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Baltimore Orioles: Duquette says team not selling at trade deadline

By Ben Palmer

BALTIMORE, MD - MAY 31: Head coach Buck Showalter and General Manager Dan Duquette of the Baltimore Orioles talk before the game against the Detroit Tigers at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on May 31, 2013 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images)
BALTIMORE, MD - MAY 31: Head coach Buck Showalter and General Manager Dan Duquette of the Baltimore Orioles talk before the game against the Detroit Tigers at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on May 31, 2013 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images) /
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While rumors have swirled that the Baltimore Orioles will be sellers at the MLB trade deadline, VP Dan Duquette said on Saturday that they wouldn’t be.

While rumors have swirled that the Baltimore Orioles will be sellers at the MLB trade deadline, VP Dan Duquette said on Saturday that the team wouldn’t be, rather that they would be looking to add talent rather than sell it.

During a “State of the Orioles” address to season ticket holders before Saturday’s game, Duquette said that he thinks the Baltimore Orioles still can make a run at the postseason.

“The Orioles have had better ballclubs at this stage of the season, but I still have hope for this year’s club,” he said. “I’ve got a lot of confidence that the guys that we have can put it together.”

There have been many rumors about the Baltimore Orioles possibly dealing some of their talented players, especially members of their bullpen. The Los Angeles Dodgers have reportedly been interested in closer Zach Britton, as have the Houston Astros.

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The Colorado Rockies have also reportedly contacted the Orioles about the availability of pitchers Kevin Gausman and Dylan Bundy.

There were also reports that the Orioles were preparing to sell all but Manny Machado, Adam Jones, and Mychal Givens, and that Duquette had asked for and received permission to move Britton, Brad Brach, Darren O’Day, and Seth Smith.

Needless to say, with all these reports that the Orioles were going to be selling at the trade deadline, these comments from Duquette come as somewhat of a surprise, and lead one to wonder if he’s saying them as a smokescreen of what the team is truly doing, or if the reports have truly all been wrong.

Duquette seems to believe that the Orioles should be adding talent to the team, not trading it away. “This year we haven’t had the starting pitching that we need, but the other elements of our ballclub are intact,” he said. “If we can get a little bit stronger pitching and add to the pitching, we can still make a run at this.”

Saying that we haven’t had the “starting pitching we need” is a bit of an understatement. The Orioles rotation has been downright bad, both lately and on the season as a whole.

The Orioles own the second-worst ERA in the majors at 5.14, behind only the Cincinnati Reds. They had the worst ERA in baseball for the month of June at 6.27 and currently have the third-worst ERA in baseball for the month of July at 5.68. Their pitching hasn’t been below-average, it’s been plain bad.

But Duquette still thinks this team will make the postseason. The Baltimore Orioles entered Sunday with a 46-51 record, 4.5 games back from the second AL Wild Card, something Duquette thinks the Orioles can get to.

Next: How the Orioles Current Roster Makeup is Hurting the Team

“That second wild card gives you a lot of hope,” he said. “We’re going to see what we can do this week to help our ballclub and strengthen the club so we can give you a contending team year in and year out.”

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