Hearing from Duquette and Miley after the trade

Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette tried twice previously to acquire left-hander Wade Miley in a trade. The third time, as it turned out, really was the charm.

Duquette sent Triple-A Norfolk left-hander Ariel Miranda to the Mariners on Sunday in exchange for Miley, who's expected to make his Orioles debut on Thursday. Duquette also reacquired Steve Pearce from the Rays yesterday for Single-A Frederick catcher Jonah Heim.

"Wade Miley pitched a great game over the weekend against the Cubs as a Mariner," Duquette said in his opening statement at today's press conference at Camden Yards. "We had discussions ongoing and I wasn't so sure we were going to be able to do that after he pitched so well on Saturday, but we did and here he is.

"He's a workhorse. He's pitched over 200 innings a few times, excellent command of four pitches, he's got a good pickoff move and he loves to compete. We hope he helps stabilize our pitching rotation and is a key piece we hope to help us advance to the playoffs.

"Steve Pearce, I think this is our fifth time together where he's parted and come back to the Orioles. Had a terrific year in Tampa, we're glad to have him back. He gives us excellent defense, power when he's in the game and when he's not in the game, he gives us a real strong bench. And we're glad to have him back.

"These are two workman-type players. Guys that like to grind it out in the American League East. They've got ability and we're real glad to have them back with the club."

Miley figured he would be on the move again as the non-waiver deadline approached.

"Not necessarily the Orioles," he said. "Obviously, the rumors were flying around and I knew there was a chance I might get traded, but I just tried to stay focused in the time I was with the Mariners and pitch for them and then this happens. I feel very fortunate."

Miley registered quality starts in four of his five outings last month. He held the Cubs to one run and one hit over seven innings, with one walk and nine strikeouts.

"Just try to keep working and just try to get better," he said. "Obviously, I struggled earlier in the year, but when I first found out, I was excited. Going from a third-place team to a first-place team overnight, there's nothing wrong with that. So hopefully I just come in here and not screw that up.

"I'm just going to go out when it's my turn to pitch and try to give us a chance. That's kind of what I've done throughout my career, just go out and compete, and I hope it works out."

Miley joins the rotation of a club that's one game ahead of the Red Sox and Blue Jays in the American League East.

"It just gives you a little more confidence, that these guys have enough confidence to take that chance, and it's now my job to help improve this team get to the playoffs. That's where it starts. That's what we want to do," he said.

"I've faced these guys quite a few times and it's going to be good not to do that. The defense, obviously, with (Manny) Machado and J.J. (Hardy), it's pretty good on the left side, and with Chris Davis and Jonathan (Schoop) on the right side over there. I'm looking forward to keeping the ball on the ground. That's my goal, keeping the ball on the ground, and I trust those guys to make those plays."

Though he wasn't animated during the press conference, it's was obvious how much Miley welcomed the opportunity to pitch in a pennant race.

"The race and all that stuff, absolutely," he said. "It's going to make for a fun last two months of the season. It's going to be competitive and that's what we play the game for, to have that challenge, and I think we're going to be up for it."

Duquette isn't done working the phones.

"We always try to add to our club," he said. "Fortunately, we picked up another piece last week in Logan Ondrusek. He's already helped us win a ballgame up in Toronto. What I liked about that is we didn't have to give up anybody off our 25-man roster to make that deal.

"At this time of year, you'd like to be adding players without taking them away. It's hard to do the math and make sure what you're subtracting doesn't take away what you're adding. Fortunately in this case, we added three ballplayers. Logan, a good bullpen pitcher, Wade, who we hope will stabilize the rotation, and Steve, who can help us in a lot of different ways. And we're going to continue to look for ways to strengthen the team. We want to see this through.

"We've been to the playoffs a couple of times and we want to advance to the playoffs and taking another shot at winning the pennant and World Series."

A thin pitching market presented the expected challenges at the non-waiver deadline.

"There were more teams chasing pure players because with the second wild card, allowing another club to qualify, there's more teams in contention now," Duquette said.

"Generally what happens is you try to beef up your pitching staff this time of year. Teams that are out there competing to get into the playoffs are looking to add and they're looking at a very limited pool of major league pitchers to add to their club. So it was certainly a seller's market. Fortunately, we had another left-handed pitcher in (Ariel) Miranda that Seattle liked that allowed us to acquire Wade's contract. But it was tough.

"Our scouts have followed Wade for several years. We tried to trade for him when he was in Arizona. We tried to trade for him again when the Red Sox sent him to Seattle. We didn't really match up. So now we have him. We think he's a good fit. If he can keep the ball on the ground, he's going to help stabilize our rotation and our guys are going to score runs and make plays for him.

"All he has to do is what he's done over his whole career, and that's take the ball and go out and pitch. I think everything will go fine."

Manager Buck Showalter needs one more win to pass Paul Richards for second on the club's all-time list with 518.

"I want to congratulate Buck on catching Paul Richards," Duquette said. "Terrific achievement, number of wins in the organization. To be able to do that, first of all you have to be in one place for a long time and Buck's been able to do that. Secondly, you've got to be a skipper of a club that wins a lot of games and Buck did that. So now he's in rare company between Paul Richards and Earl Weaver.

"I remember the line, I thought it was a great compliment to Buck during the statue unveiling ceremony when (Weaver) said, 'I want to thank the sculptor for making me look like Buck Showalter.' The three greatest managers easily in the history of the club, and Buck has passed Richards. And his place in Orioles history is really solidified by advancing beyond Paul. Congratulations to Buck on that."