Camilo Doval Is Next Yankee on Thin Ice After Jake Bird Demotion

New York Yankees pitcher Camilo Doval (75) looks on while a bug flies by his head during a game against the Minnesota Twins at Yankee Stadium, Aug 13, 2025, Bronx, New York, USA. | Yannick Peterhans / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The New York Yankees’ bullpen was again under the microscope in Monday night’s thrilling 11-10 win over the Los Angeles Angels. The bullpen had to do a lot of heavy lifting after Will Warren pitched three and two-thirds innings, covering the other five-plus.

Among the five relievers the Yankees used, three of them (Camilo Doval, Jake Bird, and Tim Hill) were tagged for six earned runs. It wasn’t pretty, and it ultimately led to New York optioning Bird to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre immediately after the game. On Tuesday, Yankees manager Aaron Boone told Talkin' Yanks that the team is calling up Yerry de los Santos from Triple-A in a corresponding move.

Jake Bird not the only Yankees pitcher on the hot seat

The 30-year-old Bird, who was acquired from the Colorado Rockies at the trade deadline last summer, has not pitched well this season. On Monday, he gave up three earned runs on four hits in an inning of work. It was the second time this season that Bird had given up three earned runs in an appearance. His ERA through eight appearances with the Yankees is 7.71, which will not cut it.

However, he’s not the only Yankees relief pitcher who is on thin ice through the first three weeks of the season. Camilo Doval hasn’t been great this season for New York, recording a 7.36 ERA across nine appearances.

New York Yankees relief pitcher Camilo Doval (75) pitches to the Seattle Mariners during the eighth inning at T-Mobile Park. | Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

Even though he has a minor league option, the Yankees likely won’t send him down yet, as he's shown how good he can be when his stuff is on. But they might want to consider getting Doval out of high-leverage spots for the time being.

Yankees should consider a potential role change for struggling Doval

On Monday night, Doval allowed two hits and two earned runs in 1.1 innings against the Angels, including a two-run home run to star outfielder Mike Trout on a 3-2 count with one out in the eighth inning off an 89 mph slider.

This season, Doval’s slider hasn’t been good, which isn’t ideal given that it's his put-away pitch. The slider is only averaging 87.6 mph. That’s lower than where it was last season (89.1). And not to mention, opponents are hitting .444 off it this season compared to .200 in 2025.

That’s one part of the problem. The bigger issue is his performance in high-leverage situations.

This season, the Yankees have used Doval in the eighth four times, and the results have been less than stellar – 18.00 ERA, seven hits allowed, six earned runs, a home run, and six strikeouts.

Meanwhile, opponents are hitting .400 with an OPS of 1.300 and a .500 BABIP in high leverage spots off Doval. That’s a stark contrast to low-leverage situations this season, where hitters can’t seemingly hit off Doval – .077 average/.154 OPS/.091 BABIP.

With Doval’s struggles in the late innings, the next question is, who can the Yankees turn to next in the bullpen?

Tim Hill, who has been the team’s best reliever to start the season, could be thrown into Doval’s role. He doesn’t possess the pitching stuff that Doval has, and most of his work has come in the sixth inning (four games, 2.2 innings pitched). However, he’s made three appearances in the eighth and ninth innings.

The southpaw has a 0.00 ERA between the seventh and ninth innings, with opponents hitting .083 this season. Additionally, those opponents are hitting .111 and have a .125 BABIP against Hill in high leverage spots.

There’s also Paul Blackburn, who has a 2.70 ERA between the seventh and ninth innings this season for the Yankees, where opponents are slugging .286 and have an OPS of .690. These would be small stopgap options for New York until Doval can recapture the magic that made him so dominant as a closer with the San Francisco Giants.

When the Yankees acquired Doval last season, the hope was that he and David Bednar would solidify the back end of the bullpen and give them a dynamic 1-2 punch in the eighth and ninth innings. That hasn’t come to fruition, but New York hopes it will soon, as a shaky bullpen will lose more games than win them.