Seattle Mariners sign Rickie Weeks

By Stanford Crissey | Feb 12, 2015

Jul 28, 2014; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Milwaukee Brewers second baseman Rickie Weeks (23) at bat against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Weeks signed with the Seattle Mariners on Thursday. Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /

Seattle inks the former Brewers second baseman Rickie Weeks

Baseball’s Hot Stove season is pretty much over at this point, but there are still a few dominoes that have to fall. One of those dominoes fell today, as second baseman Rickie Weeks signed with the Seattle Mariners.

Weeks signed for one year and $2 million, reports ESPN’s Jim Bowden.

Weeks, 32, has spent his ten-season career entirely with the Milwaukee Brewers up to this point. He was a highly regarded prospect who at one time was one of the better second basemen in the game, but lately has been in and out of the starting lineup for Milwaukee, and will definitely be a part-timer in Seattle given the presence of Robinson Cano.

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Weeks can earn another $2 million in incentives from the deal.

Weeks is the older brother of the Orioles’ Jemile Weeks, a fellow second baseman.

Weeks peaked from 2007 through 2011, peaking in 2010 when, according to Fangraphs WAR, he was the 17th most valuable player in baseball. Anyone who has been asleep or not paying attention since then may be surprised that he got such a low dollar amount in free agency, but since his 2011 All-Star season, he has sort of fallen off a cliff.

In 2010 and 2011, he was worth a combine 8.8 wins according to Fangraphs; since then: 1.7. Even if you know nothing about WAR (“WAR? What is it good for?” you might be asking now*), you know that’s a steep decline. He picked things up a bit last season in part-time duty, but the Brewers still gave the majority of the reps at second base to Scooter Gennett, and didn’t attempt to re-sign Weeks this offseason, as his presence on the market in February indicates.

*Yes, I am the millionth person to make that joke. Does that mean I win a prize?

Weeks likely won’t get much of a chance to redeem his career in Seattle, thanks to Cano’s continued existence. In fact it’s hard to see where he fits in with the Mariners; he doesn’t have much real experience at the other infield positions, making him a poor utility infielder, and even DH is taken by Nelson Cruz. Still, he’ll have to make the best of the hand he’s been dealt.

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