Camilo Doval's introduction to Pirates fans somehow just got even worse

Camilo Doval had the type of debut with the Pittsburgh Pirates that New York Yankees fans expected. The much-maligned right-hander gave up a dinger in his first-ever outing with his new team, but there was always a chance it was just residual nerves and, like many before him, he'd eventually settle in and realize his full potential now that he has left the bright Bronx spotlight.

Doval has only appeared in a handful of games for Pittsburgh, and while he has struck out more batters on average, everything else has gone up, too. Then, during the Pirates' 11-1 loss in the series finale against the lowly Mets on Aug. 9, he found a new way to bring the misery.

As Pittsburgh imploded, the club called on Doval to pitch the top of the sixth, already down 10-1. The 29-year-old gave up a single to Jared Young to lead off the inning, and then attempted to pick Young off at first base. Instead, he uncorked a lawn dart that made its way into the outfield and allowed Young to reach second.

Doval would strike out the next two batters, but walked Francisco Alvarez to turn up the tension before ultimately striking out AJ Ewing to work out of trouble. That didn't stop Pirates fans' sell the team chants.

If anything, we might say that was an improvement! He got away without giving up a run, something that rarely happened during his time in pinstripes.

Camilo Doval might be fine with the Pirates, but Yankees were still smart to trade him

Pirates manager Don Kelly praised Doval at the time of the trade, saying, "Great to add his power stuff and experience to the 'pen. He's closed games in the past, pitched some meaningful innings for New York and has had experience in the back end of the pen that'll be big."

Technically speaking, he's correct. Doval did pitch some meaningful innings in New York. He just didn't pitch well in those moments. And while the raw stuff is there, and the Baseball Savant page lights up bright red, Doval hasn't figured out how to translate what's bubbling underneath the surface into actual production.

He might figure things out in Pittsburgh eventually. There will be far less scrutiny there, and he wasn't the Pirates' only bullpen addition. In fact, they grabbed three other arms (what a novel concept!), including former Yankees Kirby Yates and Luke Weaver, in addition to former Marlins reliever Lake Bachar.

It seems as if Doval will have to earn a high-leverage role with the Pirates. His first appearance with them came on Aug. 2 in a 10-2 rout at the hands of the Cincinnati Reds. He followed that up with a clean eighth inning performance the following day in Pittsburgh's 4-3 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers. But then he received a low-leverage seventh-inning appearance that came with Pittsburgh trailing 5-2 on Aug. 6. Add in his most recent outing and he's only been called on once to protect a lead.

Clearly, getting rid of Doval raised the floor of the Yankees' bullpen a bit because it's hard to be worse than he was. Originally, his successor was supposed to be Yovanny Cruz, but after Cruz was dealt to the Nationals in exchange for Luis Garcia Jr., that spot has gone to Kervin Castro.

It's too early to declare Castro a success, but the early returns have been great. He's thrown 6 1/3 innings in total and allowed just three hits and one run while recording eight strikeouts. His three appearances since being recalled from Scranton have all been scoreless. If he turns into a legitimate piece, the Doval trade will look even better.

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