TORONTO – Baltimore Orioles managing partner Peter G. Angelos moved to extinguish the latest round of speculation linking Dan Duquette to the Toronto Blue Jays after it emerged Wednesday that the two sides have held discussions about the executive.
Depictions of the exact nature of those talks, first reported by Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports and confirmed by Sportsnet, and whether compensatory names were exchanged varied. But that they took place at all rekindled the continuing uncertainty over the future of Paul Beeston.
The Blue Jays’ interest in hiring Duquette as their next president and CEO was relayed via the team’s ownership at Rogers Communications to the Orioles, but speaking to Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun, Angelos said, “That is not going to happen.”
“There have not been any changes in the status of Dan Duquette. He is our GM and he is going to remain our GM,” Angelos continued. “He is concentrating on his efforts to determine the composition of our team for 2015. That is the answer. Period.”
The comments were similar to those Angelos made when reports that the Blue Jays’ wanted Duquette first surfaced on the eve of the Winter Meetings in December. While one industry source suggested to Sportsnet that the teams had since discussed some compensatory names, Angelos told the Sun he wasn’t aware of any specific offers.
“We are not negotiating with them in any way. They have expressed interest in Dan Duquette, which we understand because Dan is an exceptional GM. But we are not in any negotiations with Mr. (Edward) Rogers,” Angelos said. “We have a contract (with Duquette), and that’s the end of it.”
There has been no comment from Blue Jays ownership about the matter.
Beeston’s contract is believed to have expired Oct. 31 and while his status had been in question since the summer, indications at that time were that he’d remain on as president and CEO through the 2015 season and receive a send-off fitting of the club’s first employee who helped build two World Series teams.
Then the reports about Duquette — and Ken Williams, the Chicago White Sox president who was denied permission to pursue the job — emerged in December, clarifying that nothing was carved in stone.
The latest news comes with Beeston and Phil Lind, the former Rogers vice-chairman who retired at the end of 2014 but remains a consultant to the company, representing the team at the owners’ meetings in Paradise Valley, Ariz., this week.
One line of thinking is that Angelos’ adamant refusal is simply posturing in an effort to try and ensure the best possible package in return for Duquette, who is believed to want the Blue Jays job. There are those who feel it’s strictly a matter of if, not when, he takes over from Beeston and that agreeing on the compensation is the only holdup.
A counterargument is that Angelos tends to stand firm on his positions and it may take a home-run offer to cause him to change his mind on Duquette, who is under contract through the 2018 season.
Any type of significant prospect or player sent over as compensation for Duquette would go against precedent in baseball.
The most recent example in a contentious case came when the Chicago Cubs lured over Theo Epstein from the Boston Red Sox after the 2011 season. After months of haggling and Major League Baseball’s intervention, Chicago sent Chris Carpenter and later fellow right-hander Aaron Kurcz to Boston while getting first baseman Jair Bogaerts in return, as well.
In 1994, when the Cubs hired Andy MacPhail away from the Minnesota Twins to serve as their president and CEO, they sent single-A prospect Hector Trinidad to Minnesota as compensation.
The Blue Jays were in a similar situation following the 2012 season, when the Red Sox made a second run at then manager John Farrell. Eventually, Boston sent infielder Mike Aviles to Toronto for right-hander David Carpenter.
