SAN DIEGO — As this year's winter meetings came to a close Thursday with several trades and signings throughout baseball, the Orioles left the Manchester Grand Hyatt with only a couple Rule 5 draft picks as new additions.
The selections of right-handed pitchers Jason Garcia and Logan Verrett won't excite a fan base that is still reeling from the losses of Nick Markakis, Nelson Cruz and Andrew Miller in free agency last week, especially as other teams made major moves to upgrade their rosters during the annual event.
But Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette's message to fans Thursday was clear: We'll be OK.
"The fans should follow what we've done over the past couple of years to field a competitive team," Duquette said. "They've got to look at the core of our team returning from the 2014 team. And the heart of the team is the pitching staff, and we're returning our pitching staff minus one, and we're going to look to replace that.
"So, you've got to look at the core and build off the core. We're in a good position. We've got a couple of good options to look at."
Although the Orioles had the foundation of a trade for pitching in place Wednesday before it fell apart, Duquette said he believes that the club could be close to at least one free-agent deal not long after returning to Baltimore, possibly as early as next week.
"We made some good progress with some free-agent outfielders and also some pitchers," Duquette said. "Hopefully, that will lead to something. ... We'll be able to find some hitters, some DH help."
Duquette again tempered any expectations that a potential signing would be a big splash in a diminishing outfield market, adding that he likes many of his internal options better than what's available in free agency.
Still, the Orioles have outfield holes to fill. They need to replace Markakis' on-base capability and could use someone to take over the leadoff spot. And it'll be difficult to find something similar to Cruz's run productivity after he led the major leagues with 40 home runs.
The Orioles are counting on catcher Matt Wieters and third baseman Manny Machado to return to form after each underwent season-ending surgery in 2014. And they're hoping for a rebound season from first baseman Chris Davis after a disappointing year that ended with a 25-game suspension.
"We're still looking at some outfield options," Duquette said. "We could use a left-handed hitter and a right-hander hitter. When [Steve] Pearce emerged last year when he got the opportunity, we're going to need somebody else to emerge this year.
"Maybe it's a left-handed hitter this time, but we will be able to find some hitters for DH, outfield. Davis should be back, Machado should be back, Wieters should be back, and we have pretty good depth."
Duquette has mentioned Cuban outfielder Dariel Alvarez often this week. And he said Thursday that he was eager to see manager Buck Showalter give Alvarez, who had a breakout season split between Double-A Bowie and Triple-A Norfolk in 2014, a shot at helping to replace Markakis.
"We'll see in the spring," Duquette said. "I think ideally, Alvarez and [first baseman] Christian Walker, we'd like to have them in Triple-A, but they're pretty good hitters. They've both had good years. We'll take a look at them in the spring."
Duquette has made it no secret that his long-term philosophy on sustaining the Orioles' success is entrenched in grooming players through the minor league system, making smart international signings and savvy trades, not spending money on big-time free agents.
"These guys are young," he said, referring to Alvarez and Walker. "They've got talent, they've got power, and they can play a position.
"You've got to be able to play a position and play defense if you're going to play for Buck with the Orioles, and these guys can do that."
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