Can Rickie Weeks reinvent himself as a bench player?

It wasn’t too long ago that Rickie Weeks was a prominent member of a potent Brewers lineup alongside Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun. He was constantly counted on to hit with power and solid speed, which was hard to come by in any second baseman. After few injuries and bad 2015, however, Weeks found himself out of Milwaukee and his stint with Seattle Mariners last season also proved unfruitful.

It seemed as if Weeks’ career was dwindling down as he became the forgotten man and without a contract into February, until he signed with the Diamondbacks Diamondbacks. The news carried little fanfare beside his name recognition, but so far Weeks is showing that he could be that veteran presence off the bench.

The Diamondbacks’ bench has long been tabbed as the only area on the team where it lacked certainty. With Phil Gosselin and possibly Tuffy Gosewisch being the ‘veteran,’ of the bench, it seemed like the Diamondbacks were fully prepared to take younger players into the season in those spots. So having that player who knows the pitchers and can come off the bench cold is luxury for any team to have and for the Diamondbacks, Weeks figures to be that player.

When the Diamondbacks signed Weeks, it seemed like they wanted to see what he still had in the tank while hoping to catch the lighting in a bottle. But early in camp, Weeks has shown nothing but brilliancy with his bat going 5-for-11 so far in Cactus League games. Chip Hale has been impressed with him as well, stating last week that his bat speed is “tremendous.” The club also moved him to corner outfield where he will have much easier time fielding and has positioned himself to be prominent member of this ball club going forward.

It’s still early to see whether or not Weeks will perform up to the level he has been so far or if he’ll even make the club, but the Diamondbacks will glad to see Weeks revive his career as super utility bench player wearing the Sedona Red this season.