Don Mattingly, Rickie Weeks among possible Brewers manager candidates

With Monday’s news that Craig Counsell would not only be leaving but is joining the division rival Chicago Cubs, Milwaukee Brewers fans are understandably left wondering where the club goes next. The early collection of potential candidates, according to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal, is a mix of experienced and inexperienced guys, with two more notable inclusions.

The first is Rickie Weeks. Milwaukee drafted Weeks second overall in the 2003 draft and he’d debut with the club later that season. He was a fixture in the Brewers lineup over the next 11 seasons, batting a combined .249/.347/.424. He’d spend a season apiece with the Mariners, D-backs and Rays before hanging up his cleats after the 2017 season.

Milwaukee hired Weeks as a special instructor in player development, where he’s spent the last three seasons. On Monday, the club announced a series of promotions in their front office, which included notice that Weeks’s role would be expanding this coming season.

Weeks has no prior coaching experience, but neither did Counsell when he was hired.

The other is Don Mattingly. His inclusion among the Brewers candidates is a bit more interesting, and his resume is certainly more extensive than Weeks’.

Following a playing career that still puts his name in conversations about Hall of Fame shortfalls, Mattingly has spent almost two decades on the bench. He was first a coach on Joe Torre’s staff in New York. He followed Torre to Los Angeles in 2008 and took over for him in 2011 before managing the Marlins from 2016-22. This past season he spent as the Blue Jays bench coach.

Mattingly may not have the statistical success as a manager that he did as a player, holding a 889-950 career record. He won a trio of division titles in Los Angeles and took the Marlins to the postseason in 2020. None of his teams have won it all though (an unfortunate similarity to his playing days). Perhaps he could change that with the Brewers.