The Yankees have a Camilo Doval problem because Doval has a problem with left-handed hitters.
When the righty reliever gave up a grand slam to the left-handed hitting Andrew Benintendi on the first pitch he threw Thursday night, breaking a 1-1 tie in the eighth inning, it put a spotlight on his drastic platoon splits.
Entering Friday, right-handed hitters were batting just .132 with a .419 OPS in 58 plate appearances against Doval. But left-handed hitters were batting .368 with a .979 OPS in 60 plate appearances against him, which is largely responsible for his 5.08 ERA through 32 appearances.
“I feel like that will correct itself a little bit, because I feel like he’s capable of getting lefties out,” manager Aaron Boone said before the Yankees opened a series against the Reds. “I feel like he’s naturally going to be tougher on righties, just with his arsenal and the way he throws and his delivery. But just because it’s been that drastic now doesn’t mean that can’t evolve and change a little bit. … That’s what the season’s for. It doesn’t mean that can’t improve as we move forward.”
