Major trades have already been made, and there’s a chance more will be made during the Winter Meetings, which begin Sunday in Las Vegas.
The Orioles haven’t made major trades at the Winter Meetings since Andy MacPhail was in charge in 2010, when they acquired J.J. Hardy and Mark Reynolds.
Nearly everyone can list some of the Orioles’ best and worst trades. The 1966 acquisition of Frank Robinson from the Cincinnati Reds for starting pitcher Milt Pappas is considered the best. It led to the Orioles’ first World Series championship and a period of dominance.
MacPhail’s 2008 trade with the Seattle Mariners, when the Orioles picked up Adam Jones, Chris Tillman and George Sherrill for Erik Bedard, is also a strong one.
In January 1991, the Orioles made arguably their worst trade when they sent Steve Finley, Pete Harnisch and Curt Schilling to Houston for Glenn Davis, who suffered a nerve injury in his neck during his first spring training with the Orioles and never lived up to expectations.
Let’s get more contemporary and examine the trades made by Mike Elias’ predecessor at general manager, Dan Duquette.
Many believe Duquette’s July 2013 trade of Jake Arrieta and Pedro Strop to the Chicago Cubs for Scott Feldman and Steve Clevenger was his worst.
There’s another one that might have been worse, his July 2015 deal with Milwaukee, when the Orioles sent Zach Davies to the Brewers for Gerardo Parra.
His best? How about his first when he set the tone for the Orioles’ turnaround in 2012 when he dealt Jeremy Guthrie to the Colorado Rockies just before spring training for Jason Hammel and Matt Lindstrom, and flipped Lindstrom in August to Arizona for Joe Saunders, who won the wild-card game.
As we wait for Elias’ first trade, we look back at the Duquette years.
This Week’s Diner Question: What do you think were the best and worst trades by Dan Duquette?
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