Diamondbacks CEO Derrick Hall confirmed he expects J.J. Putz to return next season. Putz, who finished seventh in the National League with 32 saves, has a $6.5 million option for 2013, with a $1.5 million buyout. "It's likely a priority of ours," Hall said. "He's been outstanding. A great leader and mentor to our relievers. We've had so much confidence turning to him to close out games, it's hard to imagine us not doing so."

J.J. Putz returned to action on Saturday September 15.

J.J. Putz was unavailable Tuesday due to a stiff back. David Hernandez filled in for him and converted a save against the Dodgers. Putz is considered day-to-day.

J.J. Putz blew his second save in two days Monday by giving up a run in the ninth inning against the Giants. At least Putz isn't playing favorites after blowing a save and taking a loss to the Dodgers on Sunday. GM Kevin Towers said last week that he was planning to pick up Putz's $6.5 million option for 2013, but an ugly September could change that.

Diamondbacks general manager Kevin Towers indicated Friday that the club intends to pick up J.J. Putz's $6.5 million option for 2013. Assuming he stays healthy down the stretch, there's no reason why they shouldn't. Putz hasn't allowed a run since June 19 and holds a 2.82 ERA overall. He is 27-for-30 in save chances this year.

J.J. Putz earned his 23rd save of the season Thursday in the Diamondbacks' 2-1 victory in St. Louis. Putz struck out David Freese, then induced lineouts from Daniel Descalso and Tony Cruz. The Diamondbacks' ninth-inning man is now sporting a 3.26 ERA, 0.98 WHIP and 44/8 K/BB ratio through 38 2/3 frames this season. He hasn't allowed an earned run since June 19.

J.J. Putz retired all three Phillies hitters he faced on Friday, en route to his 20th save of the season. Putz is having a bit of a rough season to this point, registering a 1-4 record and 3.60 ERA while converting 20-of-23 save chances. Still, the trio of Putz, David Hernandez and Takashi Saito represents one of the strongest late-inning bullpens in all of baseball.

J.J. Putz has only been scored upon in one of his last 13 appearances, dating back to May 22. Popular opinion is that Putz is having a pretty crummy year. On the surface, his first-half stats support this thesis: 4.50 ERA, four losses and three blown saves. Dig a little deeper, however, and perception changes. He has a dominant 29/7 K/BB rate and decent 1.21 WHIP over 28 innings. Through May 9, Putz had a 9.00 ERA over his first 11 appearances. Since that time, he's posted a 2.00 ERA and .504 OPS-allowed over 18 outings -- and all four runs he allowed in that span came in just two games total. Putz is one of the better buy-low fantasy trade candidates in the game right now.

J.J. Putz was slapped with his fourth loss after giving up two runs over one-plus innings of work against the Mariners on Tuesday. It's hard to levy the totality of blame for the loss on Putz, as the veteran probably shouldn't be tasked with throwing more than one inning at a time at this point in his career. He came on in the ninth inning of a 9-9 game and retired the side in order, but allowed the first two runners to reach after he was sent out in the tenth. Brad Ziegler relieved him and Seattle went on to score three runs, two of which were credited to Putz. The former Mariner closer is suffering through a rough season. Tuesday's outing drops him to 1-4 with a 5.73 ERA and three blown saves. His peripherals aren't terrible, however, so expect improvement going forward.

J.J. Putz returned to action on Saturday June 2.