Duquette: "I'm here with the Orioles and my focus is with the Orioles"
By Roch Kubatko
SAN DIEGO - Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette relaxed on a sofa in his suite at the Manchester Grand Hyatt this afternoon, members of the local media lined up on chairs in front of him trying to ascertain whether he was close to signing a free agent or making a trade. He dispensed the information, careful not to reveal too much, and waited for the inevitable questions about the Blue Jays.
Duquette is trying to piece together a roster and eliminate the notion that he's distracted by a preference to become Toronto's president/CEO, that it could impact his dealings this week.
"I would hope not," he said. "We're here to put together the strongest Oriole team that we can for 2015 and that's my focus.
"I'm here with the Orioles and my focus is with the Orioles and helping the Orioles put together the strongest team that they can have in 2015. We have a lot of the pieces here. We have a good farm system, we have established people in the big leagues and we have a good pitching staff, so to me it's really a matter of adding some pieces and we can contend again."
As for how Duquette spent his morning and early afternoon, he told reporters, "We've been working on a couple of potential signings and we've had some dialogue with some agents and we're going to have some more dialogue. We were focused on the outfielders and we were also looking at some pitching options and seeing if we can find a match, a mutual interest with some of the free agents we've been talking to.
"We also took a look at the catching market and see if there were some catchers that could add depth to our organization. There was a sendoff for the commissioner (Bud Selig) from the general managers this morning, so we got an opportunity to talk to a couple clubs there about a couple of trade possibilities, but I think these free agent possibilities are going to come into play and focus a little bit quicker than the trade possibilities.
"We also took a look at all the candidates in the Rule 5 draft. That's been a good source of players for us and we're looking to see if there's anybody there that would be interesting to add to our ballclub. That's really been the focus of our work today."
Asked why free agents are a stronger possibility for the Orioles, Duquette replied, "These things go hand in hand, but it just looks like there are more free agents that are closer to signing than the trades."
Duquette said he met with the agents for "four or five" free agents earlier today and had more meetings scheduled for later today before heading out for an affiliate dinner.
Getting at least one outfielder seems to have become the primary focus after Nelson Cruz and Nick Markakis left via free agency. The bullpen was the top priority earlier in the offseason.
"You know how these things work. Sometimes they come together quickly," Duquette said.
The Orioles have six starters for five spots in the rotation, plus minor leaguers such as Dylan Bundy, Mike Wright, Tyler Wilson and Zach Davies who could be ready to contribute next season. It's a surplus that he seems reluctant to dip into while discussing trades with other teams.
"We've been approached about our starters from the other teams and we're reluctant to trade a starter because you usually need more than you can find for the team, so that's kind of where we are," he said.
The Orioles want another left-handed reliever and are interested in 34-year-old Craig Breslow, who posted a 1.81 ERA in 61 appearances with the Red Sox in 2013 and a 5.96 ERA in 60 games this year. Breslow is in San Diego for the meetings.
"Really?" Duquette said, grinning. "I saw Craig Breslow in the New England Collegiate Baseball League years ago. The kid went to Yale, right? So that's interesting.
"Those left-handed relievers, they can pitch well into their 40s, right? He's just getting into his prime."
I asked Duquette if he had any interest in Brandon Moss, traded today by the Athletics to the Indians. He responded by never mentioning Moss.
"We need to add a left-handed hitter and we probably need to add a right-handed hitter," Duquette said. "We have openings in the outfield, of course. Yeah, outfield/DH."
The Orioles are still open to re-signing catcher Nick Hundley.
"He's a candidate to consider, certainly, and Nick did a good job for us last year. That's no secret," Duquette said. "Our pitchers like him, our staff is comfortable with him, so there's a lot of good reasons for us to engage with Nick Hundley.
"I think he wants to find out if there's a full-time job for him. That's my impression."
The Orioles are cautiously optimistic that Matt Wieters will be ready on opening day, but they're preparing as though they're going to need a replacement.
"He's on schedule," Duquette said. "That's just kind of a contingency plan. He's on schedule and the doctors tell us that he has a good chance to be with us to start the season. But knowing that the surgery was in May and also understanding that position players take about nine months for them to come back to where they can play at a high level, we just want to make sure that we have a contingency in the event that he's not ready."
The Orioles are working to hire a hitting coach. I get the sense that manager Buck Showalter has found someone that he likes and the search could be nearing an end. We'll see.
"I would hope not," he said. "We're here to put together the strongest Oriole team that we can for 2015 and that's my focus.
"I'm here with the Orioles and my focus is with the Orioles and helping the Orioles put together the strongest team that they can have in 2015. We have a lot of the pieces here. We have a good farm system, we have established people in the big leagues and we have a good pitching staff, so to me it's really a matter of adding some pieces and we can contend again."
As for how Duquette spent his morning and early afternoon, he told reporters, "We've been working on a couple of potential signings and we've had some dialogue with some agents and we're going to have some more dialogue. We were focused on the outfielders and we were also looking at some pitching options and seeing if we can find a match, a mutual interest with some of the free agents we've been talking to.
"We also took a look at the catching market and see if there were some catchers that could add depth to our organization. There was a sendoff for the commissioner (Bud Selig) from the general managers this morning, so we got an opportunity to talk to a couple clubs there about a couple of trade possibilities, but I think these free agent possibilities are going to come into play and focus a little bit quicker than the trade possibilities.
"We also took a look at all the candidates in the Rule 5 draft. That's been a good source of players for us and we're looking to see if there's anybody there that would be interesting to add to our ballclub. That's really been the focus of our work today."
Asked why free agents are a stronger possibility for the Orioles, Duquette replied, "These things go hand in hand, but it just looks like there are more free agents that are closer to signing than the trades."
Duquette said he met with the agents for "four or five" free agents earlier today and had more meetings scheduled for later today before heading out for an affiliate dinner.
Getting at least one outfielder seems to have become the primary focus after Nelson Cruz and Nick Markakis left via free agency. The bullpen was the top priority earlier in the offseason.
"You know how these things work. Sometimes they come together quickly," Duquette said.
The Orioles have six starters for five spots in the rotation, plus minor leaguers such as Dylan Bundy, Mike Wright, Tyler Wilson and Zach Davies who could be ready to contribute next season. It's a surplus that he seems reluctant to dip into while discussing trades with other teams.
"We've been approached about our starters from the other teams and we're reluctant to trade a starter because you usually need more than you can find for the team, so that's kind of where we are," he said.
The Orioles want another left-handed reliever and are interested in 34-year-old Craig Breslow, who posted a 1.81 ERA in 61 appearances with the Red Sox in 2013 and a 5.96 ERA in 60 games this year. Breslow is in San Diego for the meetings.
"Really?" Duquette said, grinning. "I saw Craig Breslow in the New England Collegiate Baseball League years ago. The kid went to Yale, right? So that's interesting.
"Those left-handed relievers, they can pitch well into their 40s, right? He's just getting into his prime."
I asked Duquette if he had any interest in Brandon Moss, traded today by the Athletics to the Indians. He responded by never mentioning Moss.
"We need to add a left-handed hitter and we probably need to add a right-handed hitter," Duquette said. "We have openings in the outfield, of course. Yeah, outfield/DH."
The Orioles are still open to re-signing catcher Nick Hundley.
"He's a candidate to consider, certainly, and Nick did a good job for us last year. That's no secret," Duquette said. "Our pitchers like him, our staff is comfortable with him, so there's a lot of good reasons for us to engage with Nick Hundley.
"I think he wants to find out if there's a full-time job for him. That's my impression."
The Orioles are cautiously optimistic that Matt Wieters will be ready on opening day, but they're preparing as though they're going to need a replacement.
"He's on schedule," Duquette said. "That's just kind of a contingency plan. He's on schedule and the doctors tell us that he has a good chance to be with us to start the season. But knowing that the surgery was in May and also understanding that position players take about nine months for them to come back to where they can play at a high level, we just want to make sure that we have a contingency in the event that he's not ready."
The Orioles are working to hire a hitting coach. I get the sense that manager Buck Showalter has found someone that he likes and the search could be nearing an end. We'll see.
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