Dillon Atkinson: Deadline approach could define Dan Duquette's legacy

Orioles executive vice president of baseball operations Dan Duquette has a mixed reputation among the fan base. Some applaud him for his acquisitions of productive players like Wei-Yin Chen, Jason Hammel, Nelson Cruz and Mark Trumbo, among others. Another large sum show their disapproval of Duquette for letting players like Cruz and Andrew Miller walk, for trading away young pitching and for acquiring players who performed below expectations, like Ubaldo Jiménez, Travis Snider and Yovani Gallardo.

From 2012 through 2016, despite backlash to Duquette from some of the fan base, the Orioles had the most wins in the American League. Have they held up any World Series rings to show for it? No. But having the most regular season wins over those five seasons is still very much noteworthy. Mix in two wild card births and an AL East championship and it looks even nicer.

But what if I said those would be just simple footnotes in Duquette's legacy as the general manager of the Orioles? Sure, three playoff years (maybe even four if the O's heat up) in six years is nice to have. But my belief is that, especially without a World Series championship, how a general manager is mostly remembered is how he leaves the franchise, rather than what was done during most of the tenure.

As Orioles Uncensored writer Danny Majerowicz noted in his open letter to Duquette earlier this week, former O's general manager Andy MacPhail wasn't necessarily appreciated while he was in Baltimore, as the team had five consecutive losing seasons during his tenure. But as we look back on his time and departure in Baltimore, the fan base appreciates his acquisitions of Adam Jones, Chris Tillman, J.J. Hardy, Darren O'Day and Chris Davis, among others. On top of that, MacPhail is also the general manager who drafted talented prospects-turned-big leaguers Matt Wieters, Manny Machado and Dylan Bundy. For most, but not all, MacPhail is now remembered for the talents he brought in prior to his departure, not for the losing seasons he oversaw in Baltimore.

Duquette has mixed feelings from the fan base as is, even with five consecutive winning seasons with three playoff trips. So what he does at this trade deadline, and this offseason, could be very critical to how he is remembered as the O's general manager. His contract expires after 2018, so we may be seeing the end of the line.

The Orioles are currently 48-52, six games back in the AL East and 4 1/2 games back from the second wild card spot. The wild card position seems easier to overtake, but it's worth noting that they have to jump six teams to claim that spot, while they have to jump just three in the division. Duquette has to decide whether to sell or buy at the deadline, or maybe a mixture of both. Most fans are clear on what they want Duquette to do, but his decision isn't as easy as it seems. As injured Orioles shortstop Hardy said on the TBS broadcast during Sunday's Astros-Orioles game, "I wouldn't want to be in Dan Duquette's shoes."

Duquette could decide to restock the farm system, trading away closer Zach Britton and setup man Brad Brach for top prospects, while also shopping Welington Castillo, Seth Smith and O'Day to see what teams will offer for any of those three. At that point, we wouldn't know our true feelings on Duquette's time in Baltimore until the prospects acquired make it to the big leagues.

On the other hand, he could decide that with the Birds being less than five games out of the playoffs, he could go acquire a starting pitcher, hope that Bundy, Tillman and Kevin Gausman have better fortunes the rest of the year and go make a run at the playoffs. At that point, a clear opinion on Duquette can be formed on whether or not the Birds make the playoffs.

Lastly, Duquette can do a mix of both selling and buying. He could possibly trade away Brach and Castillo for prospects, go trade for a starting pitcher, then try to make a run at the playoffs with an improved starting rotation and farm system. Caleb Joseph has shown he can take over full-time duties behind the plate, and although losing Brach is tough, the O's can still have a strong back end of their bullpen with Mychal Givens, O'Day and Britton. So this would be an interesting route by Duquette, but it could give them a chance to win now and improve chances for the future. Although, this move could come back to bite him if the prospects acquired for Brach and Castillo don't pan out, and the prospects given up for a starting rotation do become quality major leaguers, on top of the O's possibly not making the playoffs in 2017.

In less than a week, Duquette has some very difficult decisions to make. There are good possibilities that could happen if he chooses any of these three options, but there are also things that could hurt these decisions. If Duquette sets his mind on selling high on Britton and Brach, it's possible that no teams make a competitive offer for either. If he decides he wants to buy and go get a starting pitcher, there may not be a decent arm on the market who is in the Orioles' prospect price range. The three playoff years in five consecutive winning seasons was nice, but Duquette's approach at this year's trade deadline could solidify his legacy in Baltimore, for better or worse.

Dillon Atkinson blogs about the Orioles for Orioles Uncensored. Follow him on Twitter: @DAtkinsonOU. His thoughts on the O's appear here as part of MASNsports.com's continuing commitment to welcome guest bloggers to our little corner of cyberspace. All opinions expressed are those of the guest bloggers, who are not employed by MASNsports.com but are just as passionate about their baseball as our roster of writers.