It's a disgrace....

[ChuckS]

I understand not wanting to sell low on Britton. But there was no excuse not to move Brach, Smith, or Castillo.  Brach's value is never going to be higher than it is now and they should have taken what they could for those other two even if the return was only going to be a lower minors flyer prospect.  We are going to have nothing to show for ourselves when these players hit free agency and I don't expect things to be any different with Britton and Machado.  

I think the ownership/FO is still in that delusional win-now mode and Buck and Duquette having just one more year left under contract probably played a role in the lack of activity. It's just sad because you look around baseball and see there is a clear model of how to operate under these circumstances, but the O's FO/ownership prefers to just keep digging a bigger hole.  

[pastorfan]

20 minutes ago, ChuckS said:

I understand not wanting to sell low on Britton. But there was no excuse not to move Brach, Smith, or Castillo.  Brach's value is never going to be higher than it is now and they should have taken what they could for those other two even if the return was only going to be a lower minors flyer prospect.  We are going to have nothing to show for ourselves when these players hit free agency and I don't expect things to be any different with Britton and Machado.  

I think the ownership/FO is still in that delusional win-now mode and Buck and Duquette having just one more year left under contract probably played a role in the lack of activity. It's just said because you look around baseball and see there is a clear model of how to operate under these circumstances, but the O's FO/ownership prefers to just keep digging a bigger hole.  

You are absolutely right, but I expected nothing else. Meanwhile, the Yanks add a pitcher far superior to any starter that we have--and they get two more years from him. 

[Lucky_13]

1 minute ago, pastorfan said:

You are absolutely right, but I expected nothing else. Meanwhile, the Yanks add a pitcher far superior to any starter that we have--and they get two more years from him. 

Yanks are not even comparable. They have the prospects to make that move. The Orioles wouldn't even have been in the conversation unless they offered Mountcastle, Sisco, Hays, Akin etc.  Plus the Yanks are going for a WS 

[FlipTheBird]

Why are we assuming there was a market for Castillo or Seth Smith, to be fair? Did any contending teams make moves for an OFer or C today?

[Encino Man]

24 minutes ago, ChuckS said:

I understand not wanting to sell low on Britton. But there was no excuse not to move Brach, Smith, or Castillo.  Brach's value is never going to be higher than it is now and they should have taken what they could for those other two even if the return was only going to be a lower minors flyer prospect.  We are going to have nothing to show for ourselves when these players hit free agency and I don't expect things to be any different with Britton and Machado.  

I think the ownership/FO is still in that delusional win-now mode and Buck and Duquette having just one more year left under contract probably played a role in the lack of activity. It's just said because you look around baseball and see there is a clear model of how to operate under these circumstances, but the O's FO/ownership prefers to just keep digging a bigger hole.  

How can you say there is "no excuse" without knowing what was offered?  I am pretty confident that Duquette tried to deal those guys

[Frobby]

I'm glad the trade deadline has come and gone.    I get tired of all the hypothetical scenarios that never come to pass.    

[SteveA]

1 minute ago, FlipTheBird said:

Why are we assuming there was a market for Castillo or Seth Smith, to be fair? Did any contending teams make moves for an OFer or C today?

Colorado got Lucroy -- pretty cheaply.   Castillo < Lucroy, especially with his player option for next year.   So I doubt there was much market for Castillo.

Avila went to the Cubs along with Wilson.   And Detroit didn't get much of a return there either.

The only outfielder who got dealt was Melky Cabrera, who moves the needle more than Seth Smith would.  

Bottom line there was very little market for position players.

I believe we probably didn't get a good enough offer for Britton, and there was probably no interest in Castillo and Smith.   So the biggest thing I can fault Duquette for is not dealing Brach.   But once again, Brach has another year of control, so you don't deal him for peanuts either.   He's not a guy I deal just to unload, like Smith or Castillo.   He's a guy you deal if you can do some legitimate re-stocking of the farm system.

We'll never know if any legitimate offer was made.

[LC_O's_87]

4 minutes ago, FlipTheBird said:

Why are we assuming there was a market for Castillo or Seth Smith, to be fair? Did any contending teams make moves for an OFer or C today?

Lucroy was traded for a PTBNL........

I think the White Sox got a decent player for Melky Cabrera.  But he's better than Seth Smith 

[ChuckS]

14 minutes ago, Encino Man said:

How can you say there is "no excuse" without knowing what was offered?  I am pretty confident that Duquette tried to deal those guys

Let's see?  In the last week when everyone expected us to be in sell mode all we ended up doing was trading more minor leaguers for incremental upgrades like Hellickson and Beckham who I'm sure they expect to help us win this year.  

I'm highly skeptical that they even put out feelers on Smith and Castillo.  Dealing those guys would signify that they are giving up on this season, since clear replacements are not ready to step in 

Brach absolutely had some interest and could have brought a nice return even if it was less than what we were hoping.  

Maybe he "tried to deal all those guys" but I don't see it. I think Duq would have taken a deal if he was blown away, but I don't see any evidence that he is trying to build this team for the future. 

[Legend_Of_Joey]

1 minute ago, Encino Man said:

How can you say there is "no excuse" without knowing what was offered?  I am pretty confident that Duquette tried to deal those guys

You might be giving too much credit there.

They wanted a lot of stuff and weren't willing to negotiate. Teams were actually voicing frustration with them. 

[Herman]

The Orioles continue to illustrate that they have one of the dumbest and most out-of-touch front offices in professional sports. What a complete failure. 

[TINSTAAPP]

17 minutes ago, FlipTheBird said:

Why are we assuming there was a market for Castillo or Seth Smith, to be fair? Did any contending teams make moves for an OFer or C today?

Also, teams might have been scared off by Castillo's second year player option.

[Br10n]

Since Dan didn't get blown any he kept Zach.  Brach was not trade because he will be the closer next year.  Dan will trade Zach in the off season for a starter.  

[SteveA]

Just now, Br10n said:

Since Dan didn't get blown any he kept Zach.  Brach was not trade because he will be the closer next year.  Dan will trade Zach in the off season for a starter.  

Well if THAT'S what Dan wanted that explains a lot of things.

[WEAVERMAN]

19 minutes ago, SteveA said:

Colorado got Lucroy -- pretty cheaply.   Castillo < Lucroy, especially with his player option for next year.   So I doubt there was much market for Castillo.

Avila went to the Cubs along with Wilson.   And Detroit didn't get much of a return there either.

The only outfielder who got dealt was Melky Cabrera, who moves the needle more than Seth Smith would.  

Bottom line there was very little market for position players.

I believe we probably didn't get a good enough offer for Britton, and there was probably no interest in Castillo and Smith.   So the biggest thing I can fault Duquette for is not dealing Brach.   But once again, Brach has another year of control, so you don't deal him for peanuts either.   He's not a guy I deal just to unload, like Smith or Castillo.   He's a guy you deal if you can do some legitimate re-stocking of the farm system.

We'll never know if any legitimate offer was made.

Well said Steve.