Brewers need to sign Weeks to long-term deal

This is a post I have in at Wisco Sports Talk. Wanted you to get it here, first before it goes live.

In 2010, the controversy at Brewers On Deck was that Corey Hart was taking the Brewers to arbitration. This year, it was Rickie Weeks announcing a deadline to work out a long-term deal with the Brewers.
While some would argue he doesn’t deserve one, take a look back at what Weeks did last season, when he showed what he can do when healthy at the top of the Brewers batting order.
He played in 160 games last season (his previous high was 118 in 2007) and scored 111 runs, had 83 RBIs and blasted 29 home runs, all easily career highs. (Weeks’ page on Baseball Reference) That led to him submitting a $7.2 million number for arbitration, which was countered by the Brewers $4.25 million.
Regardless of how the arbitration hearing goes later this week, I would dare say this controversy is more of an uncertainty with the team than Weeks and many fans feel, especially after watching the Brewers trade away Brett Lawrie, the only other prospect in line at the position, this deal needs to get done. Things are more uncertain with Prince Fielder likely leaving after the season offense is going to be in high demand from the other players on the team going forward.
While some would hold back and wait for Weeks to show he can stay healthy for a year, there really is no time to do that with his free agency looming after this season. General Manager Doug Melvin needs to bite the bullet on this one and make this deal happen now before a bidding war breaks out.
My counter to wondering if he can stay healthy is looking at the 25 times he was hit by pitches  and sat just two games at parts of the season as mere “mental days” more than anything else.
The talk in the arbitration hearing is going to be about his somewhat low .269 batting average and average .366 on-base percentage. As a leadoff hitter, of course you want a little more in both spots, which the Brewers will surely bring up to bring the salary figure down in the arbitration hearing, but that doesn’t take away from what Weeks should look for long term.
I mean, as a leadoff hitter and a second baseman he has more pop than most guys that play his position. Of course, he had never played that deep into a season, so there is room for improvement. I’d even take a slight drop in home run numbers if his batting average came up to around .290 and his on-base teetered .400 for most of the season.
The key to it all is going to be experience for Weeks and that comes with being healthy. The Brewers have worked out long-term deals with Ryan Braun and Yovani Gallardo that have seen rather small numbers at the start of the contract and are backloaded years down the road. I propose something similar to that, giving low risk now and rewarding him down the road.
In the field, Weeks has turned things around and has become more consistent. We will see if that continues this season with Willie Randolph out of town. If he can keep it up, he’ll prove he was worth the contract.
Is signing Weeks a risk? Of course. But wasn’t trading four of your prime prospects for Zack Greinke a risk? Yes. Both should prove to be well worth it down the road if the players play up to what the back of their baseball card shows.