It seems to me that everybody just assumes that the Dbacks should and will let JJ Putz leave after this season and move David Hernandez into the closer role in 2013, but is that the right choice?

If Putz leaves after this season, next year's bullpen currently would look something like this (2013 age in parenthesis):

Closer - David Hernandez (28)

Setup Man - Brad Ziegler (33)

Long Relief - Josh Collmenter (27)

Job in Place - Bryan Shaw (25)

Job in Place - Matt Albers (30)

Last 2 Spots - Brad Bergesen (30 - AAA), Mike Zagurski (30 - AAA), Jonathan Albaladejo (30 - AAA), Jensen Lewis (29 - AAA), Joe Paterson (27 - AAA), Matt Gorgen (26 - AAA), Eury De La Rosa (23 - AA), Evan Marshall (23 - AA), Eric Smith (24 - AA)

My own personal thoughts are that the Dbacks have had such uncertainty at the end of the bullpen that I don't feel comfortable with the thought of having a bunch of unproven pitchers in AAA and AA competing for the final two spots in the bullpen, especially since Shaw and Albers themselves haven't had any sort of track record of success.

Even though Putz will be entering his age 36 year, he's been durable and dependable the last 3 years, and this year has even upped his K rate and lowered his BB rate compared to last year. I believe it would be a worthwhile risk to sign him for another 2 years, similar to what the Dbacks signed him for originally (2year/$9mil). Given his age, I can't imagine he would get much more than that in the free agent market. If the Dbacks aren't comfortable with that idea, maybe give him a 1 year deal for $5mil with a 2nd year club option for $5mil that becomes fully guaranteed if he finishes 50 games with a $1mil buyout.

Thoughts?