Yankees fans reminded of ridiculous cost for middling reliever after arbitration deal

The New York Yankees are taking their sweet old time ahead of Thursday's arbitration deadline. They have 10 players eligible for raises in the arb cycle, and they already took care of Clarke Schmidt ($4.5 million) and Oswaldo Cabrera ($1.2 million) back in November.

Everybody else? We're still waiting. Oh, except for Camilo Doval! Remember he existed? We honestly kind of forgot. The Yanks made a trade deadline play for the former San Francisco Giants closer and it didn't really work out.

He was supposed to be a high-leverage bullpen arm but he instead got battered by the opposition and could hardly be trusted to handle anything except garbage time. And guess what? He'll be earning $6.1 million in 2026. Six. Point. One. MILLION. And that was the two sides avoiding arbitration! He was projected more (MLBTR had $6.6 million back in October).

The right-hander finished with a ghastly 4.82 ERA and 1.61 WHIP across 18 2/3 innings with the Yankees after the deadline. He subtracted 0.3 WAR in those 22 games. He walked 5.3 batters per nine innings, almost a full walk above his 4.4 career average (still bad!).

And yet here we are with the Yankees paying for his past success. His arbitration figure is this large because of his impressive 2022 campaign and 2023 All-Star season. But we guess Brian Cashman felt a burning desire to trade for Doval after he put up a -0.5 WAR year in 2024 (4.88 ERA, 1.58 WHIP and 39 walks in 59 innings).

Doval recovered a bit to start 2025, but it wasn't anything special. He still struggled with walks. His strikeouts dipped. And he pitched less in high leverage. But there you have it. His value was in distress so Cashman said "this is our chance to not have to pay an arm and a leg for a reliever."

Turns out he got his hands on an overpaid reliever who may never return to his All-Star ways. At best, it seems like Doval can probably find a healthy middle ground between 2023 and 2024, and even then that type of production isn't worth a $6 million arbitration settlement.

Just think about it. The Yankees could've gotten far more consistent and better relievers at this (or a similar) price point in free agency. Kenley Jansen signed for $9 million. Kyle Finnegan for $9 million AAV. Shawn Armstrong for $5.5 million. Emilio Pagan for $10 million a year. Hoby Milner for $3.75 million. The options weren't necessarily attractive or plentiful, but they didn't cost prospects and they aren't reclamation projects.

Stay tuned for more arbitration updates before Thursday night's deadline. We suspect the Yankees will take care of business, but it wouldn't be surprising if they have to head to a hearing with somebody as they pinch pennies (yet find a way to overspend on someone like Doval).