Former Red Sox general manager and current Orioles executive vice president of baseball operations Dan Duquette joined Middays with MFB on Monday to discuss the current state of his club and the status of the MLB trade market. To listen to the interview, go to the MFB audio on demand page.
The Red Sox will open up a three-game series against the Orioles at Camden Yards on Monday night, with Jake Peavy facing off against Bud Norris. Despite players such as first baseman Chris Davis and third baseman Manny Machado struggling this season, the Orioles are second in the American League East with a 31-30 record.
“It’s a tough league and it’s a tough division. We’ve been holding our own,” Duquette said. “Recently, our top-two pitchers haven’t pitched very well — [Chris] Tillman and [Ubaldo] Jimenez — and for us to continue to compete, we’ve got to get those guys straightened out. … I think all in all, we’re still hanging in there. I think we’re a legit contender for the playoffs.”
While teams such as the Red Sox and Orioles likely will scour the trade market, Duquette acknowledged that many teams have not become sellers at this point in the season, mostly due to the inclusion of a second wild card in each league.
“There’s a lot of teams still in the hunt that have hope, really, because of that second wild card,” Duquette said. “There aren’t many sellers, from what I can tell. Usually after the draft, which was just completed, teams will start calling around, but I only know that there’s just a couple of sellers right now. … It’s going to be challenging to add to the team. … I think it’s a lot more predictable if you’ve got someone in the minors that can come up and help you.”
The general manager of the Red Sox from 1994 to 2002, Duquette stayed out of MLB for almost a decade before joining the Orioles in November 2011. The Dalton native has since built the Orioles into a formidable threat, further cementing the AL East as one of the premier divisions in baseball.
“The Red Sox have a great organization. They had a great year last year. I really enjoy the American League East,” Duquette said. “It’s a tough division, but if you’re going to be in it, this is the place to be. Baltimore has given me the opportunity to help build a competitive team here. … It’s a great rivalry and I’m glad that baseball’s back in Baltimore and we got a competitive team that can compete against the Red Sox and Yankees and all the other teams in the East.”
Following are more highlights from the interview. For more Red Sox news, go to the team page at weei.com/redsox.
On the return of Stephen Drew to the Red Sox: “I probably shouldn’t talk about the Red Sox and Stephen Drew. I can tell you he had a good year last year and he had some big hits against us. He’s a good solid veteran player. I think he’ll contribute to their ball club for sure.”
On why Machado got into an argument with A’s third baseman Josh Donaldson on Friday: “I don’t know exactly why he was upset. I’m pretty sure that he was upset because [Donaldson] tagged him hard and Manny was off balance and Manny didn’t think he had to tag him the way he tagged him to get the putout. It kind of spilled over in yesterday’s game when they threw at Manny consecutively and then Manny ended up throwing his bat. … I’m sure that there’s a distinct possibility of a suspension for the flying bat. I think five games is a precedent that they’ve used in the past.”
