LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- Orioles president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail departed the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress resort and the general manager meetings yesterday without trading shortstop Miguel Tejada or tinkering with his flawed roster. However, he said he was satisfied with four days of work that he expects to pay dividends in the days ahead.
Entering the meetings, the Orioles contingent, which included MacPhail, executive vice president Mike Flanagan and director of baseball administration Scott Proefrock, identified about 15 teams it wanted to meet with to discuss trade options, and by yesterday afternoon, they had met with all of them.
"We batted a thousand," MacPhail said. "You don't often bat a thousand in baseball, but we did. We did what we were here to do. We tried to get a little further in what may or may not be possible with different clubs. In that regard, we were really pleased with the outcome of the meetings."
MacPhail said that he will gather his scouts and talent evaluators - either in person or via conference call - in the coming days and talk about different proposals and scenarios. MacPhail said that no trade proposal this week was captivating enough to jump on immediately. But he was buoyed by the interest several clubs had in different Orioles.
"I was satisfied with the responses we got in our players," MacPhail said. "Based on the information we collected, we'll sort of get a game plan going forward."
While avoiding using the word rebuilding to describe the Orioles' current state, MacPhail has made it clear that the club is looking to trade several veterans and to get younger and cheaper, while putting an intense focus on scouting and player development.
It was obvious this week as MacPhail didn't meet with a single representative of a free agent. At last season's GM meetings, Flanagan and then-vice president Jim Duquette split their time between meeting with other clubs and agents.
"You have an obligation to simultaneously explore all avenues, but the one that interests us the most is the trade avenue," MacPhail said.
MacPhail again made it clear that no Oriole is off-limits, including ace pitcher Erik Bedard. "Everybody is available," he said.
Best deal possible
MacPhail said yesterday that he is not opposed to trading a player - even if it is his star player - to another team in the American League East. The New York Yankees have expressed preliminary interest in dealing for Tejada, though the Oriole doesn't appear to be the Yankees' top choice to replace free agent Alex Rodriguez.
