Should the Brewers extend Weeks? [Latest: Won't negotiate once Spring Training starts]

[paul253]

Now that Gallardo is out of the way, and with everyone still talking about a Fielder extension, I was wondering what everyone thought about extending Weeks. He has tons of potential, but hasn't lived up to it yet, mainly because of injuries. Would now be a good time to sign him to a 4 year deal, before he has his breakout season? Or does the fact that our top prospect plays second base make him expendable?

 

My thoughts on this are yes, sign him. I still consider extending Fielder to be a very unlikely scenario. That will leave some money. Sign Weeks. First base can be solved either by moving Gamel to first or moving Lawrie to first (and probably have to have a one or two year stop gap, depending on when Fielder would get traded). I think Escobar and Gomez could handle the 1 and 2 spots in the lineup in the future which means Weeks can move down to 5 or 6 and utilize his power a little more. But since Fielder would be gone, in my opinion, I think you need to sign Weeks to keep as much of the offensive core together.

[PeaveyFury]

I'd imagine that a lot of what they decide to do with Weeks will depend on how Lawrie continues to develop in the minors.

[The Truth]

I'm a big Weeks fan. Love the way he hustles, love his talent, love that he's a team leader. But I would not extend him until he's had at least a full healthy season...

[Oldcity]

At the same time, they might be able to get him cheaply if they did it now. Even if they keep Weeks for, say, four more years, it's not like Lawrie would need to be traded or anything. I don't like the idea of letting Weeks go simply because they have Lawrie.

[Ennder]

It obviously depends on the size of the deal but I think extending him would be a good risk at the right price.

[bobskube]

Extending Weeks now would be one of the best moves this franchise has ever made. Could get great price for future All-Star.

 

Mark this and save it!

[TheCrew]

Yes. Doing it now could save them a ton of money if they wait until after the season.

 

Any guesses on what it would cost? 4 yrs/$20-22 million or am I underestimating?

[Tbadder]

Extending Weeks now would be one of the best moves this franchise has ever made. Could get great price for future All-Star.

 

Mark this and save it!

Just yesterday I bet a guy ten dollars that Rickie makes the All-Star team this year. I couldn't agree more, and I'd extend him with obvious games played incentives.

[derflotr]

I don't think Lawrie's presence is enough of an excuse to not get this done. It's not like you have to give the guy a no trade clause. Rickie is the best hitter on the team not named Fielder or Braun, and the sooner he's locked up the cheaper, I would hope.

[Schlitz001]

It will be harder to sign Weeks right now because of his injuries. If he gets one full season in at full health and puts up big numbers, his contract value goes up with it. I'm willing to bet that Weeks' agent knows this and is probably going to wait and see how this season plays out before he starts serious negotiation. Weeks has 2 years to go before becoming a FA, all he has to do is put up one year of above average 2B numbers and he will command a lot of money on the FA market.

[logan82]

I would extend him. It is highly dependent on the money though. I thik we could get him pretty cheap right now.

 

If Lawrie's bat is as special as advertised we can move him around to fill other needs. It really doesn't sound like Lawrie will stick at 2B anyway. Even if he does, it sounds like he would be adequate at best there.

 

I should add that I am not sure Lawrie sticks with this organization. I know they are only rumors but it doesn't sound like Lawrie got along with his teammates in Appleton last year. I wouldn't be surprised to see hi traded at some point.

[igor67]

I'd say as much as I like his game, he's too big of a risk. There will be more turn over of this team.

[WisconsinSportsRule]

If this team decided against signing Rickie long term because of way Lawrie is doing in the minors, it would be a huge mistake. At this point, no one even knows what position Lawrie will play anyway and it's not like his defense will be an attribute.

[bobskube]

Guys,

 

Follow me over the years. I said Hall was garbage after his career season and I got ripped. I said Hart was not worth an extension and and got ripped two years ago. I was wrong drastically about Suppan 3 years ago, but many of us were guilty.

 

I have been backing Rick for the last 4 years and he has struggled massively with injuries and bad baseball quite frankly. However, Rick has grown tremendously and is getting better every at bat. I can remember in 2007 were he needed to go to the minors because he was lost, but give Rick credit. He really has improved drastically. Nobody on this team plays as hard as the Ricker. Can you ever remember him dogging a play?

 

A 4 year 24 million extension would be a bargain. Hall had same contract but I know for a fact that he was not even close to the player Rickie is. Do it Doug...you have the same agent so get it done.

[uwisfan]

I think it would be good to extend him. He and Escobar provide a lot of range up the middle. I'd like to see what Lawrie can do, but I dont have much confidence that he'll stick at 2B. Rickie gives the lineup speed and power, and his cost should be reasonable right now.

 

Bottom line: he's worth extending, even if that means trading him when Lawrie is ready.

[bklynbrewcrew]

I would definitely extend him since I think we can get a good deal and Rickie still has what it takes to be an elite offensive player. As for Lawrie the scouting reports regarding his defense have been negative to say the least. He most likely will end up an outfielder and will most likely be below average at any position.

[igor67]

The question in my mind is Weeks plus his replacement ABs by whoever we find to ride the bench that much of a difference maker? The thought of him going all Chase Utley on the league are definitely exciting. But a couple of months of top level performance scattered here and there are not a good value for us. I'd rather be wrong, extend Prince, watch Rickie get too expensive and then trade him in a year or so as he would bring some very good return at that point.

[RyDogg66]

I definitely agree with Bob Skube here. Extend him now before he gets TOO good and we cant afford him. He is good and a valuable piece to this team.

[JohnBriggs12]

Weeks' situation is completely dependent on Fielder's. They won't be able to afford both. Lawrie is being groomed to replace the one they can't keep. That of course is assuming Weeks isn't also determined to test FA.

 

The next young guy that they should be looking at locking up is Escobar.

[Invader3K]

A 4 year 24 million extension would be a bargain. Hall had same contract but I know for a fact that he was not even close to the player Rickie is. Do it Doug...you have the same agent so get it done.

 

I agree that such a deal seems relatively reasonable, but what if he gets hurt yet again? It just seems like a big gamble based on Weeks' health history at this point.

[Ennder]

I'd rather do something like a 3 year deal that is somewhat games played incentive based and has an option for a 4th year.

[foamboy1]

The first thing that came to mind was 4 years, $25 million. If he has "the breakthrough" season this year, the price will jump.

[monty57]

Weeks' situation is definitely interesting. Long term extensions involve a lot of injury risk to the team, so the Brewers could be hesitant given Rickie's past. At the same time, Rickie's injury history means he would have to accept less than I'm sure he feels he's worth.

 

Unless Rickie personally feels he's an injury risk, I don't see him signing too cheaply. Unless the Brewers offer something close to market value, I would guess that he will want to put together a healthy season before locking himself up. He knows he'll get a decent contract at free agency even if he keeps getting injured, so the Brewers don't have enough leverage at this stage to sign him to a ridiculously under market value contract.

 

Doing a quick look at ESPN's salaries (which may be from last year... I'm not sure), there really aren't many 2B's making close to $6MM/year, so signing him to a Bill Hall-sized contract might be an overpay in this market even without the injury history. If the salaries are correct, Chone Figgins signed for $5.7MM with Seattle, Brian Roberts makes $8MM and by far the higest paid 2B is Utley at $11MM. Weeks makes $2.75MM this year, my estimate for 2011 is in the $3.5MM range. Say $5-6MM/year at FA years, and 4 years (including this year) / $16-$18MM might be closer to accurate. Anything higher than that would probably not be giving the Brewers any kind of discount, which they'd have to receive for assuming the inury risk. Because of the first two cheap years, 4 years/$24MM would mean that you would be paying Rickie $8-9MM/year (more than any 2B except Utley) in the final two years of the contract, and he hasn't done enough to merit that.

 

I really don't see the Brewers offering a lot more than 4 years/$16-18MM based on history, Weeks' current salary and the going rate for MLB 2B. If I were Rickie, I don't know if I'd sign that deal, knowing that a healthy season would increase the value. If he can prove he's an elite 2B talent, he'd probably get $7-9MM/season on the free agent market. Of course, knowing he's been injured a lot in the past may lead him to go for the security of the contract. After all, he was willing to accept a pretty small raise from last year to this year without taking it to arby.

 

So long answer to short question, but if the Brewers and Weeks could agree on 4 years / $16-18MM, I'd probably be for it. Even then, I could envision a lot of irate fans in a few years if Rickie continues to get injured or doesn't live up to the levels we all feel he's capable of having.

[PeaveyFury]

As for Lawrie the scouting reports regarding his defense have been negative to say the least. He most likely will end up an outfielder and will most likely be below average at any position.

 

But it's worth noting that the scouting report on Weeks was pretty much the same until the last couple of seasons....

[TheCrew07]

As for Lawrie the scouting reports regarding his defense have been negative to say the least. He most likely will end up an outfielder and will most likely be below average at any position.

 

But it's worth noting that the scouting report on Weeks was pretty much the same until the last couple of seasons....

I saw Brett play 2B quite a bit last season, but I never saw him make a play as bad as this either. Lawrie is definitely athletic enough to play the position, but his defense isn't improving at the same rate as his offense and his defense started out way behind.