>>Bumgarner, Posey Highlight Silver Slugger Winners

(Undated) -- Madison Bumgarner and Buster Posey of the World Series champion San Francisco Giants highlight the Silver Slugger Award winners. MVP finalists Andrew McCutchen of the Pirates and Giancarlo Stanton of the Marlins also captured the award in the National League, while all three American League MVP nominees received Silver Sluggers as well. Mike Trout of the Angels, Cleveland's Michael Brantley and Detroit's Victor Martinez took home the honor. Chicago's Jose Abreu and Alexei Ramirez, Houston's Jose Altuve, Texas' Adrian Beltre, Toronto's Jose Bautista and Cleveland's Yan Gomes were the other AL winners. Los Angeles' Adrian Gonzalez, Pittsburgh's Neil Walker, Washington's Anthony Rendon and Ian Desmond and Atlanta's Justin Upton were Silver Sluggers recipients in the NL.

>>Rays Release List Of Managerial Candidates

(St. Petersburg, FL) -- Bench coach Dave Martinez is among eight guys on the Tampa Bay Rays radar. The team released a list of managerial candidates on Thursday. The list also includes Charlie Montoyo, Manny Acta, Ron Wotus, Don Wakamatsu, Raul Ibanez, Craig Counsell and Kevin Cash. Rays president of baseball operations Matt Silverman said he expects the list to grow as they continue through the process of hiring Joe Maddon's successor.

>>Reliever Putz Joins D-backs' Front Office

Veteran major-league reliever J.J. Putz has been hired as a front-office assistant by the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The Diamondbacks announced Thursday that Putz was named as a special assistant to president and CEO Derrick Hall.

The team did not immediately respond to an email to confirm that Putz, 37, had retired.

He didn't pitch in the majors after being designated for assignment on June 20 after posting a 6.59 ERA in 18 games for the Diamondbacks this season.

Putz appeared in 572 games for the Mariners, Mets, White Sox and Diamondbacks, all out of the bullpen. He ranks 51st on the all-time MLB list with 189 saves, including a career-high 45 for Arizona in 2011.

He finished with a 3.08 ERA and made one All-Star team, in 2007 for Seattle, when he saved 40 games and finished 13th in voting for AL MVP.

In a statement, Putz said he was excited to give back to the game he loves and to be a part of the Diamondbacks organization, where he pitched for three-plus seasons.

Hall said Putz's "performance on the field and popularity off the field make him a tremendous addition to the front office."