Trade the stars? O's not going there right now

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. - Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette made it very clear yesterday, but it was no surprise anyway, that the Orioles are not shopping closer Zach Britton and/or third baseman Manny Machado. They are players the Orioles are looking to build around - two of their top core players - not players they want to subtract from a contending team. Or at least a team that has designs on contending again in 2017.

The issue the Orioles are facing is trying to win in the present versus building for the future. Their farm system probably only has one top 100 prospect right now in catcher Chance Sisco. They could easily add to that by trading either Britton or Machado, and they could litter it with top 100 talent by trading both.

Get a haul of future talent now for players you may lose via free agency in two years or ride it out now with said players and try to win? The Orioles are clearly in it to win it right now, even if they are not spending big this winter and don't have the prospects to be in the hunt for a pitcher like Chris Sale.

It is probably grating to some fans that the Red Sox could land Sale and the Orioles could not. The Orioles have more than held their own with Boston on the field the last few years, but the Red Sox farm system was simply so much better than most right now that they could land both Sale and reliever Tyler Thornburg yesterday.

If the Orioles wanted to start moving All-Stars, they could improve their farm system in a matter of days, maybe even hours. The Chicago White Sox are doing so now. But the White Sox are not going to contend for the postseason next year and the Orioles plan to. So for now, according to Duquette, acquiring that haul of prospects is not on the agenda.

Rule 5 draft is today: The Rule 5 draft, an event where the Orioles have added players like Ryan Flaherty, T.J. McFarland, Jason Garcia and Joey Rickard, is today. It's the final event of these Winter Meetings. The Orioles could even take two players. Those that don't like the team making Rule 5 picks should avoid baseball news this morning. My guess is no Oriole will be taken by another team in the major league phase of the draft.

For more on the Rule 5, I went to Baseball America's J.J. Cooper earlier this week. He is the top authority anywhere on this draft and you can read his comments here.

More with Law: ESPN's Keith Law always provides some thought-provoking opinions. He did so during our interview on Wednesday afternoon and I published a few here yesterday. Here are a few more:

Law looks at the Chris Sale to Boston trade: "I thought it was good for both as long as Sale stays healthy. Folks who've read me for a while know I've never liked the delivery. I think the White Sox have done a great job. Every time his elbow has barked a bit, he's gotten a start or two of rest and he's always managed to avoid the catastrophic injury.

"If he's healthy though, he's a top-five pitcher in the league. When you acquire someone like that with three years left at a reasonable contract, you are going to give up a lot. They gave up two of the top 25 or so prospects in baseball. A third guy that is still a good prospect - certainly in the top 10 for the White Sox - and a fourth guy that is a prospect in the sense that he will eventually play in the big leagues."

Law on if Boston is now the clear AL East favorite: "Well they lose (David) Ortiz and that is losing quite a bit of production. But they gain Sale. I think Sale ends up pushing the back end of their rotation out. They've gotten their pitching better, but they are probably only a win or two better on paper than they were. Because Ortiz was not just good, he had one of the best years of his career. I think Sale makes up that ground and a little bit more. But I don't think he creates that much separation between them and the Orioles and the Blue Jays. I think the Blue Jays have more holes to fill than the Orioles right now, but I put those two teams right now ahead of the Yankees and Rays.

"I never want to confuse the team that made the most moves with the team that had the best winter. Like value for value, the Thornburg deal for Boston was better. For Sale, they gave up a ton of value to get a great pitcher. For Thornburg, they got a helluva reliever who makes no money for three guys they don't really consider substantial prospects."

Lunch with Brady: As part of Major League Baseball's "Play Ball" charity auction at the Winter Meetings, several Orioles-themed experiences are included to help raise support for the renovation of an existing youth baseball and softball field, as well as youth programming, in memory of late New York Mets public relations executive Shannon Forde.

The auction is now live at MLB.com/Shannon until tonight at 9 p.m. Eastern time. All proceeds from the auction will fund the renovations through MLB Charities.

Here is one of the Orioles-themed experiences: Two fans will have the chance to work out with former Orioles outfielder and current Orioles vice president of baseball operations Brady Anderson during spring training at Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota. Afterward, they will learn about nutrition and enjoy a healthy lunch with Anderson in the team cafeteria. Also included in the package will be two tickets to another day's game. Travel is not included.

Go here to bid on the workout and lunch with Anderson. This charity previously provided some benefits to the Lungevity Foundation, a charity that former Orioles public relations director Monica Barlow was very fond of.

"First of all, this is for a great cause," Anderson said "Those are two women who were highly thought of, highly regarded and widely loved throughout baseball. The baseball community reached out to the Orioles in support of Monica. We are doing the same thing in support of Shannon. It is a chance to experience a real training session. You'll have me and our strength coaches put you through a session based on your needs and desires and capabilities. Last year, the winners of the auction got to run some intervals with our pitchers, who were more than happy to watch and help them. And this is for a terrific cause."