The Brewers have announced the decision to decline their $11.5MM club option on Rickie Weeks, making him a free agent. Additionally, the team officially announced that it will exercise Yovani Gallardo’s option as MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes reported yesterday.
Weeks, 32, was the No. 2 overall selection of the 2003 draft by the Brewers. He’s spent his entire career with Milwaukee. He emerged as one of baseball’s best second basemen from 2007-11, hitting .255/.357/.448 with an average of 18 homers, 13 steals, 2.5 rWAR and 3.1 fWAR per season in that stretch. However, his production has declined steadily since that time, as he’s batted .233/.327/.398 since that time and eventually fell into the short end of a platoon role with the left-handed hitting Scooter Gennett.
Weeks inked a four-year, $38.5MM contract extension prior to the 2011 season. He will now hit the open market in a thin class for second basemen. Because of the lack of free agent competition, some clubs figure to have interest in Weeks in a full-time capacity despite lackluster performances against right-handed pitching in recent years. It should be noted, of course, that Weeks did hit .294/.351/.395 in a small sample of 131 plate appearances against righties this year and .274/.357/.452 overall, giving interested clubs reason for optimism.
Not wild about Richie Weeks at this point. Can he play 3rd as well as 2B and 1B maybe a little outfield? He might be worth 1/3 million on a big league deal.
Brewers asked him to workout in the OF this season to expand his playing time but declined. He can’t play 3B either. He is strictly 2B/1B/DH type at this point. Unless he changes his attitude.
Really tired of hearing people think Weeks has an attitude problem or isn’t a team player becaause he wouldn’t play OF. The guy can’t play the outfield…anyone who thinks he could even attempt to is crazy. That’s not to mention they were asking him to do it mid season and it is a totally new defensive concept to learn. His focus would not have been on hitting and his numbers would have declined…crazy that he still gets negativity for not wanting to play OF.
I think the ‘attitude problem’ came into play when they simply asked him to workout there, he didn’t even attempt it or give it a chance. That is where I have issue. If it didn’t work out then the Brewers would not have used him in the OF anyways. Why would a player not want to play more and sit on the bench 3 games a week?
I find it hard to blame a player not trying to destroy his season for something that has a .01% chance of working. If his stats would have plummetted he would be looking at 1/2mil max, now he can expect up to 2/10mil. He still has a family to support.
There was no reason to move him to the OF. This whole thing was so incredibly blown up by a couple media guys making him out to be some selfish player.
How much money has he made – something like 50 million? I don’t think he has kids yet even. But somehow shagging a few fly balls would have destroyed his psyche and jeopardized future earnings – okay.
I’d be surprised if he gets more than a Spring training invite.
He will easily get a MLB contract valuable bench bat and with the desperate teams looking for a 2B he may just get a starting gig.
If he can’t play the OF then that brings his overall athletic ability into question.
Are you saying OF is easy to play or doesn’t take as much athletic ability than other positions. Cause if so you can’t be more wrong.
Yes, playing the outfield is easier. I played both. You don’t try and stop speeding bullets in the outfield. You stand around and do nothing for most of the game in the outfield. A good athlete can play both. Is there a learning curve, yes there is. That’s why they call it practice.
I don’t think a team will let him play 2nd full time. First and 3rd have been out of the question.
The bad attitude thing has been around long before that.
I have been a Brewers fan all my life, never heard anyone say Weeks had a bad attitude before they asked him to learn OF after he has played nothing but 2nd his whole career, not to mention he cant even field at 2nd.
There have been a few other things he refused to do. One was cut down on his 2 strike swing because that’s how he plays. There have been rolling arguments for years on BF and BCB, but Schroeder, the guy who ran BCB and a solid core of fans absolutely adore him, not to mention Doug Melvin. It cuts down on the broadcasting of a lot of it.
The guy cant play 2nd either….
Given the poor market for infielders, I’d think he can top that pretty easily. We’ve seen Skip Schumaker, Willie Bloomquist, etc. all nab two-year deals worth $2-3MM annually. And while a guy like Schumaker can technically play multiple positions, he’s not particularly good at any of them.
Weeks had a decent enough season that I wouldn’t be shocked if a team gave him a reasonable one-year deal to start or went after him on a 2/10 type of deal. That’s fourth outfielder money at this point, as we saw with McLouth, Davis and others recently. Not saying I’d offer two — just that it’s not out of the realm of possibility.
Do you think the Braves could possibly be in on him?
Wouldn’t surprise me at all, given that the price tag would be low and La Stella’s numbers would’ve been brutal if not for a .388 BABIP against LHP, which he obviously won’t sustain. (Then again, his BABIP versus righties should rebound)
I think he’s played his last game as a Brewer. He’s pretty much been a lightning rod for the fan’s frustration the past few years. I think both sides are ready for a parting of the way.
Strikeouts in nearly one-fourth of the MLB plate appearances … yep, that seems to fit in with the Braves’ approach.
You beat me to it..
You are probably correct, some team without a decent second baseman Will likely give him the 2 and 10. They will be betting on power and average defense and I suppose that’s not ridiculous. He reminds me of Bill Hall, post Brewers.
He refused to play any where else but 2b with the Brewers. He was asked several times.
Rickie has always been a true professional even during his decline and loss of playing time. He is a good clubhouse guy who is still young enough to have several more productive seasons. Just not in a Brewers uniform. i can seen a team going 2 years with a $5M AAV.
He always impressed me as very unprofessional. He refused or resisted changes that would help him. Is he good in the clubhouse?
Can Weeks play third?
No…not even close. He already struggles with grounders. Can’t imagine 3rd would end well.
It’s why I asked.
That’s why I answered.
That’s why I’m reading these responses
Ricky was never one of the best second basemen in the league. EVER!
He was extremely good from 2007-2011. A 2B averaging a 120 OPS+ and getting a 5+ WAR in 2010 easily made him one of the best during that span. This is why I feel bad for Rickie. All this hate that most of the time doesn’t even make sense. He had such a bright future till injuries took away all that potential. Not like he could control that.
The hate is nothing compared to what Gennett gets.
The minor leagues are filled with potential.
I got lost at hate Gennett gets….totally lost. Haaha
Yeah… No. I mean, he wasn’t a Pedroia or a Cano but he had a high level of production during the 07-11 span. When he signed his extension, most baseball people thought it was a win-win for both sides.
Injuries really derailed him. I’m not saying he’ll get back to where he was but he actually played very well this year. As one of those Brewers fans who spent 2 years wanting him off the field, I found myself coming around by the end of June.
Here comes A.A. From the Blue Jays. Checking out another from the junk pile.
I’d call Rickie Weeks more of a thrift store piece. I mean sure it looks bad and is missing half the pieces, but on the bright side it still has as little usefullness for the price.
After what the Blue Jays had at 2nd base last year which wasn’t much, Weeks would have to be considered an upgrade.
Brett Lawrie is more than capable of handling 2B. With more than 3 quality 3B available on F.A and Izturis making his way back as insurance for when Lawrie has his annual trip to the DL, we don’t need Rickie Weeks and his non-existent glove and bat that while was good last season, was done in half as many ABS as most people would like to see.
His glove is just so awful, although he did have a decent half season’s worth of ABs. I can see most teams asking him to move positions, most likely a corner outfield position. Follow in the footsteps of Alfonso Soriano?
If the tv and other media guys are to be believed, he sees himself as a full time 2B. I wouldn’t be surprised if he retired rather than play another position.
But can Lawrie stay healthy? So far the answer is a definite “no”. He hadn’t been healthy since he got to the Jays. So any plans they make has to include his usual trip to the D.L.
I’ll assume this was a reply to me lol. Yeah, Lawrie like most of the Jays, is injury prone. Izturis is making his way back and the Jays do have Goins who can at least provide superb defense in case of needing a backup 2B. Dan Uggla still hasn’t announced his retirement, he’ll probably sign a minor league deal with someone and the Jays should take a flyer out on him since there’s a good chance they’d need him at least for AAA depth.
I don’t like seeing the Jays sign Weeks, we already have enough defense issues for when Lawrie gets hurt and Reyes and everyone else(excluding Bautista in RF) is exposed for having zero range.
Thought for the day: Dan Uggla is probably going to get a World Series ring
That doesn’t sit well with me.
I’m a Braves fan. Tell ME about it.
But seriously, trust me in saying that you do not want Uggla anywhere near your franchise. I wouldn’t want him as AAA bat boy depth. It took the Giants FOUR GAMES to realize how detrimental he is to a ball club.
He might re-find his power in the most hitter friendly division in baseball where every deep flyball is a homer. It’s not like he’s going to want actual money lol. I can’t see him finding anything but a minor league deal if he wants to play this year.
Power’s never been his issue, though. He has one of the most violent, powerful swings I’ve ever seen. Every time he makes contact it has a chance to leave the yard. Problem is, he has fully and completely lost his ability to put the bat on the ball. If a hitting coach could get his problem turned around, he deserves a HoF spot.
The Brewers got about as much as a NL team could out of Weeks last season. They platooned him wisely and he rewarded them with pretty good numbers. In the field his age, size and previous leg injuries have pretty much made him a liability as a middle infielder, but as part of a part time second baseman/part time dh platoon with an AL team he could have some value.
He was never a good fielder.
He’s probably always been a bit below average, though he didn’t really become an extreme liability until about the 2012 season.
If you put him around average who would be worse on defense?
I didn’t put him anywhere. Defensive matrixes had him slightly below 0 as far as runs saved in the middle of his career. As I said, he fell off the table around 2012 and last year he was clearly the worst. But in 2008 for example, Weeks posted a -0.2 dWAR, which was ahead of such starting second basemen as Kelly Johnson, Ian Kinsler, Alexi Ramirez, Robinson Cano, Jeff Kent, Felipe Lopez, Luis Castillo and Mark DeRosa.
You put him “a bit below average.” I don’t all those players were better defenders than Weeks. I suppose Castillo at the very end of his career is debatable.
Again, I didn’t put him anywhere. dWAR did. So far all I’ve heard is your opinion–back it up with some numbers.
You cited dWAR as some sort of proof. You put him “a bit below average” based on that. Go ahead and look for some numbers that demonstrate the reliability and validity of dWAR. Hint: they don’t exist. He’s bad. If you want numbers you could do a poll. Or how about see if some GM gives him a jumbo contract like Melvin did.
Seems like the type of guy you invite to ST and see how he does. Who knows. He could surprise some people. Either way, he’s not getting any type of multi-year deal at this point.
He will take a for sure contract that will be offered to him…not an invite to ST.
His WAR seems a bit low considering the gap between his BA and OBP, decent SB, and averaging 18 HR in that span. Was it his dWAR? Regardless I think Weeks would make a good depth option for any team looking for that in their IF.
WAR rewards a high OBP but the differential between BA and OBP has no effect as far as I know. Week’s 24% K rate certainly didn’t help his WAR.
Could be a great fit for the Yankees.