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Orioles GM Dan Duquette can only do so much with his hands tied

By Joshua Sadlock

BALTIMORE, MD - APRIL 24: General Manager Dan Duquette of the Baltimore Orioles watches batting practice before the game against the Boston Red Sox at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on April 24, 2015 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images)
BALTIMORE, MD - APRIL 24: General Manager Dan Duquette of the Baltimore Orioles watches batting practice before the game against the Boston Red Sox at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on April 24, 2015 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images) /
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The Baltimore Orioles have done next to nothing so far this offseason, but never count out Dan Duquette for big moves in Spring Training.

Fans of the Baltimore Orioles are treated to a rerun of the same movie each offseason. The team ends the season and enters the winter with several obvious weaknesses. Nothing happens at the Winter Meetings. Nothing happens before the New Year. The Orioles assemble in Florida for Spring Training looking a whole heck of a lot like the same team that wrapped up play the previous October.

Then, Dan Duquette gets to work.

For better or worse, the Orioles executive vice president is the best in baseball at waiting out the offseason and snapping up free agents left on the open market come March. As frustrating as this approach may be for Orioles fans, it’s the best that Duquette can do when his hands are constantly tied by a stubborn owner that is not averse to spending money — so long as it’s on his terms.

Spending money on Peter Angelos’ terms means no massive contracts for starting pitching, little investment in international prospects, no player options, a strict physical and a startling disregard for draft picks. It should come as no surprise that the last elite free agent the Orioles landed was Miguel Tejada in 2003.

That leaves the Orioles, who have never committed more than $50 million to a starting pitcher, to sift through the scraps of the free-agent market. Sifting through the scraps has yielded Ubaldo Jimenez and Yovani Gallardo in recent years. Not great. The leftovers this year are much better, and if Angelos allows it, Duquette will feast.

Lance Lynn and Alex Cobb are by no means world beaters. Both have already had Tommy John and have seen their peripheral statistics fall dramatically since returning from surgery. Even so, both are coming off solid seasons that would have netted them four- or five-year deals in a different financial climate. On their worst day, either one is better than the in-house options the Orioles have in camp, a collection of Rule 5 picks or Triple-A retreads.

Cobb and Lynn are tailor-made for a team like the Orioles, a team that cannot afford to shell out nine figures for Yu Darvish or Jake Arrieta (although the O’s say they are staying in touch with the Cy Young’s reps) but can spend enough for a mid-tier arm. In years past, the Orioles had an even bigger inside track to landing the middling free agents thanks to their willingness to wave goodbye to first-round picks. It will still cost picks to sign Cobb or Lynn, but not a top pick.

Having spent over $160 million on their last-place team a year ago and holding onto Manny Machado in his walk year, the Orioles should logically be able to make at least one more big move to close out their offseason. Payroll for the MLB roster is still hovering below $120 million. The Orioles could sign Cobb or Lynn and still have enough left over to offer Mike Moustakas a hefty pillow deal to play third base. All-Star closer Greg Holland is still out there. Could the Orioles consider the right-hander to fill in for Zach Britton while he recovers from his Achilles injury?

All of this is written with one caveat — no one has any idea what the Orioles are doing with the rest of this offseason. There hasn’t been a clear plan from the day the season ended. The fact that Machado is hitting free agency complicates things. Duquette and manager Buck Showalter are in the final years of their contracts as well. Put simply, the Orioles are facing a day of reckoning at the end of the year, if not sooner. It’s a bad place for a GM to be, especially with an owner who wants to win but will not step aside and let his baseball people call the shots.

Next: One free agent each MLB team should sign right now

Since taking the reins from Andy MacPhail in 2011, Dan Duquette has worked under some of the toughest constraints in the league but has still been able to put together a roster that has been to the playoffs three times since 2012. There are still options on the market to make his 2018 team significantly better, and if the Orioles can come close to matching their 2017 levels of spending, at least one free-agent starter will soon be holding up an orange and black jersey.

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