A lot of MLB teams are nervous about trading with teams within their division, but perhaps no club has been quite so paranoid as the Orioles under owner Peter Angelos. The last significant deal they made with an AL East team was in 2006, when they traded reliever Chris Britton to the Yankees for Jaret Wright and $4 million of the $7 million left on his contract.
They haven’t really taken a risk in a deal with an AL East rival since 2000, when they sent disappointing first-round pick Jayson Werth to the Blue Jays for reliever John Bale. Of course, Werth went on to become a star, but not until long after Toronto was done with him.
Fortunately, new GM Dan Duquette isn’t such a believer in avoiding deals within his division. He told WEEI’s Alex Speier today that, ‘If it’s good for our team...not as important who we trade with.”
Now he just needs to convince the guy who has the final say. The Orioles aren’t looking to sell at the moment, but they might be this summer, and they’ll be better off if Duquette is able to consider all offers, especially those that might lure some young talent away from the teams he hopes to overtake a couple of years down the road.