Time for the New York Yankees to End This Failed Experiment

Is there a single New York Yankees fan who genuinely feels comfortable whenever Camilo Doval enters a game?

On Wednesday afternoon, Doval started the 11th inning against the Detroit Tigers, hoping to preserve a 2-2 score for the Yankees to walk it off in the bottom half of the frame. That didn't happen.

Doval surrendered four runs — two earned — thanks much in part to three walks, resulting in a 6-2 defeat for New York.

It was hardly the first time Doval has blown up this season, as evidenced by his 4.96 ERA ... and that ERA is actually misleading, because Doval has been far worse than that.

Doval ranks toward the bottom of baseball in LOB%, stranding runners on base just 58.8 percent of the time. He is a nightmare to bring into a contest when there are inherited runners (like the ghost runner in extra innings), and when he himself puts men on base, the risk of them scoring is incredibly high.

This has actually been the case for Doval since his San Francisco Giants days. Even during his All-Star campaign in 2023, the right-hander posted a 65.6 LOB%, which is absolutely below average.

Doval's 100 mph stuff has sometimes been enough for him to work himself out of trouble in the past, but that isn't even working this year.

The 28-year-old owns a career-low 8.8 K/9 here in 2026, and while his control has actually been solid (2.8 BB/9), he's getting hit too hard (he's already allowed five home runs) and simply has not been consistent enough.

The Yankees acquired Doval from the Giants at last year's trade deadline. He proceeded to post a 4.82 ERA through 22 relief appearances in the Bronx last season, and things clearly haven't gotten any better this year.

New York was hoping that Doval — a former closer — would be able to serve as David Bednar's setup man, but that plan has clearly been foiled.

It has now reached a point where the Yanks really cannot trust Doval in any situation other than blowouts, and it's time they moved away from him completely.

The problem is that Aaron Boone does not have many other options outside of Fernando Cruz and Brent Headrick.

Tim Hill has been subpar this year. Jake Bird is a disaster waiting to happen. Ryan Yarbrough and Paul Blackburn are more long-relief type guys rather than arms you'd throw out there in high-leverage situations.

I will say that Yovanny Cruz is intriguing. Cruz has made three appearances thus far in 2026, allowing just two baserunners and not a single run over 4.1 innings. He hits over 100 mph on the radar gun, and he featured an 11.8 K/9 in Triple-A.

He could ultimately serve as an answer as we get deeper into the season, but the Yankees definitely need to add at least one or two bullpen arms before the MLB trade deadline, and they should probably stop trusting Doval in moments that matter.

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