Rickie Weeks doesn’t think that he’ll be back with the Brewers next season, he tells Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Weeks, who has an $11.5MM club option that won’t be exercised, didn’t request a final appearance with the team in the season’s last game. “I told the manager if the time permitted itself during the game to put me out there, OK. If not, so be it,” he said. “Life still goes on. It’s not like this is the end of all (things). I’m the type of person that I move on. That’s the way it is. I don’t think I’m going to be here next year. It’s just for me to go out there and move forward with my life.”
Some more NL Central items as the playoffs loom…
- Francisco Rodriguez also spoke to Haudricourt about his future, and unlike Weeks, who seems resigned to being elsewhere, K-Rod hopes to return to the Brewers in 2015. “I definitely know where I want to be,” he said. “I want to be here. But it is not my decision.” As Haudricourt points out, Milwaukee’s trade for Jonathan Broxton and his $9MM salary next season could give Broxton the inside track for the closer’s gig and push K-Rod out of the picture. The team additionally saw a breakout performance from Jeremy Jeffress and expects to have Jim Henderson returning to health.
- MLB.com’s Tom Singer spoke with Pirates general manager Neal Huntington about the team’s lack of an impact trade this summer in a recent Q&A. Huntington wasn’t sure whether it was more satisfying to get to the postseason on the back of some well-executed trades (such as last year’s acquisition of Marlon Byrd and Justin Morneau) or to get there by trusting his internal options. “This July 31 (non-waiver Trade Deadline) we wanted to, we were willing to, give up prospects as we did last August. We worked hard to find the right deal, large and small, and we couldn’t find the right impact coming in the door to match the impact that would’ve been going out the door.”
- Huntington also touched on the timeline of Gregory Polanco’s promotion to the Majors, noting that he wishes Neil Walker wouldn’t have gotten hurt. Had Walker remained healthy, Josh Harrison wouldn’t have had to shift to second base — a move that necessitated the promotion of Polanco, according to Huntington. “I hated [promoting Polanco]. I really did,” said Huntington. As the GM explained, the team thought Polanco was “borderline ready,” but he also stated: “There’s a reason why that Triple-A level exists, why most guys who have had success at the Major League level have experienced Triple-A beyond 250 at-bats.” Polanco got off to a blistering start in his first two weeks but has batted just .204/.275/.324 since and started just three games in September.
But yinzers said Polanco was ready, so he must have been!
English: “I definitely know where I want to be,” he said. “I want to be here. But it is not my decision.”
Cynic: “I definitely know where I want to be,” he said. “I want to be where I get the most money. But who offers the most is not my decision.”
Not that there’s anything wrong with that!
It is too bad we didn’t get a chance to see what Weeks could have accomplished if not for all the wrist injuries this kid had. The injury he had is extremely difficult to return from when trying to hit major league pitching and he had it in BOTH wrists! We would have regularly seen a 25-30 HR second baseman annually like in 2010 when he had a full season without injuries. Weeks is still only 32 and could easily have a very good 3 or 4 year stretch with a team like the Yankees next season. He could be a wild card that puts a team over the edge.
Would be a really good back up 2B and ocassional DH on an AL team. But I can see a team giving him a starting gig after a pretty good year. He also did pretty well PHing starting quite a few rallies.
Any team that gets him as a bench player is going to be satisfied…as a starter it is a slight risk.
This guy hit 30 HR twice, and it was not too long ago. In a pitching dominant league right now I would roll the dice with Weeks and see what he can do. Put him in a lineup that isn’t counting on him to do a great deal and he could really help out and get back to his old form.
Maybe if he has a hot Spring, an AL team will spend a roster spot on him. If that doesn’t happen I wonder if his ego will allow him to go to the minors. I’d guess his future career is fishing.
He will easily land an MLB job. Him going to the minors is laughable. The only thing that hurts him is he only has the ability to play 2B. That won’t stop a team from getting him to start, platoon, or use him off the bench. He showed this year he still has something to offer.
I’d say its debatable whether he can play 2B.
I don’t think it is debatable. Yah he makes some really dumb plays here and there but he does have some good things going for him. His throwing is pretty good and he is good at turning double plays. Weeks never bails out at second base…something not many do.
Not saying I would want Weeks at 2nd…but he still has the ability to play there…not well…but can.