MILWAUKEE — The Brewers have long prioritized continuity in their personnel decisions, and they are putting that philosophy into practice in choosing their new manager.
A source confirmed to MLB.com that the Brewers were finalizing plans to promote Pat Murphy to manager after he served as Milwaukee’s bench coach for the past eight seasons, as first reported by The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal on Monday. at night. The source also said former Milwaukee infielder Rickie Weeks was expected to join the major league staff to fill Murphy’s place, continuing a meteoric rise through the coaching ranks that began with Weeks’ hiring. as player development assistant in February 2022.
The club has not confirmed any of the promotions. Murphy, who turns 65 later this month, was the only managerial candidate mentioned by name by Milwaukee general manager Matt Arnold since the search began with Craig Counsell’s departure to the Cubs last week.
Murphy would inherit a largely intact coaching staff, as Brewers owner Mark Attanasio said last week that the team’s other coaches had signed contracts to return in 2024. They are pitching coach Chris Hook; bullpen coach Jim Henderson; Walker McKinven, associate throwing, catching and strategy coach; hitting coaches Ozzie Timmons and Connor Dawson; first base coach Quintin Berry; third base coach Jason Lane; and technician Néstor Corredor. They would be joined by Weeks, 41, who was the second overall pick in the 2003 Draft and played part of 14 seasons in the Majors, including with the Brewers (11 seasons) and three other teams, becoming part of the team National League All-Star. with Milwaukee in 2011.
At the helm will be Murphy, who was Counsell’s college coach at Notre Dame and came to Milwaukee as a bench coach in 2016, when Counsell was entering his first full season at the helm. Before that, Murphy spent decades in the college ranks, having led programs at Notre Dame and Arizona State before jumping into professional baseball with the Padres. Murphy gained some major league managerial experience with the Padres in an interim role in 2015 and compiled a 42-54 record.
When asked what qualities he was looking for in the next coach, Arnold said: “I want to start with the best human being, that’s probably the way I would characterize him. It’s hard to go wrong when you have, if you’re using the scan scale, an ’80’ human. “I think that would be our priority here.”
Murphy played four years in the minor leagues before Notre Dame signed him before the 1988 college season. It was in Murphy’s second season that Counsell arrived on campus, beginning a relationship that continued when Counsell left to play professional baseball, and Murphy went on to be head coach at Arizona State before the Padres hired him in 2010, first as a special assistant. and then as a minor league manager beginning in 2011. In 2015, Murphy was managing San Diego’s Triple-A team when Counsell attempted to hire him as a bench coach; The Padres denied permission and ultimately elevated Murphy to interim manager in the majors later that season.
The following year, Murphy joined the Brewers staff and has been in Milwaukee ever since. He suffered a heart attack in 2020 during so-called “summer camp” as teams prepared for the pandemic-shortened schedule, but Murphy made a full recovery and has not suffered a health-related absence since.
