Rickie Weeks Serving as Milwaukee Brewers' Manager During Pat Murphy's Suspension

The Milwaukee Brewers will be without manager Pat Murphy following Tuesday's brawl with the Tampa Bay Rays, putting former All-Star Rickie Weeks in charge for two games.

Apr 12, 2024; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Milwaukee Brewers coach Rickie Weeks Jr. (center). / Mitch Stringer-USA TODAY Sports

MLB has handed down multiple suspensions following Tuesday's benches-clearing brawl between the Milwaukee Brewers and Tampa Bay Rays, leading to a major change in Milwaukee's dugout.

Brewers manager Pat Murphy was among those suspended as a result of the altercation. Murphy will be out for two games, while pitchers Abner Uribe and Freddy Peralta are suspended for six games and five games, respectively.

Rays outfielder José Siri has also been suspended for three games. Like Uribe and Peralta, Siri is appealing his suspension, per 620 WTMJ's Dominic Cotroneo.

The Brewers and Rays got into a bench-clearing brawl after Jose Siri and Abner Uribe exchanged words 🫨

🎥 @BallySportWI pic.twitter.com/SWWVU1Kdnn

— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) May 1, 2024

Milwaukee is without their manager for the time being, though, which means associate manager Rickie Weeks will serve as interim manager for the next two games.

The Brewers selected Weeks with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2003 MLB Draft. He made his big league debut for the club later that same year, and he remained with the organization through the 2014 season.

Weeks racked up 1,009 hits, 148 home runs, 430 RBI, 126 stolen bases and a 12.4 WAR during his time in Milwaukee. He was a .249 hitter with a .771 OPS in a Brewers uniform, finishing sixth in NL Rookie of the Year voting in 2005 and making the All-Star Game in 2011.

After bouncing around between the Seattle Mariners, Arizona Diamondbacks and Rays to round out his career, the second baseman eventually retired. Weeks returned to Milwaukee as an assistant to the player development staff in February 2022.

The Brewers interviewed Weeks for their manager vacancy this past fall, after Craig Counsell left to take the Chicago Cubs job. Although they wound up hiring Murphy, Milwaukee made sure to keep Weeks in the fold by giving him a promotion.

Weeks, 41, has now managed his first MLB game, as the Brewers defeated the Rays 7-1 on Wednesday. Milwaukee has the day off Thursday, then opens up a series against Counsell's Cubs on Friday.

Counsell was Weeks' teammate from 2007 to 2011, serving as the veteran to Weeks' rising star in the infield.

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