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The Brewers have two second basemen, two first baseman, and not a whole lot of flexibility on their bench. There have been plenty of Brewers fans who have been crying out for the team to do something to rid themselves of Rickie Weeks to help relieve themselves of a more redundant player in favor of one who can perhaps help at other positions.
For now, you can cross the Toronto Blue Jays off the list of teams that may have had some interest in acquiring Weeks. According to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports, the Jays are not big believers in Weeks' defensive abilities and thus are unlikely to deal for him.
The Blue Jays are likely looking to fortify their roster as they hope to maintain or lengthen a 1.5 game lead in the always-tough AL East. Second base has been a position of concern for Toronto as they have received just a .293 wOBA and 656 OPS at the position over their first 84 games.
Brett Lawrie has received the bulk of playing time at second for the Jays and, according to Heyman, the team is more willing to leave him there after he returns from a finger injury and acquire a third baseman such as Chase Headley rather than to pick up one of the available second basemen. The Blue Jays have been looking for a new infielder for quite a while, with a deal almost coming to fruition for second baseman Ian Kinsler before his no-trade clause cancelled any plans on that front.
As far as Weeks goes, he has seen new life following a terrible 2013 campaign and rough start to 2014. As part of a platoon with Scooter Gennett, Weeks is now hitting .265/.331/.409 over 64 games. Had he enough plate appearances to qualify, Weeks' OPS would be 11th among Major League second baseman and 14th in wOBA. While that's not spectacular, it does make him a useful bat at a weaker position.
If the Blue Jays want someone who can play better defense, Weeks is probably not an option, though. After being criticized for poor defense all the way through the minors, Weeks worked hard and eventually became a solid-to-good second baseman for a few years. That time has passed, however, and Weeks looks slow in the field and hasn't shown great fundamentals. His .963 fielding % is his lowest since 2006, his RZR is at a career low, his -28.2 UZR/150 is horrific...and throwing out all the stats, he just has not looked good at all defensively.
Still, the Brewers likely wouldn't be quick to trade Weeks, anyway. Yes, he is being paid an extravagant $11 million this season and yes, he has been bad defensively. But the second base platoon has been working out very well for Milwaukee. Weeks is hitting better than he has since his All Star 2011 campaign and Gennett has a .311/.351/.485 batting line. Altogether, the Brewers have received the third-best wOBA in the majors (and the best in the NL) from their second base spot.
Gennett has been great, but he's been great against righties. In 75 plate appearances against left-handers in the majors, he's hitting just .143/.167/.157. His minor league numbers also show an inability to hit southpaws. With the Brewers holding the largest division lead in the majors, there's no reason to move away from something that is clearly working.
The Blue Jays may not have much interest in Weeks, but that's fine. The Brewers may not even have much interest in trading him. After all, Weeks' is helping them win a division.
