Pirates trading for Yankees reliever Camilo Doval, sources say - ESPN

The Pittsburgh Pirates, thirsty for bullpen help in their push to end an 11-year postseason drought, have agreed to acquire reliever Camilo Doval from the New York Yankees, sources told ESPN's Jeff Passan on Saturday.

The Yankees, who will cover a portion of Doval's salary, are receiving a pair of minor leaguers in catcher Omar Alfonzo and outfielder Luis Cruz, sources told ESPN.

Doval, an All-Star closer in 2023 for the San Francisco Giants, is a high-ceiling, low-floor enigma. The Yankees acquired him from the Giants at last year's trade deadline thinking he could slide into a setup role and create a dominant back end of the bullpen with closer David Bednar. Doval's stuff — a cutter that touches 101 mph, a sinker that sits 98 mph, a wicked slider — looked the part, but the arm talent did not produce consistent results.

While Doval, 29, occasionally overwhelmed hitters and teased the Yankees with dominance, his outings went haywire too often this season. He surrendered multiple hits and/or walks in 15 of his 44 outings and was charged with multiple runs six times while accumulating a 4.54 ERA. The tendency for traffic prompted the Yankees to move him into a low-leverage role by June.

And yet the Yankees' bullpen entered Saturday ranked first in the majors in ERA and seventh in Win Probability Added. As they look to further upgrade the group, Doval became expendable and an attractive buy-low option for clubs.

Enter the Pirates, whose bullpen has been the weak link in a resurgent season in Western Pennsylvania.

Pittsburgh began Saturday with a 55-56 record, 2½ games out of the final National League wild-card spot. It has remained in contention behind a talented rotation led by reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes