Duquette

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Dan Duquette, the Orioles' executive vice president of baseball operations, took some time away from the organization's affiliates' reception to talk to reporters tonight at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel in Nashville. The winter meetings don't start in earnest until Monday. Here are some of his quotes on specific Orioles' topics. Duquette on the club's goal this week at the annual winter meetings: “Our agenda at the winter meetings, of course, is to try to find a hitter.

Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette said the club tried to find a way to figure Mark Reynolds' impending 2013 salary into its budget, but couldn't. So instead of paying him roughly $9 million in arbitration, the Orioles did not tender the first baseman a contract Friday night, allowing him to be a free agent. "We had determined that his value in arbitration was beyond our resources to bring him back to the team," Duquette said. "We like Mark and he gave a good effort for the team, so we certainly appreciated that.

Trayvon Robinson, the 25-year-old outfielder the Orioles received in Tuesday's trade with the Seattle Mariners for infielder Robert Andino, is an intriguing player, though the reality is he may never become a big league regular. The Orioles view him as someone who can battle for the fourth spot in the outfield in 2013. Robinson was called a “veritable toolshed” by Baseball America a few years ago as he was climbing up the ranks in the Los Angeles Dodgers system because of his speed-power-defense potential.

Kyuji Fujikawa, a 32-year-old, hard-throwing right hander who is considered one of the best closers in Japan, toured Camden Yards on Friday and had lunch with, among others, Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette. Fujikawa, who is an unrestricted free agent and wants to pitch in the United States on a multi-year deal, was on a tour of sorts. In the past two weeks, he also has met with representatives of the Arizona Diamondbacks, Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Angels.

Earlier this morning, we featured a chart from baseball statistician Bill Arnold that listed Orioles' executive vice president Dan Duquette's lifetime record at an impressive 930-786. That winning percentage places him fifth among the men who held the general manager position (or similar duties) for the 30 MLB teams in 2012. Pretty impressive. Frankly, it was better than I realized. But if you dig a little deeper, the numbers could be even more eye-popping. Duquette left Montreal and joined the Boston Red Sox in February 1994.

When Dan Duquette was hired roughly a year ago as the club's executive vice president, the Orioles pointed to his impressive track record in the past with the Montreal Expos and Boston Red Sox. He was in charge of some very good teams - although none went to the World Series. Of course, the Expos in 1994 might have had the season not ended in August due to labor unrest. And Duquette was one of the primary architects of the Red Sox team that twice won world championships after he left.

Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette, who engineered one of the best turnarounds in baseball this season by taking the long suffering Orioles to the postseason for the first time in 15 years, was surprisingly shut out in the voting for this season's Sporting News Executive of the Year award , which goes to the game's top front office exec. Athletics general manager Billy Beane, whose Oakland team dramatically won the AL West on the final day of the regular season, received the award Wednesday night at the annual GM meetings in Indian Wells, Calif.

Although they weren't splashy moves when made, Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette's savviness in scooping up discarded players paid huge dividends during the team's best season in 15 years. For every Nate McLouth, who made the most of his opportunity with a new club, there was a Dontrelle Willis, who didn't pan out with the Orioles. But there's no double that Duquette's aggressiveness in acquiring undervalued commodities was a significant factor in the Orioles' success in 2012.

Most of the Orioles had already cleaned out their lockers at Camden Yards by Saturday afternoon, when just a few stragglers were tossing their possessions into cardboard boxes to mark the symbolic end to baseball in Baltimore this season. Outside, a few dozen fans still lingered for one final sight of their favorite players. Executive vice president Dan Duquette stopped by to sign autographs. The Orioles had a remarkable turnaround in 2012 - going from 93 losses in 2011 to 93 wins in the regular season, then falling just one win short of playing for the American League title - but the finality had hit manager Buck Showalter.

As you settle down to watch an American League Championship Series without the Orioles and you wonder whether the O's will ever go after a bona fide ace pitcher among the likes of CC Sabathia or Justin Verlander, Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette has some news for you. The Orioles, who came within one win of playing in the ALCS, are going to continue to build from within. “I've said all along the way to build a good ballclub is from the ground up,” Duquette told reporters Saturday at Camden Yards.