With pitchers and catchers reporting to various spring camps across Florida and Arizona, MLB news is beginning to trickle out consistently. There was some news out of Scottsdale, Arizona on Wednesday, as San Francisco Giants manager Bob Melvin announced his team's closer for 2025.

It's not Camilo Doval, who held the job at times in 2024; the Giants will turn to Ryan Walker to close games to kick off the regular season, according to Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports.

The right-handed Walker was drafted by the Giants back in 2018 and has had a role on San Francisco's pitching staff since 2023.

Walker started 13 games for the Giants in 2023 but was almost exclusively a reliever last season — and boy, did he look good. In 76 games (75 out of the bullpen), Walker posted a 1.91 ERA and 0.85 WHIP. The 29-year-old posted a 99:18 strikeout-to-walk ratio, induced seven double plays, and even picked up 10 saves along the way.

Checking on the ‘splits' side of things, Walker was consistently effective against all batters — regardless of their handedness. Right-handed batters slashed .170/.236/.225, while lefties showed a bit more power with a .189/.267/.311 slash-line.

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As is the case with any promotion, there is always a subsequent demotion; in this case, it's Doval who is getting demoted.

Doval, who is entering his age-24 season, has been with San Francisco since 2021. Doval's best season with the Giants came in 2023, when the right-hander posted a 2.77 FIP and lead the league with 39 saves. Nonetheless, Doval ran into some trouble in 2024, the first season of notable struggle for the young Giants hurler.

Over 59 innings pitched in 2024, Doval worked to a 1.57 WHIP — by far the highest of his career; his average WHIP from 2021 to 2023 was 1.16. The Dominican Republic native did keep his strikeout rate up, as his 11.9 K/9 rate was the highest for him in a season of more than 50 innings pitched.

While Doval certainly is a tool the Giants will keep in their pocket, it's hard to disagree with Melvin for electing Walker to the closer's role, considering Doval's dip in production in 2024 and Walker's impressive emergence.