NEW YORK — The bullpen that nearly derailed the Yankees’ 2025 season finished with a 4.37 ERA. It ranked 23rd in baseball. It cost them games they should have won.
So what did the Yankees do this offseason to fix it? They re-signed Tim Hill, Ryan Yarbrough and Paul Blackburn. That is it.
No splashy signings. No trades for proven closers. The Yankees are instead betting on one pitcher to transform their relief corps. He allowed 10 earned runs in his first 16 games with the team. He had a 4.82 ERA in New York.
And Aaron Boone is “really optimistic” about him.
Boone puts faith in Doval despite rough start
Camilo Doval arrived at the trade deadline as a potential solution. The Yankees sent four prospects to the Giants for the former All-Star closer. They gave up Jesus Rodriguez, Trystan Vrieling, Parks Harber and Carlos De La Rosa.
The 28-year-old came with a 3.09 ERA and 15 saves in San Francisco. He had led the National League in saves during his 2023 All-Star campaign. His cutter reaches 100 mph. His slider has been described as devastating.
Then he arrived in the Bronx and everything fell apart. Doval walked nine batters in his first 16 games. He looked lost on the mound. He struggled with the pitch clock. He committed balks at crucial moments.
The situation got bad enough that Boone pulled him aside in August for a meeting. Spanish interpreter Marlon Abreu joined them. Boone wanted Doval to understand his expectations. He wanted him to know the Yankees still believed in him.
Doval later admitted to reporters that the role change was throwing him off. In San Francisco, he closed games. He knew when he was entering. He had a routine. With the Yankees, he worked as a setup man. He entered earlier and more unpredictably. The adjustment was harder than he expected.
A late-season turnaround gives hope
Something clicked in September. Doval rattled off six straight scoreless outings to close the regular season. He struck out eight batters across those five innings. He walked just two. He allowed one hit.
The playoffs brought more of the same. Doval gave up just one hit in his first three postseason innings against the Blue Jays. He looked like the pitcher the Yankees traded for.
Boone said at the Winter Meetings that Doval made mechanical changes that unlocked his potential.
“I really feel good about where he was at the end of the season and into the playoffs,” Boone said. “I felt like he had some of his best outings for us at the very end, and into the postseason.”
The manager said Doval adjusted how he gets set on the mound. He cleaned up his mechanics. Those tweaks put him in a better position to throw strikes.
The winter program has Boone excited
Reports from the offseason have been encouraging. Doval has stayed in constant communication with the Yankees pitching staff. His throwing program is on track. He is expected to arrive at spring training ready to compete.
“I know just in talking to our pitching guys, it seems like he’s had a really good, efficient winter in terms of communication and throwing program and getting himself ready to go,” Boone said to MLB analyst Gary Phillips. “So I’m really optimistic on what Camilo is going to do for us, just based on how we were able to finish with him and from what I’m hearing about his winter so far.”
Doval could also benefit from the World Baseball Classic. He is expected to pitch for the Dominican Republic in the March tournament. His best MLB season came in 2023, which started with him pitching in the WBC. That high-intensity environment might jump-start his 2026 campaign.
Bednar gets the ninth while Doval sets up
The bullpen structure for 2026 is taking shape. David Bednar will close games. The Yankees acquired him from the Pirates at the same trade deadline that brought Doval. Bednar has closing experience and a track record of success.
Doval slots in as the primary setup man. His job is to get the ball to Bednar in the ninth. It is a role he struggled with last summer. The Yankees are banking on a full offseason to help him adjust.
The rest of the bullpen remains a work in progress. Tim Hill gives Boone a left-handed option. Yarbrough offers length out of the pen. Blackburn can work multiple innings. But none of them are dominant arms.
Devin Williams is gone. He signed with the Mets after posting career-worst numbers in the Bronx. Luke Weaver left for Queens as well. Clay Holmes joined him across town. The Yankees lost three key relievers to their crosstown rival.
The stakes are high for a team chasing titles
The Yankees cannot afford another season of bullpen chaos. Jazz Chisholm and the rest of the offense will give them runs. Aaron Judge will carry the lineup. The rotation has depth.
But games are won and lost in the late innings. Chisholm can drive in three runs and still watch the bullpen blow the lead. It happened too often in 2025.
Doval has the talent to be elite. From 2021 to 2023, he posted a 2.77 ERA. He saved 107 games in parts of five seasons with the Giants. He ranked seventh on their all-time saves list.
The cutter that touches 100 mph is still there. The slider that buckles knees is still there. The question is whether Doval can harness that stuff in a new role.
Boone is betting he can. The Yankees are not chasing free agent relievers. They are not making trades for established closers. They are putting their faith in a 28-year-old who ended last season on a heater.
If Doval delivers, the bullpen becomes a strength. If he struggles again, the Yankees may regret passing on upgrades.
Chisholm and his teammates are counting on Doval to figure it out. So is everyone in the Bronx.
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