The New York Yankees went all-in at the 2025 MLB trade deadline, and what they were targeting was obvious: to create a super-bullpen. On July 31, General Manager Brian Cashman completely revamped his relief corps. The Bombers brought in two-time All-Star closer David Bednar from the Pirates, former All-Star closer Camilo Doval from the Giants, and righty Jake Bird out of the Rockies. In each case, the Yankees gave up numerous prospects, including the prominent catching prospect Rafael Flores, but they made their point. The Yankees were stocking up for a run to the World Series, but one of those trades rocked the league.

Camilo Doval, acquired from San Francisco, drew immediate criticism as a lopsided heist among fans and analysts. The feeling found a perfect encapsulation in baseball analyst Michael Marino, who tweeted, “The Camilo Doval trade is the WORST of the deadline, and it isn’t even close. No high end prospect received for a fantastic RP under team control until 2028. Terrible!” The story was in: The rich-and-powerful Yankees had fleeced another team, and fans were not happy with it.

To really get what’s at play here, you have to look a little closer at the player at the center of the storm. Doval’s fastball reaches 102 miles per hour, and he was an All-Star in the National League last season when his league-best 39 saves helped carry him there. He has been good this season — a 3.09 ERA and 15 saves, but not great. Crucially, he’s under team control for two more seasons after 2025. On paper, he’s a marquee asset.

It was the return for such a high-octane arm that provoked outrage. The Giants acquired four prospects, though none from the front ranks of a deep Yankees farm system. The headliners were right-hander Trystan Vrieling (No. 19 prospect in the Yankees’ system) and catcher/infielder Jesus Rodriguez (No. 25). The other two pieces were power-hitting corner infielder Parks Harber and an 18-year-old, high-upside lefty named Carlos De La Rosa. To many, that haul seemed shockingly light for a proven closer who also had years of control.

The Court of Public Opinion

The Doval trade ignited a firestorm online. Fans from both sides and neutral observers jumped into the fray, creating a perfect storm of hot takes and conspiracy theories. The court of public opinion was officially in session.

One fan wrote, “Its all rigged just like nba. Only yankees and Lakers can get away with unfair trades like this cause the league wants them to succeed cause they’re good for ratings.”This sentiment doesn’t spring from nowhere. It’s fed by a history of franchise-shaping moves, from the Red Sox selling Babe Ruth to the Yankees and on down through the Marlins’ ownership salary-dump trade of Giancarlo Stanton. The Lakers have an equivalent history as well. They traded for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1975, when he forced a trade from Milwaukee to bigger markets, which diminished the Bucks’ leverage. The 2008 acquisition of Pau Gasol was so condemned as lopsided that Gregg Popovich, the Spurs’ coach, fumed in public about it.

Giants fans, in particular, were incensed. “Wtf were they thinking. They got more for rogers.” They had just seen their team trade reliever Tyler Rogers to the Mets for what they felt was a stronger package of prospects, including right-hander José Buttó, right-hander Blade Tidwell, and outfielder Drew Gilbert. Doval, with his 100-mph fastball and extra year of team control, seemed like the more valuable asset.

Of course, on the other side of the aisle, Yankees fans were celebrating what they saw as another masterstroke from their GM. “Cashman somehow does this all the time. I have no idea how. He has to have blackmail on the other GM or something.” The specifics of the deal support this narrative: In Cashman’s pursuit, he added a cost-controlled, high-voltage reliever with a long track record of dominance (a 2023 All-Star) without giving up any one of the Yankees’ most appealing prospects. The most highly regarded prospect in the deal, Trystan Vrieling, ranked 19th in the Yankees’ system.

But not all Giants fans were lamenting the trade. “Doval has been atrocious and is not good at all under pressure. Also seems to have lost interest with pitching violations galore. Very happy we got rid of him.” This mentality also comes from Doval’s frustrating 2024 campaign, in which his ERA ballooned to 4.88 and was even optioned briefly to Triple-A Sacramento. “Pitching violations galore” is a direct reference to his well-documented struggles with the pitch clock and on-field focus.

This led some to a more pragmatic and insightful conclusion. “Are we sure anyone truly wanted Doval? I wouldn’t quite call him fantastic.” This comment astutely questions the “fantastic RP” label used by Marino. The market’s answer was clear when comparing the Doval trade to other blockbuster reliever deals. To acquire Mason Miller, the Padres gave up Leo De Vries, MLB Pipeline’s No. 3 overall prospect. For Jhoan Duran, the Phillies surrendered two Top 100 prospects in catcher Eduardo Tait (No. 56) and pitcher Mick Abel (No. 92).

The fact that the Giants’ return for Doval was headlined by prospects ranked No. 19 and No. 25 within the Yankees’ system demonstrates that MLB front offices valued him in a significantly lower tier due to his volatility and profound control issues.