Grading MLB Trade Deadline Deals: Will Doval Improve Pirates Bullpen?

We’re grading the deals ahead of Monday’s MLB trade deadline. How do these moves impact the pennant chase and which ones are going to move the needle for the postseason contenders?

Will there be potential deals for players like Tigers ace Tarik Skubal and Mets pitcher Freddy Peralta? Will teams like the two-time World Series champion Dodgers try to bolster its already potent squad? Let’s get into it:

Pirates: C+
Yankees: B-

Who else is involved: The Yankees received two prospects, C Omar Alfonzo and OF Luis Cruz

Pittsburgh needs relief arms arguably as much or more than any other contender, so this one’s hard to grade until we know how much more bullpen help it acquires over the next few days. As it stands, the Pirates are buying low, hoping they can extract the upside out of Doval that the Yankees couldn’t after New York traded for the hard-throwing Dominican right-hander at last year’s deadline. Doval was a below replacement level arm in the second half for the Yankees last year and is again through the first half this season, registering a 4.63 ERA during his time in the Bronx.

Three years ago, Doval looked like one of the game’s most promising relievers. An All-Star at 25 years old with the Giants in 2023, he featured a cutter that averaged close to 100 mph and recorded an NL-best 39 saves. But he was unable to consistently replicate that form or maintain his control in the ensuing years and was recently relegated to lower leverage duties with the Yankees. He hasn’t walked as many batters this year, he still throws hard, he keeps the ball on the ground, and his expected ERA (3.61) is about a full run better than his actual ERA (4.54), but his strikeout rate continues to plummet, and he is allowing the highest hard-hit rate and average exit velocity of his career. There are clear tools here, though, so the “+” on the Pirates’ grade is in part because Doval is still under team control for another season. But the fact that the Yankees — who are also in need of bullpen help — were willing to just move on after Doval’s disappointing tenure is telling.

That said, it wasn’t particularly surprising. Doval clearly wasn’t figuring it out with the Yankees, who at least turned him into a prospect at a position of need in Alfonzo, a left-handed-hitting catcher who was a top-20 Pirates prospect according to MLB’s rankings and has a .757 OPS at Double-A. Cruz is a dart throw, but the 18-year-old had an .856 OPS for the Pirates’ Dominican Summer League team. I’d expect the Yankees to look for another high-leverage arm, in addition to their offensive needs. — Kavner