Camilo Doval Bio
Camilo Doval (born July 4, 1997) is a Dominican professional baseball pitcher for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played in MLB for the San Francisco Giants, where he developed into one of the National League’s most prominent closers before being traded mid-season in 2025. Doval signed with the Giants as an international free agent in 2015 and made his MLB debut in 2021. Known for an elite fastball that has reached 104.5 miles per hour, Doval is a former All-Star and NL saves leader.
Early Life and Background
Camilo Doval was born on July 4, 1997, in Yamasá, Dominican Republic. He is the son of Rosa, an elementary school teacher, and Sergio, a farmer, who have separated. Doval is the third of Rosa’s four children, and he has a combined 23 siblings and half-siblings, with whom he often communicates in a family group chat on WhatsApp.
Growing up in the Dominican Republic, Doval was immersed in a country where baseball is a daily way of life. He is one of 24 children in his extended family. That large, close-knit household helped shape his personality and his drive, and it provided a steady support system as he pursued the sport professionally.
Path to Professional Baseball
Doval signed with the San Francisco Giants as an international free agent in October 2015 at age 18, receiving a signing bonus of $100,000. He began his professional career in 2016 in the Dominican Summer League, pitching for the Rookie-level DSL Giants and posting a 2–0 record with one save and a 1.66 earned run average.
Over the next several seasons, Doval steadily climbed the minor league ladder, spending time with the AZL Giants, the Class A Augusta GreenJackets, and the Class A-Advanced San Jose Giants. He was recognized as a 2018 MiLB.com Organization All-Star and a 2019 California League Mid-Season All-Star, averaging roughly 12.8 strikeouts per nine innings across his first four minor league seasons. The cancellation of the 2020 minor league season due to the COVID-19 pandemic delayed his next step, but the Giants added him to their 40-man roster after that year.
Camilo Doval Career
Early Career and MLB Debut (2021)
Doval was promoted to the major leagues for the first time on April 16, 2021, and made his MLB debut two days later against the Miami Marlins on April 18, pitching a scoreless inning of relief with two strikeouts at age 23. He split the year between Triple-A West Sacramento and the major league Giants, and in July he threw a pitch timed at 104.5 mph in the minors.
By September 2021, Doval had become the Giants’ closer. He became the second Giants pitcher since Statcast began tracking in 2008 to throw a pitch faster than 102 mph, joining Brian Wilson, and at 24 years and three months old he was the youngest Giants pitcher to record a save since Rod Beck in 1992. He was named National League Reliever of the Month for September/October after throwing 14.1 scoreless innings with 20 strikeouts, and he finished the regular season 5–1 with three saves and a 3.00 ERA.
San Francisco Giants Breakthrough (2021–2025)
In the 2021 postseason, Doval delivered two perfect innings to save the Giants’ 1–0 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 3 of the National League Division Series, becoming the first rookie to record a two-plus inning save in the postseason without allowing a baserunner since saves became an official statistic in 1969. The 2022 season was his first full year as the Giants’ closer, and he went 6–6 with 27 saves, a 2.53 ERA, and 80 strikeouts in 67.2 innings, again earning NL Reliever of the Month honors for September.
Doval’s breakout arrived in 2023. He was named NL Reliever of the Month for May, converted all 11 of his save opportunities that month, and on July 2 was selected to the National League All-Star team for the 2023 MLB All-Star Game, where he became the winning pitcher and the eighth Giant to earn that distinction. He finished the year with a league-leading 39 saves and a 2.93 ERA. After a tougher 2024 season in which he was briefly optioned to Triple-A Sacramento, Doval returned in a setup role, and in 2025 he reclaimed the closer job and recorded his 100th career save on June 5 against the San Diego Padres.
New York Yankees Era (2025–Present)
On July 31, 2025, the Giants traded Doval to the New York Yankees in exchange for pitcher Trystan Vrieling and prospects Jesús Rodríguez, Parks Harber, and Carlos De La Rosa. The move gave him a fresh start on a contender and reunited him with a high-profile bullpen.
Since joining the Yankees, Doval has continued to serve as a late-inning reliever, leaning on the same power arsenal that defined his time in San Francisco. He contributed to a Yankees bullpen that has helped keep the club in postseason contention through the middle of the 2025 schedule.
Driving Style and Strengths
Doval relies primarily on a four-seam fastball that reaches 104 mph, paired with a high-80s hard slider and a high-90s sinker he added in mid-2022, along with an occasional change-up. He throws from a very low, nearly sidearm arm slot, which gives his fastball unusual rising action and makes his slider especially difficult for opposing hitters to barrel.
Notable Events and Milestones
Signature moments include his 2021 NLDS save against the Dodgers, his 2023 All-Star Game winning appearance, his 2023 NL saves title, and his 100th career save on June 5, 2025. He also represented the Dominican Republic at the 2026 World Baseball Classic in Miami.
Camilo Doval Career Wins
Camilo Doval has built his reputation less on wins than on saves and strikeouts, finishing with a 29–19 career record, 109 saves, and 382 strikeouts through the 2026 season. His strongest run came as the Giants’ closer from 2021 through 2023, when he set up his All-Star selection and saves title.
Major League Highlights
His first major league save came in September 2021, and his most recent milestone save, his 100th, was recorded on June 5, 2025, against the Padres. He led the National League with 39 saves in 2023 and added two more All-Star caliber seasons in San Francisco before his mid-2025 trade to New York.
Other Performances
In the minors, Doval earned 2018 MiLB.com Organization All-Star honors with Class A Augusta and was a 2019 California League Mid-Season All-Star with San Jose. He also represented the Dominican Republic at the 2026 World Baseball Classic in Miami.
Camilo Doval Family
Family Background and Lineage
Doval’s parents are Rosa, an elementary school teacher, and Sergio, a farmer, who have separated. He is the third of Rosa’s four children and one of 24 kids in his extended family, with 23 siblings and half-siblings.
Personal Life
Doval has a son. He remains closely connected to his large Dominican family and frequently communicates with his many siblings and half-siblings in a WhatsApp group chat.
2025 Season Performance
Doval opened 2025 in a setup role behind closer Ryan Walker, but reclaimed the closer job in late May after Walker struggled. On June 5, 2025, he recorded his 100th career save in a 3–2 win over the San Diego Padres. Before the trade, he made 47 relief appearances for San Francisco, going 4–2 with a 3.09 ERA, 50 strikeouts, and 15 saves across 46.2 innings.
On July 31, 2025, San Francisco traded him to the Yankees for Trystan Vrieling, Jesús Rodríguez, Parks Harber, and Carlos De La Rosa. The deal gave Doval a late-inning role in a contending bullpen and aligned him with a contender chasing a deep October run.
With his fastball still sitting in the upper-90s and his slider still generating swings and misses, Doval’s outlook in New York points toward more high-leverage innings and another chance to add to his save total on a playoff-caliber team.
