Duquette’s presence still felt

Although no longer within the Baltimore Orioles organization, former Executive VP of Baseball Operations, Dan Duquette, still factors into the team’s success moving forward. Only five players on the roster are holdovers from his predecessor, Andy MacPhail. Four-of-the-five are on the 40-man roster and three of them could be with the team for the duration of the their rebuild.

Projected closer, Mychal Givens, has the longest tenure in the organization. MacPhail’s second round pick in the 2009 Amateur Draft, Givens has been a staple in the bullpen since his debut in 2015. Dylan Bundy, projected to be the ace of the pitching staff, barring any offseason trades, was the Orioles first round pick in 2011. Currently with an even 31-31 career record, Bundy will try to rebound after he led the majors in losses (16) last season.

Mike Wright Jr., drafted in the third round of the same draft that produced Bundy, is running out of time with the team. Entering his second season without any options, Wright Jr. will need to impress a new GM and Manager team that will be ready to make changes as they see fit.

Chris Davis has lost himself over the years. His .168 average in 2018 was the worst ever in a season and he hasn’t struck out less than 190 times since 2014. Acquired in a trade with the Texas Rangers in July of 2011, Davis most recently has been working out at Michael Johnson Performance in McKinney, Texas. As you can read here from MASN’s Roch Kubatko, Davis is changing up his winter workouts, trying to put himself, “in a position to succeed this year physically.”

Cristian Alvarado, signed as an Amateur Free Agent in August of 2011, has spent the previous two seasons with High-A Frederick. Alvarado has tossed 295.1 innings over 52 appearances (51 starts) with the Keys. Having reduced his ERA from 5.00 in 2017 to 4.18 in 2018, Roster Resource projects him opening the season with Double-A Bowie.

The names leftover from MacPhail’s time as General Manager are recognizable to Orioles fans alike. With the exception of Alvarado, each player should contribute in some way to the 2019 club and potentially beyond.

Duquette’s deadline deals

As the All-Star Break hit last season, the Orioles found themselves with a 28-69 record and all hope for contending lost. Although with back-to-back wins against the Rangers, it was time for team ownership to start making some deals and proceed into rebuild mode.

Manny Machado, traded to the west coast in a deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers, brought back a decent return. The Orioles received infielders Rylan Bannon and Breyvic Valera, outfielder Yusniel Diaz and pitchers Dean Kremer and Zach Pop.

The team followed shortly after by trading away Jonathan Schoop, Brad Brach, Darren O’Day, Kevin Gausman and Zach Britton.

On Instagram, told by best-friend Machado to, “carry the torch,” Schoop found himself part of a trade deal as he was sent to the Milwaukee Brewers. The Brew Crew sent Infielders Jean Carmona, Jonathan Villar and Pitcher, Luis Ortiz to the Orioles, trying to make a run at the postseason.

Brach, O’Day and Gausman were all sent to the Atlanta Braves. In addition to $2.75M in International Bonus Slot money, the team received four players in return, Infielder, Jean Carlos Encarnacion, Utility Man, Brett Cumberland and Pitchers, Bruce Zimmermann and Evan Phillips.

Britton ruptured his right Achilles in the offseason. Thoughts of his trade value decreasing were at the forefront of baseball minds everywhere. But, on July 24, those thoughts were quickly dismissed. Traded to the New York Yankees, Pitchers Dillon Tate, Cody Carroll and Josh Rogers were sent to Baltimore.

A team that thought they could contend heading into Spring Training, now found themselves with 15 new players in the organization.

New acquisitions to Birdland

Of the 15 players new to the organization, six made appearances with the Orioles last season. Valera went 10-for-35, with four RBI, in 12 games. He’s since been acquired by the San Francisco Giants for cash considerations. Ortiz made his first start against the Chicago White Sox on September 14. He lasted just 1.2 innings, facing 11 hitters and allowing just one earned run. His big league debut came a week earlier on September 7 against the Rays in Tampa Bay.

Villar was the standout of Duquette’s trade deadline acquisitions. Making his Orioles debut on August 2, Villar hit .258 through 54 games. He had 12 extra-base hits, including four home runs and was able to steal the most bases of any Oriole since Nate McLouth in 2013. Villar is most certainly pencilled into the 25-man roster for 2019. The question is, second base, or shortstop?

Phillips appeared in five games from August 3 to September 17. In just 5.1 innings pitched, he gave up 13 runs, 11 earned and surrendered a .304 average to opposing hitters.

Carroll pitched in 15 games last season, logging 17 innings. Pitching to a 9.00 ERA, he gave up six home runs, allowed a .406 on-base percentage and left-handed hitters went 7-for-23 against him in 27 appearances.

Rogers racked up three starts, facing the Toronto Blue Jays, Seattle Mariners and Tampa Bay Rays. In 11.2 innings, he gave up 11 earned runs, equating to an 8.49 ERA. He was tagged for six against the Rays on September 9, pitching just an inning-and-a-third, walking two and giving up a three run homer to second baseman Brandon Lowe.

It’s hard to gauge how successful Duquette’s deals will be for the future of this team. With the exception of Villar, the remaining players have a small sample size to digest. The development of the farm system, including nine of Duquette’s deadline deals, should be one of the most exciting things to watch over the next few seasons.

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Brian Pinter

Brian Pinter is the Director of Coverage on the Baltimore Orioles for Maryland Sports Blog. His views and opinions are that of his own and he welcomes any and all discussions. Follow along with Brian Pinter this season on Twitter, @b_pinter23.

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