafael Flores.

Yeah.

Sorry.

And then Rafael Flores Jr. is ranked 14th, still ahead of an Omar Alfonso.

So those are your catching prospects you still have in the system that has definitely improved, especially with the, I would say, insurgents of Easton Carmichael.

But Omar Alfonso is the expendable one here.

So what's your thoughts on getting rid of, well, trading away Omar Alfonso here?

I don't really care who it is for.

I would lose absolutely no sleep about losing a catcher who's in AA with a 30% strikeout rate.

Like, you heard, like, there's no such thing as a pitching prospect thing.

I believe that for catchers.

There's no such thing as a catching prospect.

Almost every catcher, like, flames out in the minors because of how demanding the position is.

And, like, Omar, I'm sure he's a nice guy, but, like, he's just not a quality prospect.

Like, he doesn't, I was looking at his stats beforehand, like, in a prospect report.

There's nothing, like, he does that's all that great.

He strikes out a lot.

he has a decent walk rate.

But, like, this is the type of guy that is not going to make the major league.

So I have no problem dealing him.

He's giving me the vibes of maybe the Yankees using him in a Sean Ross situation where he just comes up for a day.

That's, I don't mean to, like, be negative about Omar Alfonso here, and I wish him the best.

Like, I agree with you.

I don't see him as major league piece.

I see him as a depth piece at most.

And with Omar Alfonso this year in Altoona, 60 games, 239 average, no BP of 338, a 420 slugging, and a 758 OPS.

So an average year.

And as Sean brings up, the Yankees are basically paying his salary.

Yeah.

So that's a good move by the Pirates here.

They're getting rid of him.

Well, the Yankees are getting rid of him practically and just said, here you go, Pittsburgh.

We'll give him to you for free.

But with Omar Alfonso, like I said, they have catching depth that is better than Alfonso.

I'm fine with this move getting rid of Alfonso.

And with Luis Cruz, I personally don't know the most about him.

I don't think either of us do.

He's a Dominican summer league prospect.

He would be a guy to talk with Murph and Jim on the Bucks on deck.

That would be a question for those guys.

But he's not a top 30 prospect in the Pirates org.

They didn't give up too much.

My first reaction when this trade happened was, who'd they give up?

Like, hopefully it's not a top 10 guy.

That was my worst fear.

Because when the game happened last night, my worst fear, honestly, was with this deadline, they are clearly still going to be buyers, even though they're below 500 right now.

But my fear was, is Ben blowing up this farm system in panic trades.

That's my fear right now.

And whenever I saw Camilo Doval, I was like, New York Yankees, please did not give them any of your top 10, at least.

They only gave up number 17.

So.

It's funny.

I am not worried in the slightest that Ben is going to blow up anything.

I don't think Ben is much to, he's not an overreactor.

If anything, it takes him way too long, in our opinion, to really move.

And I just don't, I don't really see a world where he blows up the farm system for a team that's currently one game under 500.

He's definitely going to buy.

And I think this is a clear, like, buy move that is going to signal what they're going to do for the rest of the deadline.

But I wouldn't be worried at all if, like, about them, like, trading everyone.

It's not Ben's MO.

And this is a good start.

Again, we basically got him for free.

Yeah.

Literally, money-wise, prospect-wise.

So, I don't know.

I don't think Ben's going to do that to us.

And Neil, as your good friend Paul says in the chat, I completely agree.

You need at least three more trades.

You at least need two.

Two or three.

Make it three total with this.

You need more.

Camilo Doval cannot be the piece.

He cannot be the, this is your World Series ticket.

This is the guy.

You need something else.

You need more.

You need a better reliever than Camilo Doval.

He can be a piece to help him.

But is he the piece to help him?

That's the question I think some people have.

And I know we had some comments earlier saying, is he possibly the closer?

I don't think so.

I think he, most he's a sixth or seventh inning guy.

Maybe he pitches the eighth every so often if you don't want to go to Soto.

I think he's up there with one of your better right-handed options now.

Easily.

Yeah.

And like, if he is our, I'll say, if he is our closer, it's either because things have gone so bad that he is our closer or his development coming here has been so good that he has earned that closer spot.

And so it's like, I think it probably leans more toward the good part where like, it's like, he's just been that guy that the Pirates can now trust with those high leverage situations.

But I can't imagine a world where he unsee it, say Mason Montgomery for like best reliever.

I don't see a world where that happens.

Yeah.

I think Montgomery is right now slotted should be the closer of this team.

I don't think Duval is better than Montgomery right now.

Duval is definitely one of your top right-handed options out of the pen, though.

And Jim corrects me here.

It was Alfonso for Yates in his PowerPoint, not for Lane Thomas.

But yeah, like he brings up Duval is probably better than Yates.

So I'll take it.

I'll take it too.

And what was funny about this was before we got the news, everyone was Twitter was like, where's the trades?

Because your guy, Derek Shelton's getting a lot of guys in Minnesota.

And we're like, where's the trades?

Ben, wake up.

What are you doing?

And I refreshed Twitter once, opened the Discord.

And then everyone's like, oh, we made a trade.

Where's the emergency podcast?

And I'm like, who do we get?

It's Camilo Doval.

It is also like, this is a guy Yankee, oh, not Yankees fan, Pirates fans have brought up in the past.

I remember people were like, let's trade for Duval.

Let's go get, and it was whenever he was the mainstay on the Giants.

I think it was in the 2024 season.

People were like, go out and get Duval.

Even like last year, people were like, let's go get Duval and help the bullpen in the future.

And they just never did it.

The Yankees got him last year, and here they are getting him from the Yankees.

So, I don't really have, do you have anything else to add?

Because I don't really have much to add here.

No, I don't think so.

Just break out the good old line.

Like, what you hear in the offseason on the show a million times, it's fine if there are other moves coming.

I completely agree.

It is fine if there's other moves.

Good risk-free move.

So, I'm a fan.

Okay, well, I think that's all we have today for our emergency podcast, unless you have anything else, Neil.

No, I'm good.

Okay, so, thank you guys, as always, for watching.

Post-game show tonight.

I'm not sure who is on the post-game show.

Are you on the post-game, Neil?

I am not.

Are you off tonight?

So, it's going to be two of them.

I think Jim's doing it from Cincy, and it's going to be someone else with Jim.

I think it's Tyler.

It's Tyler.

So, hopefully, they win a game with Jim in attendance in Cincinnati, Ohio.

So far, they are 0-2, and the season is burning like wildfire.

So, hopefully, they turn it around.

Yep.

And hopefully, this leads us to the playoffs.

It's the first step toward the playoffs, because right now, we are plus 700 on FanDuel to make the playoffs.

And so, hopefully, this is the beginning of lowering those odds and getting us over that hump.

Yeah, plus 700 to make the playoffs.

The odds to make the playoffs percentages have been going down, as Jim brought up last night.

But hopefully, it goes right back up, get back to 500 tonight.

And who knows?

Maybe we have another emergency podcast even before the game or right after the game.

Late night bucking, as people like to say there.

So, my name is Nathan.

That was Neil.

Thank you, guys, as always, for joining.

And leave a like, subscribe down below, and we will see you next time.

All right.

That wraps up this episode of North Shore Nine.

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