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It must be desperation time for FA Rickie Weeks. False tips being planted. Checked and the #MNTwins are NOT interested.
— Darren Wolfson (@DWolfsonKSTP) January 29, 2015
Per this Darren Wolfson tweet from earlier today, the Twins apparently are among the majority of teams not interested in former Brewers second baseman Rickie Weeks, or at least not keen on what Weeks’ camp has requested thus far in terms of dollars or longevity of contract. None of this will surprise Brewers fans, many of who eagerly anticipated the end of the Weeks days in Milwaukee.
Weeks lost a lot of his power and playing time over the last years of his time with the Brewers due to injuries that seemed to change his capacity to catch up with major league fastballs. But in addition his burdensome contract saw him making big money and not living up to it. The Brewers declined their $11.5 million club option on Weeks in October, and that was largely an administrative move because the team had systematically reduced Rickie’s playing time so that his 2015 option would become a club decision.
Weeks was never a good hitter in terms of batting average. He was never a reliable RBI man or a consistent stolen base threat beyond his early days. Perhaps he was misused in the leadoff role. What he was good for was getting on base at a reasonable rate, scoring runs and hitting some dingers and doubles.
But for $10 million or more, his warts were plainly evident. He struck out too much. He couldn’t regularly catch up with fastballs down the heart of the plate any longer, and he still looked fooled on most other pitches. He was also a liability in the infield, and was a one-position guy where the Brewers had Scooter Gennett rising. Now they also have Luis Sardinas and others to back up second base.
I thought Weeks would probably sit out on the free agent market for a long time this winter, but I didn’t think we’d be looking at February before a team gave him a chance for the 2015 season. Maybe Weeks is looking for too much money. Maybe he wants a guaranteed job or amount of playing time. Who knows? There hasn’t been much said about Weeks all winter.
This is just my speculation, but as we wait for the remaining musical chairs to be occupied, here are five potential landing spots for Rickie Weeks, in no particular order.
The Yankees signed Stephen Drew to play second base and they have Brendan Ryan as a backup. However, neither of those guys was very good last year, and perhaps Weeks could be signed to a minor-league deal to provide competition in spring training. The power potential of Weeks is something in which the Yanks may be interested.
Brandon Phillips had a down year in 2014, and who knows what he’ll bring to the table in 2015. Skip Schumaker is currently penciled in as a backup, but his numbers were worse than those of Weeks last season. Schumaker does bat from the left side, which enables the Reds to platoon him with Phillips. But Weeks has hit well in Great American Ballpark…I think.
The Royals are a little thin on infield depth behind incumbent Omar Infante. Infante is only about a year older than Weeks, at 33, but he could be given a rest or used elsewhere on the diamond at times. The Royals have a coach in Dale Sveum and a manager in Ned Yost who are familiar with Weeks (presumably in a mostly good way). Perhaps they could give him some at-bats at second base and designated hitter if he makes the team.
Weeks is a Florida guy and the Rays have taken chances on aging power hitters before (Pat Burrell, anyone?). The Rays have switch hitters Asdrubal Cabrera and Nick Franklin in the middle infield, so they could find time for Weeks to be part of a platoon at second base while still rotating the other guys around. Projected backup Logan Forsythe had very Weeks-like numbers last year, but Weeks has more pop and experience. Also when he does get a hold of one, the ball just may go over the fence as it sails through the motionless air of Tropicana Field. Weeks could also bolster their DH corps which is headlined by John Jaso and David DeJesus.
Weeks was said to be on the Cardinals’ radar earlier this offseason, and perhaps remains there. He actually wouldn’t be a bad platoon complement to Kolten Wong at second base. The Cardinals would probably be able to reel in Rickie with a minor-league deal and then exact some kind of miracle performance. Yahoo’s Free Agent Tracker has Weeks listed at #63, and Jeff Passan suggests Weeks could be “a weapon when deployed by the right manager.” Of course Mike Matheny would be that guy, just to spite the Brewers. Yes, you can successfully deploy seemingly washed-up second basemen for spite. Plus he can hang out with Mark Reynolds again, until they both get DFA’d, at least.
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There’s still hope for Weeks. Gordon Beckham just received a one-year, $2 million deal from the White Sox, so it’s not like every penny has been snapped up already. There are still quite a few players on the free agent market, and the second-base scene is rather sketchy. Weeks may get a major league deal yet, and if not, he’ll probably get an invite to spring camp at the very least. Hopefully he finds a fresh start somewhere, because I’m still a fan of the guy. I just don’t want to watch him strike out or bobble grounders for Milwaukee anymore.
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