Pirates' quick Camilo Doval decision throws even more dirt on ill-fated Yankees trade

When the New York Yankees ditched Camilo Doval at this summer's trade deadline only one year after acquiring him - with team control through 2027 - the assumption was that they'd be bringing another reliever or two through their revolving door, and that those pitchers' contributions couldn't possibly be worse.

While the deadline didn't go exactly the way we planned, the thesis still held water: Getting Doval out of dodge was a net positive, and ultimately John Schreiber and Co. will all be better fits come October.

The Pittsburgh Pirates? Well, they seem to have grown weary of Doval, too. Just a month and a half after bringing him on board, they've realized their offseason non-tender decision was looking SO easy that they might as well make it right away.

Pittsburgh told Doval to get lost on Tuesday, post-playoff elimination, in order to activate Kirby Yates for what may be his final outings before retirement. What a way to go.

Pirates learn the same Camilo Doval lesson the Yankees did in only one month

How did the Yankees ever think Doval was a fit and could be fixed?

After a few weeks of walking the world and managing to limit damage, Doval's command issues finally caught up with him in The 'Burgh. He officially finishes his Pirates career - unless he clears waivers! - with 19 hits and 14 walks allowed in 19 innings, good for a 3.79 ERA/3.73 FIP and 1.737 WHIP. Holy cow! That's terrible!

The Yankees acquired power-forward catching prospect Omar Alfonzo in exchange for Doval, and he hit .120 in 26 games with Somerset, bashing a single home run. Still, his legacy will linger longer in New York's system than Doval's imprint will in Pittsburgh. The only mystery that still remains is why the Yankees thought Doval would be easy enough to salvage that they could justify taking him on midstream last year in exchange for Jesus Rodriguez (another catcher, now on the 60-Day, who hit .268 with a .744 OPS this year) and Parks Harber (.815 OPS, though it's down to .739 at Triple-A).

The Doval Trade Tree is swiftly becoming one of the most cursed of all time, and while the Pirates can thank the Yankees for their catcher of the future in Rafael Flores Jr., the Doval swap may have erased all of that built-up good will in a nanosecond.

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