Rickie Weeks Rumors

Brewers Hope To Add Two Starters

Brewers GM Doug Melvin spoke to reporters today, and Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel has quotes. A few highlights: Melvin feels that re-signing closer Trevor Hoffman early will aid the Brewers in attracting free agent starting pitchers. Melvin hopes to add two starters. When asked about trading Prince Fielder or Ryan Braun, Melvin responded, "I don't see that happening." Might as well close the book on those rumors. The Brewers view Rickie Weeks as their starting second baseman, which implies they'll let free agent Felipe Lopez leave. Melvin told Haudricourt it would "be very difficult" for the Brewers to...   Continue Reading

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Odds & Ends: Pirates, Sabean, Weeks

Tuesday linkage: Chat today, 2pm CST. Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette spoke with commissioner Bud Selig, who was adamant that the Pirates are not pocketing their profits. Pirates starter Zach Duke was pulled last night from an 11-1 game, one out away from a complete game, with 103 pitches thrown. Talking to Kovacevic, team president Frank Coonelly "strongly rejected" the idea that manager John Russell made the move to weaken Duke's bargaining position at the arbitration table. Joe Posnanski questions Russell's explanation of his decision. Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News feels that Giants managing partner Bill...   Continue Reading

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Brewers Owner Acknowledges Fielder Could Be Dealt

Brewers owner Mark Attanasio believes that Prince Fielder is at his maximum trade-market value right now, writes Don Walker of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Fielder is due to receive $10.5MM on the back end of a two-year $18MM agreement and is hitting .297/.406/.596 with 43 HRs. With that level of production and a reasonable contract, Fielder could fetch an awful lot - especially from AL squads that could put him at DH. While Attanasio says that he doesn't like thinking about the Brewers sans Fielder, he also acknowledged that one player's strong performance doesn't automatically translate into wins. At the...   Continue Reading

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Brewers Face Plenty Of Roster Decisions

After a tremendous run last year that resulted in the club's first playoff berth in a quarter-century, the Brewers sat 13.5 GB of a playoff spot coming into today's action, and sport the National League's worst starting rotation thanks to their 5.22 ERA. As Adam McCalvy of MLB.com writes, the club has a ton of roster decisions to make this offseason, although GM Doug Melvin says "We've got a lot of decisions, and none of them will be discussed until the end of the season." Some of the issues facing the Brew Crew this offseason are... Impending Free Agents: Trevor...   Continue Reading

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Brewers GM On Trades, Free Agents, Draft

Brewers GM Doug Melvin said on 1250 WSSP in Milwaukee that he's glad he didn't go after some of the free agent arms that were available last offseason. Here's the clip and here are the details: Melvin admits that pitchers like John Smoltz and Oliver Perez were tempting, but says he's glad he resisted. The Brewers were interested in Jarrod Washburn at the deadline, but didn't have enough young pitching to complete a deal with the Mariners. The Brewers were in on the Roy Halladay sweepstakes, but were reluctant to give up Alcides Escobar and Mat Gamel. Melvin sounds hesitant...   Continue Reading

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Odds And Ends: Rangers, Brewers, O'Dowd

A few links for Saturday morning... Nolan Ryan could buy into the Texas Rangers according to this MLB.com article by T.R. Sullivan. ESPN.com's Buster Olney points out that the Rangers have the resources to "out-bid others for the likes of Erik Bedard" if they decide to trade for pitching help. Brewers GM Doug Melvin said once again that he's not looking outside the organization for second base help, according to MLB.com's Adam McCalvy. Melvin said he's happy with Craig Counsell at second in the absence of Rickie Weeks. Now that the Phillies hope to acquire an impact pitcher, Matt Cerrone...   Continue Reading

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Melvin On Second Base Situation

Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel talked to Brewers GM Doug Melvin about the team's second base situation. Rickie Weeks is out for the season with wrist surgery, but Melvin is not interested in the three free agent second basemen: Ray Durham, Mark Grudzielanek, and Damion Easley. Durham's agent called Melvin, saying his client would need a while to get ready. Melvin decided not to pursue Durham, who played for the Brewers last year. Easley's agent also reached out to no avail, according to MLB.com's Adam McCalvy. There have been no trade talks, either. Instead, the Brewers will mix and...   Continue Reading

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Olney On Trade Scenarios

ESPN's Buster Olney talks about future trade possibilities in his blog today. Olney's Brewers source says the team is not looking outside for Rickie Weeks' replacement at this point. Manager Ken Macha doesn't view Craig Counsell as a regular, but he can platoon with Casey McGehee. And Alcides Escobar will start to work at second base in Triple A. The Red Sox might have to do something to replace David Ortiz at DH if he doesn't show signs of life soon. Olney speculates on the idea of Boston trading starting pitching "for some talented young hitter - like Matt LaPorta...   Continue Reading

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Rickie Weeks Out For The Season

Terrible news for the Brewers - Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports that second baseman Rickie Weeks is out for the season due to a torn tendon sheath in his left wrist. It's a 4-6 month recovery period. Weeks, 26, was off to a nice .272/.340/.517 start in 162 plate appearances. If GM Doug Melvin decides to hit up the free agent market, he can consider Ray Durham, Mark Grudzielanek, or Damion Easley.   Continue Reading

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Brewers, Weeks Avoid Arbitration

According to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, the Brewers avoided arbitration with second baseman Rickie Weeks by signing him for 2009. The deal is worth $2.45MM plus a possible $75K in incentives, according to SI.com's Jon Heyman. Weeks had requested $2.8MM while the Brewers countered at $2MM. He'll be eligible for free agency after the 2011 season. Haudricourt notes that the Brewers have one case remaining in Corey Hart ($1.1MM gap). MLB.com's Adam McCalvy says his hearing is scheduled for the third week of February. Brewers assistant GM Gord Ash on the situation: "We still have a basic disagreement...   Continue Reading

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