Dan Duquette: "We have a lot more work to do"

SARASOTA, Fla. - Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette reported to camp yesterday afternoon, bringing his work with him from the third floor of the warehouse at Camden Yards. He met with the media for about 10 minutes today while pitchers and catchers worked out on various fields.

There's no news to pass along except that the Orioles don't appear especially close to signing free agent pitcher Yovani Gallardo or outfielder Dexter Fowler. Nothing is imminent. However, as always, everything can change with one phone call.

Here's a sampling from Duquette:

On the chances that new players will report to camp: "We're still trying to add to our team and we have some more work to do. We're still working on a couple of things that could help the ballclub. It's really hard to handicap whether you're going to get a deal completed or not, so I try not to. Just keep working and trying to find the right fit for the team."

On whether the Orioles were close on Gallardo: "We have a lot more work to do to get our team in shape, so that's my perspective on it. We have a lot of work to do."

On whether the club is comfortable surrendering draft picks: "That's part of the consideration in the situations with the free agents that require compensation. If the club is going to participate in that market, they have to take into account the value of the pick, the current value and the potential future value of the pick. That's part of our consideration in each of these instances for compensation free agents. It's a system that's been in place for a couple of years, but there seems to be certain players in the market where it affects their contract."

On whether he thinks qualifying offers will exist to years from now: "Well, first of all, it wouldn't be appropriate for me to comment on any potential negotiation between MLB and the Players Association, but from everything you read it looks like that's going to be a discussion between the parties."

On whether there's a self-imposed deadline on negotiations: "There's situations that the timing either comes together and you get a deal or you agree that you're not going to get a deal. Those situations come up all the time. But we're always trying to build our roster and we look for opportunities year-round. It just seems like in the last couple years the offseason has extended into the training season for the club.

"I think this time of year, players are anxious to get going. They're anxious to get going with their programs so they can have a good year. Clubs are looking to staff their teams, so they know who they have."

On whether he's talking to multiple free agents: "We're talking to a number of players. You see some of these players signing here recently. The clubs are starting to train, the players are starting to sign, so we're talking to a few players."

On whether the Orioles have scouted Tim Lincecum: "We haven't seen him yet."

On the search for outfielders: "We've been looking at adding to our outfield depth as well as our pitching, so we've been talking to a number of players."

More on weighing signing free agents versus surrendering draft picks: "The (Nelson) Cruz deal, we weren't interested in doing a one-year contract with Cruz for a first round pick. Our assessment of his addition to the team and the market, that worked out for the club. For the club, it's been a little bit more difficult choice this time around. We're drafting higher in the draft, so on paper that pick should command more value, so we have to take a longer look at what the value of the pick is as compared to how we can help our club. The idea is to have a good team every year, right? We're trying to maximize our team this year and have a good year this year and also have a good team next year and the year after that and the year after that."

On whether he'd be OK offering a shorter deal and losing the second draft pick if a player costing the first pick signed a longer deal: "I'm not sure I understand the question, but in 2014 we signed a couple of veteran players that helped the team and the team had a good year, so we understand the value of adding solid, veteran proven players to help the major league team."

On whether the qualifying offer creates a game of chicken now: "I don't really see it that way. I believe that these draft picks have a specific value in the marketplace and we try to quantify what the value is and factor that into our discussions. That's all. It's a fact that these players that turn down a qualifying offer have that compensation attached to their compensation playing. Each one has a specific value as far as we're concerned. I think that's reflected in the market."

On whether the team as currently constructed is good: "We've got some serious strengths on this club. We've got a good bullpen. We've got strengths up the middle. We should have a very good lineup. We try to address the on-base capability of the club with some of the signings we made this offseason. Notably with (Hyun Soo) Kim and L.J. Hoes and Joey Rickard. They all have good on-base capabilities. We have a number of veteran players that are poised to have good years that we want to have good years. If we could bolster our starting rotation that would certainly help the club."