Brewers add former fan favorite to coaching staff

The Brewers are adding Rickie Weeks to the major league coaching staff, as first reported by Adam McCalvy of MLB.com. A coaching position is opening with the reported promotion of bench coach Pat Murphy to manager.

It isn’t clear if Weeks will receive Murphy’s old title. Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel writes that the 41-year-old is taking on responsibilities that would traditionally fall to the bench coach, however.

Whatever the specific role, it’ll be the first MLB coaching gig for the longtime second baseman. The No. 2 overall pick of the 2003 draft, Weeks played in the big leagues for nearly a decade and a half. Eleven seasons came in Milwaukee, where he made an All-Star Game in 2011. Weeks hit .249/.347/.424 as a member of the Brew Crew. He later suited up with the Mariners, Diamondbacks and Rays before finishing his playing days in 2017.

Weeks returned to his original organization in February 2022 — this time as a player development assistant. He clearly impressed in that role, as he landed an MLB coaching job two seasons later. Weeks was floated as a candidate for the managerial job between Craig Counsell’s departure and the agreement to hire Murphy. It isn’t known if he received a formal interview for that position.

Promoting Weeks directly to manager would have been a bit of a surprise given his limited coaching experience (although the Guardians tabbed Stephen Vogt just one year removed from his retirement as a player). Working on Murphy’s staff could position Weeks well for managerial opportunities down the line. In the interim, he’ll be back in the dugout at American Family Field.